Women
By Ojo Oluwafemi
The Wife of Ondo State Governor, Mrs Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, has commended women for their compassion and contributions during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) shutdown by keeping the home front running.
The governor’s wife gave the commendation in a statement signed by her Senior Special Assistant on Media, Fademi Oluwatobi and made available to newsmen in Akure on Monday to commemorate the 2021 International Women’s Day.
She therefore urged stakeholders across Ondo state to challenge gender inequality, call out bias, question stereotypes and help forge an inclusive world.
Mrs Akeredolu described the year 2020 as a difficult with the COVID-19 pandemic that spared no one and was particularly challenging for women.
The Governor’s wife expressed a need for women to be better represented in leadership position, with a promise not to give up the fight on that front.
She regretted the staggering impacts of the pandemic on women from being pushed into poverty, to loss of jobs as the informal economy shrinks, to an alarming spike in Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Mrs Akeredolu recently launched a Yellow Card Initiative among secondary school girls and established SGBV Emergency Response Center with Toll free numbers as part of efforts to end all forms of SGBV in the state.
According to her, the International Women’s Day is also a call to action towards accelerating gender parity and raising funds for female-focused charities.
She noted that her moves serve as a pointer to the 2021 campaign theme: “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world”, which emphasises why feminine leadership makes a difference.
“Akeredolu administration will continue to prioritise women socio-economic development, train more girls to ‘BEMORE’; and improve their skills in ICT and solar technology so as to close the gender gap in the technology space”, She said.
The wife of the Governor urged Ondo state women to take up decision-making positions so as to have more inclusive policies that will benefit the society.
She said the UN revealed that countries led by women had better COVID-19 outcomes; and successes of leaders, such as Germany’s Angela Merkel, New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern, Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen, Taiwan’s Tsai Ing-wen and Finland’s Sanna Marin remain remarkable.
NAN reports that over one thousand women from the 18 local government areas of the State have been given SOLAYO Birth kits to mark the 2021 International Women’s Day.
