Women of proven integrity invited to run for political office

Women of proven integrity and character have been encouraged to run for political office to improve the inclusion of women in the electoral process in Nigeria.

This was part of a statement issued at the end of a day-long engagement for selected media platforms on national gender policy, gender equity and social inclusion.

The event was themed on Implementing Election Integrity and Accountability in Kwara State, courtesy of the International Women's Communication Center (IWCC) and supported by the McArthur Foundation .

According to the communiqué, such a process will broaden the possibilities for the election of credible women and promote good governance in the country, especially in the grassroots areas.

“There should be a level playing field for men and women and equal opportunities to acquire an education.

“There should also be public awareness of the need to treat both genders equally while the female gender should be supported to compete for political office.

"Political campaigns should be free from slander and hate campaign and women of proven integrity should be encouraged to come forward and compete for political office

“The media should give both sexes an equal opportunity to express their opinions and there should be a need to engage religious and cultural groups to support gender-based policies,” he said.< /p>

Speaking at the event, the Executive Director of the International Women's Communication Center, Hajia Nimota Goroso Giwa, said the program was a media engagement to harvest information for domestication that will form the backbone of the national policy on gender equality.

“This program is a dueling media engagement on the issue of national gender policy, electoral politics and gender inclusion and the media perspective on the issue.

"We have been working with INEC, Ministries of Education, and faith-based institutions across the country to get their feedback and what they think are missing gaps or things that weren't included. to locate and publish them before they are passed into law.

"We want gender mainstreaming to be applied in all aspects of our development," she added.

Giwa said, "This is an ongoing dialogue and we are going to hold a conference in Kwara next year where all the issues we have articulated will be brought together to form the national policy on and presented to the Kwara State Assembly.

The expectation, she noted, to hold a strategic planning meeting to address all issues raised by stakeholders so that everyone can contribute and take ownership of the documents.

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