The Nation Newspaper

Tag: women

  • Women, students get entrepreneurship training

    Women, students get entrepreneurship training

    E-Circle Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, has held an empowerment workshop for female students and women involved in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

    The training, tagged: Esthers in the market place, was held in collaboration with Sesema Public Relations, a leading communications agency, at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) and Newcastle Hotel in Lekki.

    The event was attended by over 100 women, students and entrepreneurs and it was aimed at providing them with expertise to successfully develop their businesses and career.

    The entrepreneurship session was facilitated by the Chief Executive Officer of Service Desk Limited, Mrs Kelechi Mba, a specialist in business development. Participants learnt strategies for exploring growth opportunities and dropping destructive mindsets. They were taught how they could benefit from career opportunities in global economy.

    Speaking on Transition of education, knowledge economy and female marketability matrix, Mrs Chioma George-Ekehon, chairperson of E-Circle Foundation, said: “Over the past three years, the project has aimed at inspiring personal responsibility and development among young women to drive productivity and change. The project was specifically designed to help equip young women with the information and skills necessary to help tackle the diverse challenges evident in their organisations, businesses and society. Our goal has been to effectively attract, develop and empower at 250,000 young women in five years.”

    Participants were also given first-hand opportunity for internship and job with Sesema Public Relations, modeling contracts and access to sponsorship for projects.

    Sesema Public Relations Managing Director, Mrs Tampiri Irimagha-Akemu, said: “There is no getting away from the fact that economic conditions remain challenging for the SMEs in Nigeria. We see young women as critical entities and key drivers for economic diversification and growth toward building the knowledge-based economy. We are happy to be partner in this project.”

    The project is an initiative of the E-Circle Foundation geared towards raising and empowering young women in the market place with skills and tools necessary to take on the diverse challenges evident in their organisations and businesses.

     

  • 50 Niger women trained in rice processing

    50 Niger women trained in rice processing

    Crude as their methods are, women rice processors in Kwakuti, a sleepy community in Paikoro Local Government Area of Niger State, still manage to turn out up to two trailer-loads every month.

    Now things can only get better because the state government has trained no fewer than 50 of the women to be more efficient and productive.

    The government is seeking to reduce the stress associated with the exercise and position the state as the largest producer of rice in the country.

    This is particularly important in view of government determination to make the country self sufficient in rice production and reduce the reliance on importation. It is estimated that the country spends about N12 billion annually in rice importation.

    Realising that the state has the potentials of being the largest producer of rice in the country in view of its rich terrain, the Niger state government recently trained about 50 women in the community on ways of processing rice in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

    During the training, which lasted for five days, the women were taught how to form and manage cluster-groups and rice value chain development. They were equally groomed in value development at each processing stage and what value addition needed at each stage.

    That was not all. They were also taught business management and marketing as the organisers looked at the four P’s and proper book keeping as it deals with keeping of the stock such as the raw materials and the finished goods. In addition, they also taught how to properly cost their products. Interestingly, from the interaction with the women, it was discovered that the women (who were also the marketers) were either over costing, overpricing and under-pricing their products.

    Focusing on the product development, the organizers taught them to bag the rice instead of selling in ‘module’ which is their preferred measurement; the women were also taught them on how to properly boil the rice, sieve the paddy, par boil it and dry it while keeping stones away from the rice. A rice cluster with the capacity to take two machines was built for the women, designed to have two rice mill and one destoner. Also, the women were taught to organised themselves into cooperative that will put them in the right position to getting government aid.

    Dr. Abdumalik Ndaki, one of the consultants involved in the training, told The Nation that rice is one of  the key product where the state have a comparative advantage. The other products include: yam, cassava, cowpea, groundnut and sheabutter. On the choice of Kwakuti, he disclosed that when a need assessment was carried out in Kwakuti, it was discovered that in spite of the potentials of the area I. Rice production, there were no rice farmers in the community, adding that only three farmers were found in the town with farmlands that were not up to half an hectare.

    Ndagi who is the Director General of Niger State Industrial Parks Development Agency said the state government has spent over N20 million on the development of the Kwakuti rice project adding that similar programme are ongoing in Bida, Lapai, and Badegi areas of the state. He explained that the state government is working to add value, modernize them and make them better adding that the   government pays its counterpart fund to ensure that the state stays top in the agricultural sector.

    Ndagi was confident that when the project is fully implemented, there would be more than enough rice paddy from Kwakuti, adding that with two trailer loads of rice to process every month, Kwakuti rice would be a force to reckon with in the near future. He assured that UNDP and the state government would continue to work round the clock to better the lots of rice farmers in the state.

    He said: “We recently held a meeting with major stakeholders in agriculture in the state last week. So we are charting a way out to be able to help rice processors in the state.”

     

  • Run for political offices, Stephanie urges women

    Run for political offices, Stephanie urges women

    Alot has been said about the issues of gender, women and the process of governance, but for Nollywood actress and filmmaker, Stephanie Okereke-Linus, the last has not been heard.

    Lending her voice to the radio progamme, Talk Your Own-Make Naija Better, the heavily pregnant actress stated that when men and women come together, beautiful things happen.

    In a short clip posted on the programme’s Facebook page, the thespian said; “When we all participate in our government, we create better lives for ourselves and our children. So women, go vote, run for political offices let your voices be heard and let us all support women in this. If we don’t participate in government, we can’t create a beautiful future. So let’s create something beautiful together.”

    Talk Your Own is a national radio magazine programme which seeks to give Nigerians a chance to discuss the issues affecting them and their country. The show is broadcast across the country on more than 100 partner stations.

    The programme is presented by BBC Media Action.

  • Role of women in nation-building 

    The place of women in any endeavour can never be over emphasized and given their enormous contributions to socio-economic development, there can be no meaningful advancement where women are excluded. In Africa, the conditions of women are more critical, given lingering gender inequalities, domestic violence, lack of social protection, among other issues, that exacerbate injustice and privation. These and many more limit their ability to reach their full potential. Nigeria is one of the countries where women have faced challenges and discrimination for reasons of their sex and wrongful perception that women belong to a lesser class than their male counterparts; a perception strengthened by traditional and cultural practices.

    Be that as it may, Nigeria has continued to develop and implement national strategies and plans for the advancement of women in leadership and managerial roles in the form of amending legislation, policy and institutional framework as it affects the full promotion and protection of the rights of women. This year alone, the Federal Government has re-enacted several criminal laws to reflect a gender perspective and to ensure that restorative justice is incorporated for victims of crime, who are noted to be mostly women.  These include the Administration of Criminal Justice Act which is applicable in all federal courts, and the Trafficking in Persons Law Enforcement and Administration Act.

    Another model legislation in this regard is the Violence Against Persons Act (VAPP) 2015 which creates a broader legal framework for the prevention of all forms of violence, including rape, abolishes Female Genital Mutilation, unfair and discriminatory widowhood practices and other harmful traditional practices. It further makes provision for protection, compensation and rehabilitation for victims of violence. The government has also approved a National Gender Policy which acknowledges the attainment of gender equality as not only as an end in itself, but as a prerequisite for the achievement of sustainable development. In addition, there exists a National Policy for Protection and Assistance to Victims of Trafficking which provide a broad framework for providing protection and assistance to trafficked persons.

    Common to these legislations and policies is a review of the victimology recompense regime in our legal system, incorporating compensation and rehabilitation, counselling and supporting survivors through skills acquisition and financial empowerment. All of these are in acknowledgement of the lasting effect of trauma suffered by victims and need to restore them to some kind of acceptable social and psychological footing, maximizing their potential for full recovery. This is with the view to facilitating opportunities for victims of crime to continue to contribute their quota to critical sectors of our national life.

    To ensure coordination and sustainability of all initiatives in this regard, Nigeria has federal and state ministries of women affairs with a mandate to bring about speedy and healthy development of Nigerian women, children, and the main-streaming of their rights and privileges in national development process. The ministry with key development partners, including civil society organizations, has developed policies, initiatives and strategic plans to engender gender equality and ensure full and effective participation as well as equal opportunities for women in leadership at all levels.

    There has been a deliberate increase in the number of women holding leadership positions in crime prevention and criminal justice. Specifically, some critical positions held by women include the positions of Chief Justice of Nigeria and head of the Supreme Court, Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal, Chief Judges of High Courts, Comptroller General of the Immigration Service, Commissioners of Police, Directors of Public Prosecution with significant numbers of women justices in superior courts of record. The Nigerian Army also now admits female combatants in the Armed Forces. I should also mention the position of Director General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons, which I am privileged to hold, as its second female chief executive.

    At a practical level, appreciable gains have been recorded in the last two decades and criminal justice policies and institutions are continuously being strengthened to better reflect the invaluable contributions and needs of women.  All of this has been possible as a result of intense advocacy as well as growing recognition of leadership potentials and competences, irrespective of gender. The result is that women are able to claim their pride of place in this sector and make invaluable contributions that have led to the positive development of criminal justice institutions and policies in the country.

    It is however acknowledged that a lot still needs to be done in this regard. While appropriate legalization and policies are in force in many parts of the country, there still appears to be a gap between the existence of these laws and policies in some areas and the reality due to cultural norms, prejudices and practices that reinforce discrimination against women, including the activities of terrorist groups. In pursuing the goals of women’s effective involvement in crime prevention and the criminal justice sector and building the capacity to ensure their own protection; strategies could broadly be categorized in two viz: Women as role actors within crime prevention and the criminal justice system institutions and, Women as subjects of protection from crime.

    A possible starting point is to deliberately ensure the incorporation of women in crime prevention because they are known to have more empathy and are more likely to win the confidence of victims of crime. Another point is the review of victimology recompense regimes and public education of members of society on the benefits of inclusive criminal justice practices and institutions. This will serve the dual purpose of supporting the place of women in criminal justice roles and dealing with gender attitudes, accounting for crimes committed against women.

     

    • Jedy-Agba is Director General, National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons(NAPTIP)
  • Young women-farmers making impact

    Young women-farmers making impact

    A new generation of young women farmers are springing up. They are educated, dynamic and doing well in the market. The new breed women-farmers are not looking at agric in the conventional hoe and cutlass subsistence way, they are bringing innovation and entrepreneurship into it, Daniel Essiet reports.

    While many young people in Nigeria dream of getting well-paid jobs, Chief Executive, Honeysuckles Cynthia Mosunmola Umoru, a zoology graduate, an alumnus of the Pan African University under the Enterprise Development Center (CEM), headed for the farm.  She grew up seeing farmers raise crops, and livestock, living wretched lives. But  she  wasn’t  convinced  they  were doing  farming  the right way. She had big dreams.

    She had bought a large piece of land and started a large-scale farming, approaching farming as a business.

    Today, she  is  seen  as a model as was   elected to the Ashoka Fellowship in 2011. Ashoka Fellows are leading social entrepreneurs who have innovative solutions to social problems and the potential to change patterns across society. They work in over 70 countries around the globe in every area of human need. Umoru belongs to this club of the exalted.

    It was in the university that Cynthia gave her interest in agriculture more attention. She took courses in fisheries, and multi-level marketing, and ran a successful cake and cookie business. Cynthia also realised how useful mini-livestock farming could be for peaking young peoples’ interest in the profession of agriculture. Not able to completely divorce herself from the big industries that often appeal to bright youth, however, Cynthia also participated in an internship at ExxonMobil while at university. After graduation,she  launched Honeysuckles PTL Ventures with the primary aim of selling processed food produce. Soon after launching, Cynthia got the opportunity to supply dressed chicken and catfish to one of the fastest growing food retail chains in the country, when the quick service restaurant industry was emerging in Nigeria. However, scarcity and inconsistent quality led Umoru to begin researching production with the intention of a backward integration in preparation for adequate positioning on the food supply chain. She launched a farm to meet the need.

    At ten years in 2014, Honeysuckles currently focuses on high-quality food products using modern packaging and fast delivery, and has its own farms and ponds. The success earned Umoru, the Business Owner of the Year award, a category of the Future Awards; highly esteemed in Nigeria for recognising talent in the younger generation.

    For her, the   journey has been quite difficult. It took her five years to gain relevance. As a young entrepreneur, in her very early days, she lost a lot of the seed capital she got from financial mentors to poor and bad business decisions she  made because there was no one to talk to. She learnt   the lesson a hard. Today, the story is different. She is very successful. As a result, she is determined to show young people that farming can be glamorous and good fortune for them  to trade places with the business executive in the large conglomerate and also the bank’s middle management cadre, which is the initial attraction for most young graduates .

    She is  now focusing on ways to get a new generation of young people interested in and successful at modern agriculture. She makes the rounds of schools in and around Lagos, speaking before hundreds of high school and university students.

    In fact, in a year-long apprenticeship with her Honeysuckles PTL Ventures, those that choose may rotate through all aspects of the value chain, from production to processing to dealing with the final corporate client. Those with their own agribusinesses learn modern skills and ideas to incorporate into their endeavor, while the high school and university students begin to realise that farming does not have to look like their antiquated ideas.

    Tosin Awoyinka is a graduate of Federal University of Technology Minna, and  Federal University of Technology Akure, .She read  agric engineering. Awoyinka started agro business  with a bold dream – transform her life and  others. Through creativity and persistence, she is gradually building  an agro enterprise of her dream.She into crop production,aquaculture, poultry and processing and grow crops under greenhouses. As a woman who founded and built her  own business from scratch, she know how difficult it can be to turn a dream into a lucrative business.

    She had challenges but with faith, patience, gratitude and keeping her eye on the purpose, accepting variations of ideals,she has been able to make it.An agric engineer, Awoyinka, is collaborating with other agro entrepreneurs to and raise awareness on opportunities for young farmers in agriculture. She part of a business coaching program where she  has the opportunity to connect with dozens upon dozens of like-minded entrepreneurs who are also eager to give back to others.

    An entrepreneur to watch is Betty Afolabi. A young fisheries graduate, University of Ado-Ekiti. Ekiti State,she comes from a long line of entrepreneurs.

    A member, Nigeria Agribusiness Group, Cross River State and Secretary, Cross River State women in aquaculture, Miss  Afolabi,  is  co operator of Bangadonase Nigeria limited,based in Calabar,Cross River State.

    She always knew she will go into business.  — Once the right idea presented itself of course. In her’ case, the right idea came in the form of fish farming. “I started fully in 2010 by hatching fish at the back of my house and also rearing 20 chicks.” She has started a fish business with a partner in Calabar, Mrs. Glory Ado Awe ,also a fisheries  graduate, where  they cultivate and sell grown fish to the  market. In her’ mind the importance of local food cannot be overstated both in regards to the goals of her business and the future of agriculture as a whole.

    Afolabi and her partner are happy that are able to produce good fish.

    Like any other agricultural operation, she faced typical challenges, particularly, getting accepted as a female farmer. But she had to prove her worth in the field. Right now, her   challenges are lack of finance for small scale farmer. The other is unfavourable agricultural policy. This makes exporting her product difficult. In Cross River State, she and other women involved in agriculture have formed a union called Women in Aquaculture. It comprises of over 100 women doing fish business, processing to production. The  other ones are reducing the chance of mortality failure and balancing an increase in production with the ability to sell everything they grow. That being said, she is optimistic about the future of her business. Right now, she is into fingerlings production and also processing of catfish for sale. She is also into shrimps and also consultancy.

    Along the line, she found successful women entrepreneurs are also everyday entrepreneurs.

    Also that people who run businesses are making huge contributions but may not be necessarily brand names.

    She sees the successes of those ventures and realise that there’s a real possibility that their startup can do well. So the female agro entrepreneurs ’re taking a different approach.

    Across the country, executive women   are ramping up agro entrepreneurship opportunities, as they pursue their dreams of lucrative innovation, and startup glory.

    Some of the women involved in agriculture and food production, hold  international  MBAs that   are part of a striking trend among business school students toward entrepreneurship. Increasingly, they are rushing to apply their business skills to their own enterprises. For them, agro entrepreneurship is entering the mainstream in the economy and therefore it’s starting to enter the mainstream in the business schools.

    For instance, Lagos Business School has started something on agribusiness management and this has served as the primary impetus toward entrepreneurship.

    As tech-driven agro business companies are spreading, highly ranked business schools are right on their heels.

    Chief Executive Officer, Melinda-D Global Farms, George Omololu Akinbi said entry of young female graduate into agriculture  portend a greatfuture for the nation.

    According to him, young women pursue agriculture with great vigour. He believes  agriculture is expanding the horizons of  young ladies who want  to become farmers. He look forward to seeing these young women flourish.

    Meanwhile, West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP) has urged youths to harness the vast business opportunities in the agricultural sector rather than seek paid employment. Assistant Project Accountant of WAAPP, Mr Godffery Onuegbu,  made at a training workshop for 50 selected youths and women on cassava and fruit juice processing technology, in Awka.

    “We have enough agricultural raw materials available in the southeast that could change the fortunes of our youths and women roaming the streets for employment.

    “A lot of fruits, including oranges, pineapples, pawpaw, mangoes, among others are rotting away in the region which can be harnessed into fruit juice.

    “The by-product from fruit processing can also be converted to animal feed.

    “Nigeria is a ready market for all these produce but the issue is that our youths do not show interest in the business.

    “I encourage the youths to look inwards in the area of agriculture instead of applying for jobs all over the place,” Onuegbu said.

    Technical Assistant to the National Project Coordinator of WAAPP, Mrs Grace Samuel,  said interested youths could be linked to funding institutions.

    Samuel explained that WAAPP was collaborating with the Rural Finance Institution Building Programme to provide grants, not exceeding five million naira, for cassava and fruit juice processing.

    She urged the state governments in the zone to develop an agricultural framework that would encourage the training of the youth in fruit and cassava processing.

  • Women in medicine rehabilitate school in Ebonyi

    Women in medicine rehabilitate school in Ebonyi

    The Medical Women Association of Nigeria (MWAN), Ebonyi State, has renovated a block of classrooms at Ndiebo Community Primary School, Abakaliki, the state capital.

    It also sank a borehole in the school and built an assembly ground podium in addition to a toilet.

    The association equally planted trees and flowers to beautify the school.

    At the flag-off of the facilities, president of the association Dr Thecla said the focus of her administration is improving the health of schoolchildren through services, education and information, and promoting a healthy environment.

    •The team testing the water project
    •The team testing the water project

    “The association has visited several schools in Abakaliki, both public and private schools, delivering health talks and demonstrations on topical issues such as hand washing to prevent diseases (accompanied with donation of customised tap buckets) oral hygiene to prevent dental caries (with distribution of toothbrushes and tooth pastes to children) sickle cell anaemia, debilitating but largely preventable disease; malaria and its prevention, to mention but a few”.

    “In the bid to promote a healthy environment, the association planted over fifty ornamental trees at Nkaliki Nnuhu Primary School, Abakaliki to beautify the school compound. We wanted to do much more in the school but met some community challenges”.

    “This led to our further search for a school where we could showcase our idea of a health promoting school”.

    “Search criteria included a public school, located in a rural or suburban area without water and toilet facilities, and with a significant population of children (of the poor)”.

    “Our unbiased search led to Ndiebo Ishieke Community Primary School and here we are today. We came and saw that this school has no source of water, no toilet facility and the central classroom was extremely dilapidated with holes in the weak walls, and torn roof”.

    “The school environment looked bare and harsh, not child-friendly. I must really recognise the effort of the government through SUBEB, in fencing the school compound, which was of immeasurable importance, and putting up a classroom block”.

    •The renovated classroom block
    •The renovated classroom block

    Dr Ezeonu said when MWAN came to Ndiebo Ishieke Community Primary School, “we saw and conquered. Today, this school has a newly built functional standard water borehole, a six-room toilet facility, a renovated classroom block, a podium for morning assemblies, and a compound decorated with ornamental and fruit trees.”

    All these have been put up by the Medical Women’s Association of Nigeria, Ebonyi State chapter, by the help and grace of God, and with the help of our supporters and advisers”.

    She said part of the challenges faced by the association was when it was duped by fraudsters.

    She said: “we give God all the glory because it was no easy task. I must make it known to all that in the course of the project we got into the hands of fraudsters, by the name Water and Horticulture Development said to be managed by Community Borehole Development assistance Program and Nigerian Houses and Environment Sanitisation and Protection programme led by one Dominic Essien”.

    “They flounted fake papers and dossiers, and claimed to be affiliated to the ministry of works. They took our money and  abandoned

    the project. However, we are more than conquerors, through christ. We picked up broken bones and set to work again and we were able to put in place what you see today, within our limited resources”.

    Commissioning the project, National President of the Association, Dr Mrs Akwa Owoh commended MWAN for embarking on the project.

    She said MWAN Ebonyi state chapter is one of the most vibrant chapters of the association.

    Principal of the school, Mrs Gladys Akaeme appreciation of the students and PTA for the projects.

    “What you have done will not only promotee a favourable teaching and learning environment but will go a long way to prevent the spread of communicable diseases on my teachers and pupils as result of poor management and disposal of human waste and will also save the lives of our pupils who cross the dangerous road near the school compound in search of clean water to drink”.

    The elated pupils of the schools danced and. sang the praises of the association.

    The Parents Teachers Association (PTA) also presented gifts to the association in appreciation for the gesture.

     

  • Free cancer screening for women

    Free cancer screening for women

    Oyo-East Local Government Area of Oyo State, Dr. Ohize Stephen Ogirima has organised community sensitisation, free screening and treatment for women in the area.

    He also organised capacity building training for local government health workers on early detection and treatment of the ailment.

    Another issue that he feels concerned about is that there is little or no awareness on the part of women on the need to go for regular screening for early detection of the disease. They, most often, wait for symptoms of the disease to manifest before seeing a doctor.

    Dr. Ogirima, with NYSC batch number OY/14C/1776, said he is determined to save women from the dreaded terminal disease.

    •Medical personnel attending to a woman
    •Medical personnel attending to a woman

    Under the community development project known as NYSC Vanguard, Dr. Ogirima, with the support of some of his colleagues, started a sensitisation programme for residents in the four local government areas; namelyAfijio, Atiba, Oyo-East and Oyo-West that make up Oyo metropolis.

    Thereafter, he established two screening centres at the Primary Health Centre, Araromi and the Ajayi Crowther University, both in Oyo town.

    At the centres, about 500 women benefitted from the three-day free cervical cancer screening outreach.  Medical experts from the Planned Parenthood Federation of Nigeria (PPFN) and the Gynaecology and Oncology units of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife Osun State were part of the team.

    The State Hospital and the Ajayi Crowther University had agreed to work with the PPFN to ensure continuity. They also accepted to adopt the revolving fund scheme system for the low-cost cervical cancer screening units to be established. There was also an agreement on training of seven health workers from some of the health facilities in the ancient town.

    While each of the two institutions has provided two members of staff for training on visual inspection methods and preparation of a Pap Smear Slide, the Oyo-East Local Government Area has given approval for the use of the Primary Health Centre at Araromi for outreach and staff training programme.

    In a chat with Southwest Report, Dr. Ogirima revealed that some of the symptoms of cervical cancer include abnormal vaginal bleeding, bleeding that occurs between

    regular menstrual periods, bleeding after sexual intercourse, douching as well as heavier-than-usual menstrual periods that last longer.

    Others, according to him, include bleeding after menopause, increased vaginal discharge, pelvic pain and pain during sexual intercourse.

    “Cervical screening is a way of diagnosing the disease at an early pre-cancerous stage and preventing the ailment from developing.

    The essence of screening tests is to identify pre-cancerous changes in the cells of the cervix that could develop into cancer.

    “The tests can also diagnose the disease by identifying cancer cells that are already present. If the abnormal tissue or cells can be removed, then the disease can be prevented from progressing further into cancer.

    “With successful screening of cervical cancer in the past several decades, the number of women diagnosed each year of the disease is declining,” he said.

    Dr Ogirima further explained that while organised and quality-assured cytology-based screening programmes have substantially reduced incidence of cervical cancer in many developed countries, successfully organised population-based cancer screening programmes are yet to be implemented in developing countries, including Nigeria. This, he said, is despite having the greater burden of the terminal disease.

    On why cases of cervical cancer are on the increase, he noted that limited human and financial resources, competing health needs, poorly developed health care services, uninformed and disempowered female population, widespread poverty and the cumbersome nature of the prevailing cytology-based screening programmes are some of the reasons why the ailment is prevalent.

    Proffering solutions to the problem, Dr. Ogirima advocated a realistic approach to screening of the ailment in line with the recommendation of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

    He said: “Dealing with bureaucratic bottlenecks, supply of quality-assured consumables, non-availability of call and recall system as well as poor statistics on screening coverage will reduce the prevalence of the disease.

    “With appropriate planning and implementation, an organised and quality-assured screening service is possible even in a low-resource setting.”

    Continuing, he said cervical cancer is one of the most common types of cancer of the female reproductive system.

    It is a disease in which cells of the cervix, the lower part of the uterus and the adjoining vagina become cancerous or malignant.

    It is usually a slow-growing kind of cancer that may not present initial symptoms, but can be detected with regular screening by Pap tests (a procedure in which cells are scraped from the cervix and viewed under a microscope) and detection of Human Papillioma Virus (HPV).

    Most cervical cancers are linked to infection by HPV. Approximately 80 per cent of cervical cancers are squamous cell carcinomas, which arise from cells in the exocervix (the outer portion of cervix), while about 15 per cent are adenocarcinomas, which arise from a different type of cell in the endocervix (the inner portion of cervix).

     

  • Group seeks more rights for women

    A civil society group, Voices for Change (V4C), has condemned social  discrimination against women.It said women should be accorded the same rights their male counterparts enjoy.

    At a seminar on gender equality for traditional rulers in Lagos, the group said the customs and traditions which relegate women to the background should be done away with.

    According to V4C, the subjugation of women by traditional institutions, which for instance, makes it impossible for a woman to be appointed a monarch, must be outlawed.

    The event’s facilitator, V4C’s Key Influencer Lead, Denis Onoise, said it was organised to explore the critical role men, such as the monarchs, can play in fostering gender equality.

    The forum revealed deeply entrenched beliefs among traditionalists that women have limited rights. Asked if it were easier to be a man in Nigeria than a woman, the monarchs except one said it was easier to be a man. Asked if men needed more sex than women, all of them also agreed.

    They all agreed that gender equality would come at a high cost to men because they will be unwilling to relinquish their privileges.

    Asked if a woman can be on Oba in Lagos, for instance, majority of the monarchs said: “Impossible!” “Abomination”! They said the only time it happened was in Ijebuland during a war and because all the men were at the battlefront.

    But asked if women make better parents than men, the monarchs all agreed, saying it was because women spent more time at home.

    The monarchs, however, agreed that women should be given more rights rather than being shut out of opportunities.

    Onoise said women should be carried along and allowed to make input when developmental decisions are made.

    “Gender equality is not about women taking over. We’re not saying women should take over, but it’s for all to work together towards a more just society. At the end of the day, women are the one suffering and that must end.

    “Gender equality means that men and women enjoy the same status. They both share the same opportunities for realising their human rights and potential to contribute and benefit from all spheres of society – economic, political, social, cultural,” he said.

    According to Onoise, cultural and religious values play a key role in determining discriminatory attitudes and behaviors. He recalled the Biblical story of an adulterous woman who was to be stoned to death while no punishment was prescribed for the man who committed the adultery with her.

    He said there is the need to encourage gender equitable behaviors, such as men and women making joint decisions about their health, men respecting a woman’s right to demand for or say no to sex, men and women settling differences without violence, and men and women sharing responsibility for parenting and care for others.

    “The roles of men and women are changing in our society. It has slowly become less difficult to step outside of the box. Still, it is hard for men and women to live outside of these boxes,” adding that jettisoning strongly held beliefs will make it easier for men and women “to live outside of the boxes.”

    Permanent Secretary, Local Government and Community Affairs, Lagos State, Mr Gafar Sanuth, said the state remains one of the few that has had successive women deputy-governors.

    “The issue of gender equality has been in practice for years in Lagos,” he said, urging the monarchs to accord women more recognition in their domains.

     

  • Foundation to empower women in business

    Youth for Technology Foundation has hinted of plans to provide seed funding for women that have participated in their training programmes in Nigeria.

    The President and CEO of Youth for Technology Foundation, Mrs. Njideka Harry, who spoke in an interview with The Nation at the entrepreneur and information and communication technology training for over 100 women and youths in business in Lagos organised by YTF in conjunction with MasterCard Limited.

    According to Harry, the fund set out to provide support for women in business, especially in social services, manufacturing and hospitality business which will commence by November, 2015.

    She noted that the financial System Strategy 2020, a forward-looking initiative of the Federal Government of Nigeria, highlights that SMEs represent about 96% of Nigerian businesses are faced with numerous challenges such as infrastructure and knowledge gaps, in addition to a poor financial support and credit environment.

    She lamented that women in developing countries often don’t have access to financial resources, expertise, advisory support and networks needed to start a new business, refine their business models, become profitable and grow.

    She opined that with an adults in population of 85 million and the with more than 159million phone subscription , there is great potential for agent banking and other models which enable remote access to financial service in Nigeria.

    In her response, one of the participants at the training, Mrs. Abosede Giwa said that the training has helped to open her eyes to the importance of financial literacy and use of mobile technology for her business.

  • ITF, NIPC to promote women, youth entrepreneurship growth

    ITF, NIPC to promote women, youth entrepreneurship growth

    The Industrial Training Fund (ITF) and the Nigeria Investment Promotion Council, (NIPC) are to sign a Memorandum of Understanding that would facilitate the training and development of women and youth entrepreneurs.

    ITF is also set to host the first-ever National Skills Summit to revive the manpower sector and change the face of training, skills development, job creation and entrepreneurship in Nigeria.

    ITF Director-General/Chief Executive Officer, Dr.  Juliet Chukkas-Onaeko, made this known while receiving the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council, (NIPC), Mrs. Uju Hassan-Baba, in her office in Abuja.

    Mrs. Chukkas-Onaeko  said  the agency was mindful of President Muhammadu Buhari’s disposition towards youth empowerment and job creation to address unemployment, pointing out that  ITF has realigned some of its activities to enable it drive change in that direction.

    She said capacity building for women entrepreneurs is one of ITF’s areas of focus, noting that the fund would also continue to train women and youths in book keeping, business decision making and identification of markets for products.

    Pledging to broaden the synergy for manpower development, particularly in the non-oil sectors, Mrs Chukkas-Onaeko and Hassan-Bada noted that the collaboration was critical to effective local skills acquisition and manpower development for driving diversification.

    According to Mrs Chukkas-Onaeko, ITF is shifting focus from dependence on oil.

    She said with its abundant manpower deposits, Nigeria could become one of the most industrialised nations in the world.

    ITF, she said, has raised a business training team that can handle the training of women and youth entrepreneurs. ITF, she said, has over 1,000 trainers that provide services in basically all sectors of the economy.

    Mrs Chukkas-Onaeko stressed the need for local skill development in other sectors of the economy that are of comparative advantage to the country.

    Empowering women, she said, was critical to ITF’s agenda as well, adding that both agencies have agreed to collaborate on capacity development for women entrepreneurs along the agricultural value chain.