The Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen, says empowering women and girls is crucial to ensuring economic growth, political stability, and social transformation.
Tallen said this at a virtual webinar seminar on Women Empowerment, organised by the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) in Abuja on Friday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the seminar was organised to highlight UAE’s efforts at empowering women and protecting the girl-child.
The minister applauded the ambassador, Dr Fahad Al-Taffaq, for driving the agenda of the UAE in creating a platform for highlighting its efforts at empowering and protecting women and girls.
According to her, it is also to discuss emerging challenges in the attainment of gender equality.
“Women empowerment as we all know entails all activities that build the capacity of women and the girl-child to be socially and economically self-reliant.
“This enables them to represent their interest in a responsible and independent manner.
“It is the process of becoming stronger and more confident first as a human being, then as women in directing one’s life and claiming one’s right.
“Empowerment as action refers both to the process of self-empowerment and professional support of people Including women.
“This enables them to overcome their sense of powerlessness and lack of influence, to recognise and use their resources to empower women and girls.
“Also, there’s need to educate the girl child and to make sure they also learn trade by acquiring basic skills, ” the minister said.
She added that women empowerment was essential to the health and social development of families, communities, and countries.
She said women could reach their full potentials if they were to live safe, fulfilled, and productive lives.
Dr Claudia Okeke, the Chief Executive Officer for Aids for Women, Adolescents and Children International Organisation (AWACIO) said women empowerment and education remained vital aspects of building homes and communities.
Shee said her organisation had worked closely with the UAE Embassy on women empowerment, citing the provision of heavy -duty mechanical grinders to 30 women within the FCT as one of the projects implemented.
“These women were impoverished individuals from rural areas in the FCT; their income potential is zero naira a week.
“Following the provision of grinders, their average income rose to about N10,000 a week.
“The promotion of these women’s livelihood has successfully increased their success power,” she said.
Okeke added that reports showed that the women were generating and taking income to their homes and impacting their communities.
