African women condemn Nigerian government’s rejection of gender bill

Independent

For overturning the demands by the Nigerian women to pass the gender equality bill, the National Assembly has come under severe attack by women from other African countries and their counterparts in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The women who met in Dubai frowned at the nation’s lawmaking arm of government and expressed deep disappointment that as the most populous black country in the world, Nigeria should show a good example by doing things that other African countries that look up to its leadership role could emulate, adding that no country can develop effectively without the contributions of women.

It would be recalled that of the five items on the women’s gender equality bill, the National Assembly chose to rescind from its earlier decision of outright rejection of the gender equality opportunity bill and has promised to have a second look at three of the items in the bill.

The women who gathered in Dubai for the AfroZons Soundoff global music fiesta organized by  the  Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism called on the Nigerian government to prevail on the National Assembly to pass the bill thereby creating socio-economic and political opportunities for Nigerian women.

According to them, every responsible government should place a premium on issues that affect women because they have a special way of attracting developments and making their countries great. 

Ms. Kamala Harry, a Tanzanian Radio Host in Dubai believes that, “the gender-based bill is a very important bill that any good government should consider and pass into law. I don’t know why it should be rejected because you cannot promote the economy without promoting the womanhood. 

“Currently, my country has a female President (Samia Suluhu Hassan) and she is the first President in Tanzanian history. She has attracted a lot of developments and our economy is thriving. Every responsible government should care about the issues of women because women can break new grounds and achieve great things”, she said.

 “As we celebrate this year’s international women day, the Nigeria government should look at the bills again and find a way to accept them  or review some of them instead of rejecting them “, Kamala concluded…