The Founder of MMAWT Legacy Initiative and wife of the Sokoto State Governor, Hajiya Maryam Mairo Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, recently delivered a keynote address titled: African Women Rise Up and Take Up Political Leadership, at the African women summit organised by the Coalition of Women in Africa for Peace and Development (COWAP) Themed: The new realities of the African Woman in the post COVID-19 era.
While speaking, Hajiya Maryam Mairo Aminu Waziri Tambuwal said, Gender equality and women’s empowerment are both human rights and are necessary for achieving comprehensive, unbiased, and sustainable development.
Women need to actively participate in government and politics in order to maintain democracy. Global statistics clearly show that women are under-represented as leaders, elected officials, and voters due to cultural and social norms, which limit their participation in the political process.
She lamented that though there have been some progress, Women are still left behind in education, healthcare, especially for rural women and policy formulation.
She highlighted the SDG and MDA goals as a necessity for meticulous redress perhaps more achievement for the women folk can happen.
The Founder of MMAWT legacy initiative further said, Balanced political participation and power-sharing between women and men , most importantly women inclusion in decision-making and solicited for the Political will of leaders to embrace reality!
With Reference to the internationally agreed target set in the Beijing Declaration on affirmative action and Platform for Action, where most countries in the world have not fully achieved gender balance, and few have set or met ambitious targets for gender parity of the African Union of (50–50).
On her campaigns towards encouraging women participation in Sokoto State, Hajiya Maryam Tambuwal, Spoke about the resuscitation of some participation in the selection of the presidents of women bodies. Like the National council of women societies (NCWS) Arewa Women Congress (AWC) and other Coalitions aimed at encouraging women to thrive in several endeavors and those willing to participate in politics for full support.
While giving a progress report on Gender policy in Sokoto State, the wife of the governor lauded the Gender friendly approach of the Sokoto State Governor, Rt Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, for increasing the population of women in policy formulation, through provision of slots to women in the Executive council and making sure that each local government area of the state, has 3 female councilors, appointment of women into the Executive council, Board memberships and advisory appointments.
Hajiya Maryam Mairo Aminu Waziri Tambuwal also called for Affirmative actions to address the challenges Nigerian women still face in active participation in politics such as discriminatory socio-cultural and religious practices; lack of finance; under-representation of women in governance; unhealthy political environment; political party discrimination; wrong perception of women in politics; lack of family, fellow women and media support; indigenization of women political aspirants; among others. Undoubtedly , she applauded Elders in the state for their wise counsel and modalities adopted from experiences with woman coalition groups on grassroot penetration.
In conclusion , She applauded the growing trend of women who recently have been appointed to Man the affairs of Banks as C.E.O., others in the private sector and the minute few in the public sector.
Democracy she emphasized encompasses our political economy, legislations and implementations.
