From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Minister of Women Affiars, 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 her delegation on a courtesy in her office on Abuja.
The minister who noted that her Ministry’s mandates and that of NAWOJ are similar, identified the key areas of collaboration as the girl-child education, gender based violence, and women participation in politics.
While encouraging 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, Tallen said, “We must educate the public, we must educate the young boys. We are grooming young people in schools to be ambassadors to protect the girl-child, to protect women from the evil ones within our society that are abusing innocent souls.”
She added that effective representation of women in politics is another major assignment of her Ministry, noting that without a good representation of women 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, because “empowering a woman has a multiplier effect. It’s empowering the family and society at large.”
Earlier in her remarks, National President of NAWOJ, had called on the Federal Government to ensure the school environment is safe for Nigerian children, in the face of increasing insecurity in the country.
Bala expressed deep concern over cases of abduction of school children by insurgents in parts of the country.
While also expressing concern over the increasing number of out-of-school children in Nigeria, she disclosed that the National Secretariat of NAWOJ has drawn up programmes and activities around the key components of the Association’s mandate and solicited support towards their implementation.
While appreciating President Muhammadu Buhari for appointing women into key positions, the NAWOJ President asked for the appointment of more women into Boards of Commissions and Parastatals to meet up the 35 per cent benchmark of Affirmative Action.
She said NAWOJ is proud to associate itself with the numerous achievements that have been recorded by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development under the watch of Tallen.