Traditional rulers in Enugu State have included 102 women in the composition of their cabinets in the state.
This was disclosed at the closing out ceremony of the Gender Equality, Empowerment and Social Inclusion (GEESI) in Enugu State on Wednesday 27th of June, 2024.
The GEESI advocacy programme was implemented by Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative(WRAPA) Nigeria in partnership with Civil Resource Development and Documentation Centre, (CIRDDOC) Nigeria, with support from Mac Arthur Foundation.
Chief Mrs. Virginia Obianyo, the Programme Officer of CIRDDOC and Team Lead Improving electoral intergrity and accountability said their objective is to ensure that women and youths are given a seat in out traditional institution.
Chief Obianyo said the project was implemented using the National Gender Policy- which is a government endorsed framework were gender equality and social inclusion is embedded.
“This project came into Enugu in August 2021 and in March, 2024. During the lifespan of the project, we engaged the traditional rulers in line with our mandate- implementing the national gender policy across the communities.
Speaking on their results, she said that through their advocacy, they’ve been able to facilitate the inclusion of “102 Women in cabinets of different traditional institutions across 10 local governments in Enugu state.”
She said they also took their advocacy to political parties and this led to the emergence of women as Lawmakers in different local government areas.
Speaking earlier at the event, Enugu State First Lady, Mrs. Nkechi Mbah, expressed delight with the success achieved by the project, while thanking the traditional rulers for seeing the need to key into it.
Mrs. Mbah who was represented by her Special Adviser, Dr. Amaka Okenwa while expressing regret that the project is ending at this time the push for more women in government, said the role of women in our society can’t be overemphasized.
She congratulated the traditional rulers that keyed into the project because they now have builders in their cabinet while urging others yet to do dame to borrow a leaf from others and enjoy the numerous benefits accruable thereof.
Also, the Enugu state Commissioner for Children, Gender Affairs & Social Development, Mrs Ngozi Enih, said the actions of the traditional rulers is a “demonstration of the understanding of the gender equality and recognition of the role women play in the society.”
Mrs. Enih added that “Women are critical thinkers and I encourage our traditional rulers to continue to put them in their cabinet as they represent a very important constituency in our communities.”
She expressed satisfaction with the large number of women in various cabinets, hoping that in their near future, more women will be included in the leadership of the traditional institutions.
The representative of WRAPA, Paul Adama, in his remark, said the project is interested in advancing the inclusion of women in various leadership positions in our society.
Mr. Adama thanked the traditional rulers that have began the implementation of their advocacy, while urging others to do same because they understand the role of women in our society.
Similarly, the Head of Enugu Office and Regional Coordinator Southern Nigeria of Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Dr. Olachi Chuks-Ronnie expressed dissatisfaction that the number of women in different levels of government dropped.
Dr. Chuks-Ronnie said tradition is also one of the factors affecting women participation in politics.
Also speaking at the event, The Chairman, Enugu State Council of Traditional Rulers, HRM, Igwe Samuel Ikechukwu Asadu, said the traditional rulers understand the role of women in their communities and they’ll continue to implement policies and programmes that will help them achieve their full potential.
Igwe Asadu who was represented by Igwe Barr. Simon Ngwueze, said the roles of male and female in African society have been complementary and it’s the same in Enugu state.
Highpoint of the event was the presentation of awards to deserving individuals in various communities and those that contributed to the success of the project.
