The Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC) in partnership with the Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative, (WRAPA) has tasked the relevant stakeholders in the Bauchi State Government to domesticate the 2021-2026 National Gender Policy (NGP) for equality and equitable opportunity for all genders.
WARDC with the support from MacArthur Foundation organised a stakeholders engagement for the domestication of NGP, the document which provides guidelines for mainstreaming gender in various sectors of the economy. The goal of the policy is to reduce gender inequalities and enhance participation in men, girls and boys socio-economic and political development of women.
The policy was designed to address the inequalities that exist in the socio-economic sphere, and combat all forms of violence against women and girls, among other things.
Speaking at a stakeholders engagement meeting in Bauchi, the Director of Programme, WARDC; Emmanuella Azu, urged the state to design a Bauchi Gender Policy that is capable of addressing its peculiar issues. “We are not imposing the National Gender Policy on you, we are not unmindful of the norms and traditions of the state. We want you to study the document and come up with your own,” she said.
Azu added that: “Religious factors could come in but they should be able to mainstream it within their context, and how best it suits them and they will also be able to work within the agreed quota as stipulated by the NGP.
She said the adoption of the bill would give room for equity and gender equality and more women would be given opportunities, and more women would be able to participate in both private and public places in both appointive and elective positions across the state.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Women Affairs and Child Development, Mr. Saleh Mahman Mumuni, expressed the Ministry’s commitment to addressing the disparity against genders by advising the government on the importance of the policy.
The stakeholders in attendance were; representatives of the ministries of women affairs, youths and sports, education, health, education among others.
