UN Women has reaffirmed its commitment to working with media practitioners to promote women’s rights in Nigeria.
Ms Comfort Lamptey, UN Country Representative in Nigeria, said this in her address at a Media Breakfast on 2020 International Women Day (IWD) and generation equality campaign on Wednesday in Abuja.
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She said that partnership with the media had become key for the UN Women to not just impact positively on women and girls, but to also achieve gender equality.
“It is critical to build and foster partnership with the media, because the work we have in promoting women’s right and gender equality is not an overnight job.
“We have to start somewhere and you are key partners for us; so I hope you will continue to sustain this engagement beyond now.
“Often time people misunderstand the work we are doing on promoting women’s right and gender equality.
“The concepts are not well understood and sometimes it is misrepresented, as if women want to take over and put men aside.
“Not recognising what we are trying to do is build healthier, safer or prosperous society and that no society can develop if all the resources in that society are not optimally harnessed,” Lamptey said.
She urged media practitioners to do more in educating people about the importance of gender equality agenda and achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) on women and girls.
She said that 2020 marked the 25th anniversary in the women’s right calendar since the adoption of the global blueprints for women empowerment in Beijing, China in 1995.
She described the theme for this year’s IWD `I am generation equality: realising women’s rights’ as apt in recognition of the social, economic, cultural and political achievement of women.
Speaking, Ms Elise Dietrichson, Programme Analyst, Women, Peace and Security, described Nigeria as one of the 189 countries that adopted the Beijing declaration 1995.
According to her, the Beijing report formed part of a global document produced to promote women’s rights and to end violence against women and girls.
“The report is used actively as key document for women’s movement all over the world to give the details into the fight for women’s rights worldwide, including Nigeria.
“Nigeria was one of 189 countries that declared the Beijing declaration and call for action, in 2019 Nigeria and other member states submitted reports on achievements, identified gaps.
“Also, setbacks and identified strategies for tackling those about where we are and achieving women’s rights.
“The report of this review should resort in renewed commitment and clear priority actions, and this review also strengthens Nigeria’s commitment to reporting on the SDGs,” Dietrichson said.
UN National Programme Coordinator, Ms Patience Ekeoba, said that specific events and activities had been scheduled to hold nationwide from Feb. 1 to March 32 to commemorate the day.
She urged media practitioners to help disseminate information about women’s rights issues so that they would be discussed to achieve desired goals.
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