The Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED) has commended great women achievers as the world marked the 2021 International Women’s Day (IWD).
IWD, which is marked every 08 March, is a day the world celebrates women’s social, economic, cultural, and political achievements, as well as raise gender equality awareness.
The 2021 IWD, which is themed ‘Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a Covid-19 world’, aims to address the extraordinary hardship that the pandemic has brought to millions of women and girls and their communities.
‘CHRICED commends great women achievers, who successfully struggled and triumphed over the limitations placed on their path by entrenched injustices, marginalization and alienation’, the Executive Director of CHRICED, Dr Ibrahim Zikirullahi, said in a statement.
‘It is instructive that in several fields of human endeavours, women have worked assiduously to reach great heights despite the many obstacles they faced.
‘In science, technology, economy, politics, culture, and other fields too numerous to mention, women have continued to demonstrate their knack for excellence and their commitment to progress.
‘The most recent example in the Nigerian context is the rise of former Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who now sits atop the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as its director-general’.
Okonjo-Iweala, 66, served as Nigeria’s first female finance and foreign minister and has a 25-year career behind her as a development economist at the World Bank.
Furthermore, the rights organisation urged development stakeholders to work towards ensuring women and girls access opportunities for sustainable growth.
Current UN projections show that gender equality in the highest positions of power will not be reached for another 130 years.
Data from the UN shows that women are heads of state or government in 22 countries, and only 24.9 percent of national parliamentarians are women.
‘CHRICED strongly believes that the women of Nigeria, Africa and the world want and deserve an equal future free from stigma, stereotypes and violence’, the statement added.
‘We believe all stakeholders in government and outside government should work harder to ensure for women a future that is sustainable, peaceful, with equal rights and opportunities for all’.
Source: CHRICED
Photo source: CHRICED
