Women seek greater voice in land, property rights policies

Chairperson of WIMAfrica, Dr. Ngozi Oyewole

Women leaders have called on the Federal Government to give women a voice in policy-making, particularly on land ownership and other property rights.

 They made the call in Lagos on 10 November at the WIM Top50 Global Economic Forum and Top50 Global Awards, hosted by Women in Management Africa. The event’s theme was ‘The Power Shift: Women Driving Africa’s Global Economic Influence.’

 The Chairperson of WIMAfrica, Dr Ngozi Oyewole, said women must sit wherever decisions about them are made. “Every decision concerning a woman, we would like a woman to be at the table where decisions are made,” she said.

 Oyewole, a manufacturer, acknowledged the policies the Federal Government has introduced for women, adding that President Bola Tinubu has designated this year the “Year of the Family.” She said women still wanted a direct say in how such policies take shape.

 She listed property rights as a priority. “Freedom, property rights should be improved so that women can own land. Religious biases that have silenced women should be lifted a little bit so that more voices can be heard,” Oyewole said.

 She also urged the Federal Government to adopt policies that give women a voice in areas hit by insurgency and that amplify the work women do.

 Oyewole said grassroots women, particularly farmers, drive the nation’s economy: “The women down-down the grassroots are the ones who are indeed feeding the nation.”

 She said the forum brought women from Sri Lanka, the Maldives and other countries to Nigeria to see the influence of African women: “Nigerian women are here to prove to the world that they are indeed decision-makers, they are indeed economic drivers, they are indeed the real backbone of the society.”

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 The Founder of Women in Management, Dr Sulochana Segera, disclosed that the 16th edition of the Top 50 Professional and Career Women Awards marked the organisation’s first event on the African continent. Founded by Segera in Sri Lanka in 2010, the organisation has expanded its presence to seven countries, with members across 29 countries and a record of 1,450 award recipients globally. Previous editions of the awards have been held in the Maldives, Canada, Europe and Dubai.

 Segera said African women should showcase their talent and trade beyond the continent. “It’s time that African women showcase their talent, not just what their countries have in resources, but the women’s talent and the trade outside their continent to the global stage, where they can be connected with the global trade and opportunity,” she said.

 She said the Women in Foundation, one of the organisation’s key arms, helps women take their products to international markets. “It’s not about women who speaks here, it’s not about women who are glamour here, it’s about the woman who has no voice, but who has a state waiting for them,” Segera said.

 The Chairman of the Governing Council of the Maryam Babangida National Centre for Women Development, Joan Idonije, outlined what the Federal Government is doing for women. She said the Minister of Women Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, has reactivated the full mandate of the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development under President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

 Idonije said President Bola Tinubu approved three policies developed by the ministry on 28 October. They include a care policy, a costed action plan to address child marriage, and a menstrual health and hygiene policy.

 She added that the ministry was establishing pad banks in rural communities to ensure that girls had access to sanitary products and could attend school every day.

 “We are now reviewing the National Gender Policy 2021 to 2026 to be sure that we have a lead on policy that will take us beyond 2026 to 2031,” Idonije said.

 She said the review would cover emerging issues such as technology-facilitated gender-based violence and climate resilience, adding that the ministry wants women to become stakeholders in the gas supply chain, not just consumers. She also said the midterm review of the National Women Economic Empowerment policy showed progress. “It’s not yet Uhuru, but a lot is going on,” she said.