From Sola Ojo, Kaduna
As a part of its programme on women, peace and security (WPS) in Nigeria (phase II), the UN Women on Thursday took the ‘HeForShe’ campaign to Kaduna State to push for gender equality support in the state.
‘HeForShe’ is a solidarity movement that provides a systematic approach and targeted platform on which men and boys can engage and become change agents towards the achievement of gender equality.
Taking the participants through the orientation workshop at a hotel in Kaduna, National Programme Officer, UN Women, Peter Mancha said, the need for the ‘HeForShe’ campaign became necessary because gender equality is central to the realisation of sustainable development goals of the United Nations.
According to him, the ‘HeForShe’ campaign was officially launched in Nigeria on May 23, 2017, by the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, facilitated by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development and supported by UN Women.
The national launch of the campaign then paved the way for the subsequent campaign launches in Plateau, Gombe, and Adamawa states in the same year with Yobe and Borno states in December 2018 and March 2019.
In 2020, the Lagos State government launched the campaign to advocate for women’s rights; most recently, the Cross River State, on the 25th of May 2021, became the 8th state in Nigeria to launch this innovative campaign.
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Commissioner, Human Services and Social Development (HSSD) remarked that the participation of women is often seen as favours to the women instead of being essential to peace and security, “that is why we welcome UN Women to Kaduna State and appreciate all their planned support under the WPS agenda”.
She said “one of the strategies adopted by the UN Women programme in Kaduna State is Male Engagement as Gender Champions for the promotion of gender equality – a campaign that recognises that gender equality is not only a struggle for women, by women but a development process through which men and boys become agents of change for the achievement of gender equality.
“Achieving gender equality requires an inclusive approach that both recognizes men and boys as partners for women’s rights and acknowledges how they stand to benefit from greater equality.
“When war breaks, women and girls and children suffer untold hardships as they endure sexual violence and other assaults on them. When there is no war, they live in fear of the ravaging effects of drought, famine, flooding, banditry, and the like”.
She however sought the indulgence of participants who were drawn from government, traditional and religious leaders, heads of security agencies, civil society organizations and gender advocates, to be committed to attaining the set goal for the campaign which is to accelerate women’s economic empowerment, support women’s role in peace and security processes, advance women’s political participation and leadership, and eliminate gender-based violence.