From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The UN Women, through the Joint EU-UN Spotlight Initiative in collaboration with leading women from the creative arts industry, launched the Nigerian chapter of the Forum for Women in Film and Television International (WIFTI), at the weekend.
UN Women Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Comfort Lamptey, said the initiative is to assure women in the creative arts industry come together to help advance women’s rights.
She said WIFTI is a global network dedicated to advancing professional development and achievement for women working in all areas of film, video, and other screen-based media.
In recognition of the important role the media and entertainment industry play in shaping attitudes, norms and culture within society, the launch of the WIFTI Network Nigeria chapter will provide an important organising platform for women in film and television to respond to gender-related priorities within their industry, whilst also facilitating their efforts to champion gender equality and women’s empowerment more broadly in Nigeria.
“As much as we work to support the government to translate international commitment on women’s rights into practice, and into laws and policies on the ground, we are also very much an organisation rooted in women’s movement in civil society, because we believe when women come together as a collective, they are a powerful force for change.
“Our mandate of really supporting in this case, women in the creative arts industry to come together to help advance women’s rights is the key factor here.
“It’s important for women’s rights in Nigeria and it is important for us to ensure all hands are on deck to support the work on gender, the 2020 global gender gap index places Nigeria at 128 out of 153 countries, there is a lot to work to be done,” Lamptey said.
