The President, Development Initiative For African Women, Dr. Chidinma Uwajumogu, took the time on Sunday to join the rest of the world to commemorate the International Women Day with the theme #EachForEqual.
She went on to hail women as the “true soul of the world” in a release made available to newsmen by her media office on Sunday.
Dr Chidinma Uwajumogu praised the role of women in nation-building and in every sector of life, noting that women are leading the change and taking more positions of influence and power across the world.
She commended the existing effort by government, development partners and the international community at advancing the empowerment and development of women for the needed economic prosperity in Nigeria, Imo state and Okigwe zone, insisting that women empowerment and inclusion, especially in socio-economic development and political decision-making process, has continued to suffer legislative and policy neglect in all grounds.
Dr. Uwajumogu expressed deep concern over the inability to secure empowerment and development advancement opportunities for Nigerian women through the Gender and Equal Opportunity Bill, noting also that the inability of the National Assembly to panel bit and pass the bill is a major setback in safeguarding girls’ access to education, freedom for women to participate in any economic activity of their choice and their right to freedom from violence.
She called on government at all levels to work to bridge the wild gap in women’s access to basic infrastructural services like water, shelter, good roads, schools, health centres, as well as create employment opportunities through skill/technical training and more investment in agriculture.
According to her, sinking of boreholes and donation of motorcycles to constituencies as a political tradition is not enough.
The Imo north senatorial hopeful said she would make personal sacrifices to empower women and youths so as to reduce poverty in her constituency.
