Coalitions of Non -Governmental organizations in Bauchi State on Monday urged government at all levels to improve the security situation in all the schools across the country.
They made the call while marking 2021 International Women’s Day (IWD) at the Police Command, Bauchi.
The Executive Director of Attah Sisters Helping Hands (ASHH) Foundation, Mrs Comfort Attah, said that the significance of the day was to celebrate women folk on their contributions to the growth and development of the society.
She said the rally marked the women day and emphasized the need to curb the menace of gender based violence across the world.
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Attah called on government at all levels to provide security in schools to protect the children against rape , violence and other social menace.
Attah Sisters Helping Hands (ASHH) in conjunction with Federation of Muslims Women Association of Nigeria (FOMWAN), Bauchi State chapter, called for the enhancement of Security in all schools across the country.
On her part, Amirah of Federation of Muslim Women Association of Nigeria (FOMWAN), Hajiya A’ishatu Ibrahim Kilishi, said FOMWAN in collaboration with ASH Foundation supported by ActionAid and Canada Global Affairs, marked the event with over 30 women-led organizations and 15 allied organizations led by men in support of women.
“Today, it is a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call for action for accelerating gender parity”, she said.
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According to Hajiya Aishatu, the various organizations are passionate about spreading the message of Gender transformation and the need for peace to reign in the society.
She called on women to critically examine their situation and challenge those obstacles that stand in their way to development with a view to overcoming them.
Aishatu, while calling on women to stand up against the current insecurity in the country, also appealed to all Nigerians to dialogue towards finding a lasting solution to the menace.
She lamented that despite the fact that women constitute 49 percent of Nigeria’s population, they have been relegated in the areas of development policies, projects and programmes especially in political representation, access to economic tools of production and leadership.
Aishatu who noted that women require a safe environment to engage positively in all walks of lives towards ensuring a sustainable wellbeing, regretted that the contributions of women to national development are usually underrated or even go unnoticed.
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Hajiya Aishatu said it is imperative that the government takes deliberate steps to empower women with the requisite knowledge and skills as major stakeholders in national development.
She said that the NGOs were at the police command to show their gratitude to the Commissioner of Police and his personnel for their roles of taking proactive measures to addressing all forms of violence against women in the state.
She recalled that in recent times, women have been major victims of security challenges, insecurity has rendered many as widows and orphans who have become a national burden for many years to come.
They, however, commended Governor Bala Mohammed for spearheading the initiative of team work around the government of the six northeastern states to challenge insecurity in the subregion.