According to Dr Patrick Osagie, permanent secretary of the Edo State Ministry of Youth and Gender Issues, the ministry is prepared to work with the non-governmental organisation Echoes of Women in West Africa (ECOWA) to advance peace and security for women and girls in Africa.
The Permanent Secretary recently indicated, during a courtesy visit by ECOWA to the ministry, that the ministry is burdened with the responsibility to address gender issues and, thus, cannot shirk its role.
He also noted that “when we talk about economic empowerment of women, it means the total wellbeing of a woman and therefore it’s a total package.”
The Permanent Secretary who asked for the name of the bill which was with the Ministry of Justice advised that more meetings be scheduled with the director of Gender Issues to check what they want to do so that there would not be a conflict of bills.
“The Ministry of Youth and Gender Issues is ready to collaborate and help in the pursuit of domesticating the bills,” he added
The team lead of ECOWA, Duru Kate stated that they got a grant to fund and promote a bill of Economic Justice for women.
According to her, the economic justice project was prompted by their passion and commitment to lift the urban poor and rural women out of drudgery by bringing them into the mainstream of the State economy and also building their capacity to participate in high-income yielding economic activities.
“The project is designed to address endemic economic injustice against Nigerian women with particular reference to women in Edo state,” She said, adding that, “the reason for their visit is to sensitize the Ministry as an important stakeholder and seek support for the success of the life-changing initiative.
While disclosing that the bill is being drafted at the moment by the Ministry of Justice the team leader stated that their intervention can contribute to the bigger picture of transforming power to advance women’s rights.
“The project with support from Urgent Action Fund will facilitate the enactment of a law that addresses the provision of Economic rights of women,” she added