Engaging Men And Boys In The Struggle For Gender Equality

Nigeria is a patriarchal society where culture and tradition unfavourably relegates women to the background, placing them in a perpetual position of surbodinates to men even when they can compete favourably, if not even better.

It is against this backdrop that the #HeForShe campaign was introduced following series of enlightenment programmes by stakeholders who have stressed the importance of liberating women from stereotype roles and giving them the opportunity to contribute their quota to nation building.

The central message for the advocacy is that gender inequality is not only a women’s issue but a human rights issue, the resolution of which will benefit both women and men socially, politically and economically.

Officiating the campaign launch in Abuja, the Acting President Professor Yemi Osibanjo, who condemned all forms of gender discrimination said insisting on equality is not favour to women but an imperative to justice and fairness, ‘’it is a dept and entitillement to women.’’ he said.

Prof. Osibanjo maintained that males and females should have equal political, economical and social rights, saying females can compete favourably with males anywhere in the world, yet, many unwmpowered girls and women abound for punitive reasons.

‘’40% of girls are illiterates who cannot find decent well paying jobs, they are married off early and most times discriminated against in inheritance rights for punitive reasons.

‘’They work hard in the farms and long hours in market places and they are exposed to violence than men. The best or most educated women in one time or another in their lives have been subjected to one form of Gender Based Viilence (GBV) and many others experience domestic violence,’’ he said.

According to him, discriminatory practices are wrong and should be discouraged in all ramifications, stating that allowing women to reach their potentials in life will only enable a better place for all.

‘’The campaign is important in shaping the society, and boys are now being challenged to stand shoulder to shoulder with girls in the struggle for equality.

“When boys and girls understand equality, women and girls would be free to reach their full potential to getting decent education, equal pay and rights and the full potencial of the other half of the world will finally be achieved. The implication of this is improved quality of life for all,’’ he said.

The Acting President further noted that both the Christian and Muslim religion accept equality, saying therefore that there is no hiding place in either religion, law or public policy for the treatment of women as inferior to men.

Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development Senator Aisha Jumai Alhassan anchored the official launch of the campaign with support from the United Nations (UN) Women.

Senator Aisha explained that the HeForShe is a global initiative launched by the UN Women in 2014, 10years after the agreed Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) conclusions of 2014 as a world-wide solidarity movement for engaging men and boys gender equality advocates.

She said the campaign focuses on bringing men and boys side by side with women and girls, in order to break through the barriers preventing women and girls from achieving their full potentials and contributing maximally to the development of a global community.

‘’One major result from this approach is the ‘’HeForShe10 impact project’’ launched in 2015. Simply known as the 10x10x10, the project brings together 10 heafs of states, 10 Global Chief Executive Officers, and 10 University Presidents or Vice Chancellors who have signed on to 30 commitments to fast track gender equality in board rooms and world capitals,’’ she said.

‘’The equality women seek is not to become heads of homes or religion, we are not in any way wanting to take mens position as heads, all we want is equal opportunities in work places, politics and economic life,’’ she added.

She therefore appealed to gender champions at various levels to take the global move seriously and sign on to the campaign, in order for the objectives to be realized in various domains.

Giving an overview of the HeForShe advocacy platform, UN Women Representative to Nigeria Ms. Comfort Lamptey, said Nigeria is the 5th country to officially launch the HeForShe advocacy platform in the West Africa sub-region after Cabo Verde, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Senegal.

Lamptey said the advocacy is a commitment to actively mobilize and to take action to expand the community of men and boys working to advance gender equality.

‘’It is a call to partnership with women to build a more just and equal world,’’ she said.

Quoting the former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, she said ‘’Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance.’’

In his remarks, the Guest Speaker at the launch and Bishop of Ikeja Diocese, Methodist Church of Nigeria Rt. Reverend Stephen Tunde Victor Adegbite said the potentials in both men and women should be encouraged, adding that no part of the Bible discriminates against any gender.

‘’We are all equal before God. The Bible says he created them male and female, this shows equality and that is why un our own church, we ordain women and believe they can also be Bishops.’’

Second Guest Speaker and Director, Center for Human Rights in Islam at the Department of Arabic Studies, Bayero University Kano (BUK) Professor Mustapha Hussain Ismail, said the Islam religion preaches respect for women, saying their is no room for discrimination in Islam.

Legislative Engagement for young people in Africa

The issue of  youth is the most pressing matter for  Africa due to various factors including the demographic fact that the continent  is  mostly  inhibited  by  young people therefore Proper  engagement  of  youth at all levels  of  development and legislative processes is of  paramount importance. African governments  need  to  be  aware that if  they  do not  reform  and  are able  to integrate  the  youth in  their  development  effort  they  will  face  an adverse  situations  such as revolting and  restless  youth.  Therefore, the issue of  youth participation  and  youth representation needs to  be scaled  up  at  the level of  government-local, regional, and  national  levels as well as at  the level  of international organizations. But the key  responsibility  rests with  the youth to get organized, in other to achieve  the skills to  face up to the  adversity  and the frustrations that will  eventually  come  when moving from protest to participation. Africa’s large youth population may turn out to be a blessing if harnessed by engaging them in governance and decision-making. in the light of this, stakeholders should make a genuine effort to remove the hurdles faced by young people so that they can participate in the governance and development of their countries, regions and the continent at large. 

          A review  on  youth  engagement  in  legislative processes shows  that there  can  be broad-based  and  long-term  advantages  to  facilitating  and  fostering  participation  in  governance  and accountability  for  young  people. In fact, young  people  can become powerful  agents of  change and active citizens –  at  local, national  and global  levels if given the opportunity. Also, governments need to understand that by engaging the youth meaningfully, they can actively promote inclusive economic growth and development. But this will require a human rights-based approach that ensures that young people and other marginalized groups(NGO) can contribute to governance and development processes effectively. 

          In conclusion, engaging youth in democratic governance processes in  Africa could bring with it huge social, political and economic benefits to the continent.