Zamfara vows stronger collaboration to tackle women’s challenges
The Zamfara State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development says the state government will continue to partner with stakeholders to address challenges facing women and other vulnerable groups. The Commissioner for Women Affairs, Aisha M. Z. Anka, stated this during a dialogue organised by the Centre for Democracy and Development to commemorate International Women’s […]
The Zamfara State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development says the state government will continue to partner with stakeholders to address challenges facing women and other vulnerable groups.
The Commissioner for Women Affairs, Aisha M. Z. Anka, stated this during a dialogue organised by the Centre for Democracy and Development to commemorate International Women’s Day in Gusau.
Represented by the Deputy Director in the ministry, Malama Lubabatu Jibril, the commissioner said the government was working with communities and development partners to support women facing economic hardship.
She said the administration of Dauda Lawal had rolled out skills acquisition programmes across the state’s 14 local government areas to improve women’s livelihoods.
According to her, several empowerment initiatives have also been implemented through the Office of the First Lady, Hurriya Dauda Lawal.
She said the programmes included financial support of ₦50,000 each to more than 500 women, distribution of 25kg bags of rice, and support for the marriage of about 200 orphaned and underprivileged girls.
The commissioner added that the First Lady had also initiated programmes targeting persons living with disabilities and elderly citizens.
She stressed that empowering women, especially mothers, was critical to promoting peace and stability at the community level.
“Women, particularly mothers, play key roles in combating social vices and preventing violence and extremism at the grassroots,” she said.
Earlier, the lead facilitator of the dialogue, Musa Umar Aboki, said the programme aimed to strengthen advocacy and community engagement in addressing conflicts affecting women and children.
He said poverty, lack of education and poor parental care were among factors fueling social vices.
“Let us unite and work as a team to solve these problems by ourselves,” he said.
In a presentation titled “Mitigating the Lingering Social Conflict Through Inclusive Women Participation in Peace Decision-Making,” the Executive Director of the Gender Initiative for Sustainable Development, Rabi Ibrahim Gusau, stressed the need to involve women in peace negotiations and conflict mediation.
She cited examples from Colombia and Liberia where women played key roles in sustaining peace processes.
In his remarks, the Emir of Gusau, Abdulkadir Ibrahim Bello, represented by the Secretary of the Gusau Emirate Council, Alhaji Sambo A. Sambo, commended the organisers and stressed the important role women play in family upbringing and social stability.