UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed has inaugurated the global Generation Equality Campaign in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.

The campaign is aimed at raising awareness about the Agenda of the Beijing Platform for Action and foster inter-generational exchange and dialogue to empower a new generation of women’s rights activists.

Development Diaries understands that the campaign demands equal pay, equal sharing of unpaid care and domestic work, an end to sexual harassment and all forms of violence against women and girls.

Mohammed said that Nigeria had made significant improvements in areas critical to addressing the concerns identified at the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

‘It is commendable that 12 states across Nigeria have already signed the national action plans on the UN Security Council resolution 1325’, she said.

‘The quality and level of our education are critical to the generational equality agenda.

‘Closing the gender parity gap in education, or at least 70 per cent of girls in Nigeria in attendance is an important achievement; however, less than 10 per cent are receiving tertiary education.

‘It is after all, to this generation that we entrust the future of our commitments and future generations’.

Also speaking at the event, UN Representative to Nigeria, Edward Kallon, called on the Nigerian government to find lasting solution to issues tied to women and girls.

He said, ‘The life of a woman is not interchangeable and they need to be protected’.

The Beijing Declaration was a resolution adopted by the UN at the end of the Fourth World Conference on Women on 15th September 1995.

The resolution was adopted to promulgate a set of principles concerning the equality of men and women.

Source: Vanguard

Photo source: UN Women