INTERNATONAL WOMEN’S DAY: IMO MEN SOLICIT MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN
REPORTER: CHINAZO ILECHUKWU
Parents have been urged to pay more attention to the training and empowerment of the girl child to enable her realize her potential.
At a workshop organized for community and religious leaders to mark this year’s International Women’s Day in Owerri, Mr. Oluchukwu Nnabugwu of a nongovernmental organization, “Community Life Project,” expressed regret that women had continued to suffer neglect in families.
He explained that training of male children had continued to receive priority to the detriment of their female counterparts, especially in the south east and some parts of the country, thereby depriving the society of the positive impacts that women were endowed with.
Mr. Nnabugwu said men were selected for the workshop to champion the course in the rural communities while appealing to the government to implement gender equality laws to bridge the gap existing between men and women in the society.
Mr. Nnabugwu, who is also Chairman Youth Wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria, admonished the girl child to rise and subdue the psychological effects of her upbringing, which tended to make female children feel inferior before the men folk.
Similarly, Mr. Chinedu Eze of a nongovernmental organization said the forum had afforded the opportunity to engage with the men on the need to invest in women, the challenges inherent in this and how to overcome the obstacles.
He noted that women were catalysts to national development.
Mr. Eze identified cultural and religious beliefs as some of the factors inhibiting women empowerment and appealed to Nigerians to disabuse their minds and invest in the girl child in line with the theme of this year’s celebration which is “Investing in women, accelerate progress.”
Another speaker, the Reverend Glory Ugoh, described women as the mirror of every society, adding that the role of women in the uplifting of mankind could never be overemphasized.
EDITED BY CHUKWUBUIKE MADU
