Nigerian women need to break down historical, cultural and socio-economic barriers which hinder their significant contributions to decision making in the country, Mrs Hadiza Mohammed has said.

Mohammed, Chairperson, Nigerian Army Officers’ Wives Association (NAOWA), 1 Division, Nigerian Army, Kaduna, gave the charge on Monday at a programme to commemorate the 2021 International Women’s Day celebration in Kaduna.

“To do this, we must break down the deep-seated historic, cultural, and socio-economic barriers that prevent women from taking their seat at the decision-making table to make sure that resources and power are more equitably distributed.

“Women must have the opportunity to play active roles in shaping the pivotal decisions being made right now as countries respond to and recover from the COVID- 19 pandemic; choices that will affect the wellbeing of people and the planet for generations to come,’’ she said

According to her, the 2021 theme “Women in Leadership: Choose to Challenge” primarily aims at achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world.

“This year’s International Women’s day is like no other. As countries and communities start to slowly recover from a devastating pandemic, we have the chance to finally end the exclusion and marginalisation of women and girls.

“But to do that, we need immediate action,” Mohammed said.

She explained that across the world, women remain concentrated in the lowest paid jobs, many in extremely vulnerable forms of employment.

“Women are nearly twice as likely than men to lose their jobs during the COVID-19 crisis.

“Indeed, the pandemic will dramatically increase the poverty rate for women and widen the gap between men and women who live in poverty.

Quoting a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report, Mohammed said, “a worthwhile monthly investment of 0.07 per cent of developing countries’ GDP could help 613 million working-aged women living in poverty to absorb the shock of the pandemic.

“It would also contribute to the economic security and independence that is necessary for women to engage more deeply in the decisions that could change their future.’’

The Chairperson said it was clear that even in the face of difficulties and socio-cultural barriers, women were at the forefront of diverse and inclusive movements for social change.

“It is also a fact that women’s involvement in politics and governance as exemplified by Rwanda leads to stronger democracies, better governance, and more peaceful societies.

“Sadly for me, we the women especially in our country Nigeria are not moving fast enough, and as wives of soldiers who are in the fore front of returning decorum to our motherland, it is my conviction that we are well positioned to identify and pursue it,” she added.

According to her, this was the reason why ” Choose to Challenge” was added to the general theme of “Generation Equality” celebration as well as a technical presentation and an interactive segment during the programme.

She assured that members of the association would be greatly enriched by the presentations of the speakers, “who will not only enlighten us but point us in the direction to go in our “choice to Challenge”