From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen, has assured that her ministry would partner the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) on key areas to create a healthier and better society for women and children.
She gave the assurance when the National President of NAWOJ, Ladi Bala, led a delegation on a courtesy visit to her office on Abuja.
While identifying the key areas of collaboration as the girl-child education, gender-based violence, and women participation in politics, the minister noted that her Ministry’s mandates and that of NAWOJ are similar.
She called on women groups in the country to speak out against the rising cases of gender-based violence and other ills perpetrated against women and girls in the country. She added that effective representation of women in politics is another major assignment of her ministry, noting that without such representation, there will be no meaningful advancement for them.
The minister also stressed the need to raise the bar by ensuring that women who are into small-scale businesses are supported in every way necessary to enable them cater for their families.
Earlier in her remarks, Bala, National President of NAWOJ, called on the Federal Government to ensure that the school environment is safe for Nigerian children, in the face of increasing insecurity in the country. She expressed deep concern over cases of abduction of schoolchildren by insurgents in parts of the country.