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Wife of Lagos State governor, Bolanle Ambode, and organised labour have emphasised the need for the implementation of policies that promote gender equality and eliminate discriminatory practices against women.
They stated this, Thursday, on the occasion of International Women’s Day, saying women needed support to excel in their chosen fields of endeavour. March 8, every year is observed world over as International Women’s Day
Ambode, who joined the rest of the women in Lagos at the Police College, Ikeja, to mark the day, said women on their own must be ready to challenge stereotypes and should rise up to question old established practices that were not women-friendly.
“We must remove barriers that stand in the way of the progress of women. When we stand together, we can achieve anything and any obstacle can be pulled down. We must nominate and support women for emerging opportunities, whenever they arise.
Supporting one another is a duty we owe and must carry out every time for women to move on, “she said.
She stated that the theme of this year’s celebration, “Press for Progress” was suitable as it gave assurance of greater successes as women pressed further.
Speaking separately, Joe Ajaero, president of United Labour Congress (ULC), called for the inclusion of women in all spheres of life.
According to Ajaero, “when a segment of any society is excluded, it operates in decapitation and its productive energies are not wholly mobilised and marshalled into socio-economic processes. In such a case, what you get is sub optimum output.”
Ajaero argued that gender inclusiveness was not a pursuit of charity but a genuine pursuit of national development, adding that International Women’s Day, should therefore not be an occasion only to “assuage our feelings of guilt but imbibe practices that promote gender equality.”
Francis Johnson, president of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) on his part, decried high level of violence against women and the girl child.
Johnson particularly cited the recent abduction of 110 girls from the Government Girls College, Dapchi, Yobe State and the two midwives at Rann, Borno State as indication that require that protection be built around women.
