IWD: women should occupy space in leadership – NGO

By Ifeoma Ikem

A Human rights activists, Honor Onyebuchukwu, a lawyer and coordinator of Children With Cancer Intervention Initiative, has called on women globally to occupy their space in leadership.

Onyebuchukwu made the call during the 2021 International Women’s Day celebration with the theme: `Women In Leadership: Achieving An Equal Future In A Covid-19 World’.

She noted that women in leadership positions will serve as a panacea for peace and development.

“Globally, International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated every march but the number of countries that have had a female leader continues to expand, the list is still relatively short, and even when women make it to power, they rarely lead for a long time.

“We do not need any imperial proof to show that women in leadership especially in Nigeria is 0.5 percent and this cuts across all strata, at work, in corporate board rooms, businesses, decision making and politics.

“Women are constantly placed on an unequal platform with their male counterparts’’, she added.

She noted that women are discriminated upon, harassed, violated and sometimes killed by the men.

“From the homes to schools, to offices, the girl child/women faces gender stereotype.

“The challenges that women face are humongous, some are cultural, others are religious as well as wickedness and show of power.

“Be that as it may, none of these challenges are insurmountable, so we must kill the conspiracy theory that a woman’s position is in the kitchen’’.

Onyebuchukwu stressed that the theory is one way to continuously keep the women under subjugation.

“How did the men come about this? Who invented this? Don’t the male folks cook as well as eat? She queried.

“Women themselves are no doubt barrier breakers if given the opportunity’’.

She pointed out that one of the greatest ways to tackle gender inequality is to give both male and female equal opportunity at all times to exhibit and achieve their God given talents and creativity.

“Women are to be allowed the opportunity to excel and not to be pitied. If a woman merits a position above her male counterpart, let her have it.

“We therefore advocate that in curbing the numerous challenges facing the women folk, there must be deliberate and intentional collaboration by all stakeholders including in education and legislations.

“Educationally, it will not be out of place if humanism is taught in our schools, from kindergarten to tertiary, as one thing that stands out in the quest for gender equality is that both females and males are first and foremost human beings.

“Moreover, educating the girl child as a matter of policy making will go a very long way to bridge the so distant gab created by gender inequality’’.

She added that focusing on legislation is key to ending gender inequality.

“A good number of our laws discriminate against women and such laws should immediately be repealed.

“Laws should be promulgated, granting 60% of scholarships to female students at all levels of education as well as amendment of our Constitution to include the doctrine of ‘Twinism’ in all Political Elective/Appointed positions.

“In this manner positions are alternated between males and females’’.

According to her, `this doctrine is working very well in Rwanda in Central Africa and that nation is already making giant developmental strides.

“Women are oftentimes, schemed out of their desire to run for elective positions by their male counterparts. The doctrine of ‘Twinism’ will obviously check mate this.

“Give women their merited top leadership positions and in no short period, obvious peace and development will be made manifest.

“Women are created to incubate and produce, we are ready. I wish Nigerian women happy 2021 International Women’s Day’’, she added.