Ahead of Committee Status of Women (CSW) 63 session, a non-governmental organisation based in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Sure Smiles Women and Children Advocacy Initiative, has unveiled the gender world logo aimed at creating a credible platform for discussions.
Organizers of the progamme revealed that the CSW 63 session will hold in New York in March 11, 2019, to address issues on social protection of women and gills in the society.
President and Founder of Sure Smiles Women and Children Advocacy Initiative, Mrs. Chioma Uzo-Udegbunam told participants at the forum that there is need to step Nigerian women up aimed at creating a credible platform for discussions, thereby streamlining the focus with collective effort towards the global presentation at the CSW 63 session in New York.
Uzo-Udegbunam, used the occasion to call on government at all levels to embrace the social protection strategies for abused women and girls in Nigeria, adding that social protection is a sure necessity to combat the menace in the society.
“Social protection refers to policies designed to reduce people’s exposure to risks, enhancing their capacity to protect themselves against hazards and loss of income. Social protection also involves interventions from public, private, voluntary organizations, and social networks, to support individuals, households and communities to prevent, manage and overcome the risks and stresses threatening the present and future well-being,” she said.
Presenting a paper on “Social Protection Strategies for Nigeria Abused Women and Girls” the UN Representative Prof. May Nwoye described abused women and girls as underserved ill treatment, misuse, rough handling, violence, molestation infringed on women and girls in society.
She also observed that other mode of abuse on women and girls includes forced marriage, rape, genital mutilation, sexual harassment and intimidation at work, just as she frowned at religious practices, traditional harmful practices, individual behavioral pattern and indeed economic and political conditions which inevitably lead to domestic violence.
On his part, Chief Executive Officer of Center for Development Affairs Dr. Osita Aniemeka in his paper titled: Gender and Entrepreneurship noted that women enterprises are mainly concentrated in the informal sector and they constitute 45 percent of the Small and Medium Enterprises, SMEs, adding that the majority which is 90 percent of business establishments are sole proprietorship and 39 percent of these are owned by women.
He further explained that the impact of gender on all key activities requires careful consideration saying, “women are more likely, because of lack of information and exposure, to get into businesses that are already served.”