The executive-director of the Development Research and Projects Centre, dRPC, Judith-Ann Walker, has declared that women empowerment and inclusion remains the only solution to eradicating household poverty in the country.
Mrs Walker made the declaration on Thursday while moderating a panel on the sidelines of the ongoing 65th annual conference of the Nigerian Economic Society in Abuja.
According to her, the overarching reason for domesticating the National WEE policy at the subnational level is to serve as a set of principles that guide actions and decisions among policymakers to achieve specific goals of improving the economic well-being of women at that level.
“This allows for tailored strategies that address specific local needs and challenges while aligning with the broader national objectives,’ Mrs Walker added.
She explained that implementing the policy at the federal and subnational levels will serve as a guidance that provides a framework for decision-making, ensuring that actions, such as budgeting, Annual Operating Plans, etc are consistent with the values and objectives of the state governments, adding that the National Women Economic Empowerment Policy provides the most effective framework for tracking how women benefit from the allocation of resources, from release of finances and from access to opportunities in the economy.
‘’The National Women Economic Empowerment Policy is Nigeria’s only policy instrument around which a strong economic case can be made for the targeting of vulnerable, at risk and disabled women as well as survivors of violence-against-women’’ she added.
While calling for concerted efforts at all levels to ensure the implementation of the policy, she argued that the growing cases of GBV across the 36 states would be drastically reduced to the minimum if women are empowered.
“Statistics and research have shown that once a woman is empowered, then the possibility of being abused is reduced drastically,’’ she added.
Panelists lamented that poverty has rendered women disabled, calling for mainstreaming of women inclusion in all ramifications of the economy.
On the challenges of engagement with the women folks on the importance of the WEE policy, the panelists observed that issues of norms, attitude shifts and other barriers constitute the stumbling blocks against the acceptance of the policy.
The panelists, however, disclosed that, progresses and success have been recorded in the process of ensuring domestication of this policy in some states.
The panels noted that women in the South-East region have embraced the policy because in the region, most women are the bread-winners in the family.
However, according to the panelists, the only challenges women face in the region include the limitations of land ownership, saying that only men have access to land, leaving women behind.
In the Northern part of the country, the panelists believed that women’s challenges include inaccessibility to resources and gender barriers.
But in states like Kano, the panelists disclosed that the state government had keyed into the initiative, especially with the establishment of Business Clinics for supporting women who are doing businesses.
“The wee policy has greatly helped women traders in having a realization that women need inclusion and empowerment in order to thrive,” one of the panelists disclosed.
