The Gender Strategy Advancement International (GSAI) has called on media professionals to use their platforms to coordinate engagement between stakeholders and set the agenda for the new administration in promoting gender accountability.
GSAI executive- director Adaora Sydney-Jack during a capacity-building workshop for reporters and editors held in Abuja, explained that the training aimed to foster dialogue and advocacy for women’s representation in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration and government institutions.
She urged the media to take the frontline space and bring facts to some of the issues and begin to coordinate engagement between stakeholders.
She explained that GSAI is a women-led non-profit organization that works with policymakers, institutions, NGOs, media, and other sectors to promote gender mainstreaming and emphasize the importance of women’s roles in elections, politics, and governance.
Also, the executive director of Men Against Rape Foundation (MARF), Lemmy Ughegbe, said the media’s role in promoting gender accountability necessitates professionalism, objectivity and ethical journalism.
According to him, the lack of representation not only undermines the principle of equal participation but also leads to a significant loss of diverse perspectives and talents that are crucial for effective governance.
In a paper presentation, the Assistant Director of Programme Presentation at Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Olalade Adeniji Adele, criticized cultural and religious limitations placed on women in certain regions of Nigeria.
She said Nigerians have to wake up and smell the coffee and realize that these limitations are not getting us anywhere, and we must keep talking about it.
Also, the Executive Director of the Dorothy Njemanze Foundation,Dorothy Njemanze highlighted the issue of “religious blackmail” that discourages women’s ambition and limits their opportunities.
She said, “There’s a lot of religious blackmail because so many times people say, ‘Well, he’s your husband. If he says you should choose between access to your children and the ability to use your certificates to earn a living,’ many women are bound to choose access to their children, and that is multiple layers of crimes against women.
