Country Representative of the UN Women for Nigeria and ECOWAS, Beatrice Eyong said on Monday, July 29, that one in every ten women were living in extreme poverty across the globe.
Speaking at a two-day workshop on gender-responsive budgeting and the role of the legislature in advancing gender-responsive legislature in Nigeria, Eyong said projections indicate that 342.4 million women and girls will not have moved out of extreme poverty by 2030 unless there is a shift from the current trends.
She said the percentages could be higher for countries like Nigeria where the gap between the few rich and the majority poor continues to widen, adding that to achieve equity and equality for women, these are challenges that we must all join hands together to confront.
She said: “This is where government, development partners, leaders, civil society, the private sector, and the media come in. But the question is, how much is being invested and done to support women who are in appointive and elective positions in Nigeria?
“What can we do differently to retain the current women in leadership positions and improve the chances of more women joining politics and winning in the next elections? These are challenges we must all respond to as women and gender champions.”
She expressed confidence that gender equality and women empowerment are achievable in Nigeria, adding that gender inequalities and underrepresentation of women, and the risks faced by girls in their daily lives are challenges of global concern.
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She said though Nigeria is not doing very well in terms of women’s political representation and leadership, like other African countries, it has ratified and committed to various regional and global instruments, including, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially Goal 5 which advocates for achieving gender equality; the Beijing Convention and Platform for Action which advocates 30% Affirmative Action, and the Maputo Protocol that advocates for 50-50 representation.
In addition, she said, Nigeria has adopted the National Gender Policy (NGP) that recommends 35% (revised to 50%) affirmative action to advance inclusivity and representation of both genders in leadership and decision-making processes.
She said: “UN Women believes that investing in women equals investing in the architecture of the society, for we do know that no nation can develop and prosper if women are excluded. Our support is guided by shared values, mutual respect, and a common vision of the Government and the people of Nigeria.
“While we may not have recorded huge gains in recent years, we have made progress and should not take our foot off the gas. I congratulate those of you who are taking deliberate steps to increase the number of women in elective and appointive positions”.
In his remarks, the Director General of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), Prof. Abubakar Suleiman said there is no doubt that Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) brings together gender equality and public financial management initiatives, and seeks to improve the results of budgets in general and to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Prof. Suleiman said Gender Responsive Budgeting remains a critical tool for advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment and involves assessing, planning, implementing, and evaluating government budgets with a gender perspective to ensure that public resources are used to reduce gender disparities and promote equitable outcomes.
He said: “While challenges exist, the potential benefits in terms of gender equality and social development make gender budgeting an important aspect of public financial management in many countries around the world.
“Contrary to misconceived notions, Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) is an intentional approach to the budget process that ensures an equitable distribution of resources to all citizens (women, men, and children), geared towards achieving equality and equal opportunities.
“It uses the elements of fiscal policy to mitigate and rectify the effects of gender imbalances in all sectors of the economy and society. Gender Responsive Budgeting is particularly important because it does not only bring a gender lens into the gender process but avoids the belief that government budgets are a biased document.”