"Why Govt Should Ensure Gender Justice, Economic Independence For Women", Activists Explain
- Nigerian government urged to ensure social protection and equal access for women in politics and economy
- Experts call for Women’s Policy Framework to tackle financial exclusion and empower women in Nigeria
- Participants at conference stress that gender justice is essential for national development and requires men's involvement
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Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over 8 years of experience covering metro, government policy, and international issues
FCT, Abuja - Nigerian government at all levels have been urged to intentionally ensure that Nigerian women are socially protected, and have equal access to political and economic resources.
Some gender activists and stakeholders stressed the need for a more inclusive and delibrate policies that would guarantee justice for women.
Source: UGC
The resolution was made Thursday, March 5, 2026, in Abuja at the 5th Transformative Gender Justice Conference.
The event was organized by the Christian Aid, in collaboration with the Side-by-Side Movement and the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development alongside partners PLAN International Nigeria, Inclusive Friends, Yar’adua Foundation, ACT Alliance and JONAPWD
The pioneer Mandate Secretary, Women Affairs Secretariat, in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Dr. Adedayo Benjamins-Laniyi, said gender justice requires a critical consideration of the economic architecture that would address access for empowerment and thevredesigning of the system in order to ensure inclusivity.
Benjamins-Laniyi, stated this while speaking on the theme, “Unlocking Women’s Economic Power: The Government’s Pathway to Gender-Responsive Financial Inclusion."
She noted that Nigerain women are economically active but lamented that many of them "remain financially excluded.
She added that Nigerian women are excluded from formal credit, asset ownership, scalable enterprise support, policy conversations that shape economic frameworks."
The gender activist called for a Women's Policy Framework that will move women’s issues from scattered interventions to coordinated, measurable, and accountable systems reform.
This policy, according to her "will not only be symbolic. It will be strategic, data-informed, and economically grounded. She added that economic empowerment must be institutionalized not improvised.
"When a woman has access to finance, she negotiates differently. When she controls assets, she influences differently. When she scales her enterprise, she transforms her household and her community.”
The founding Executive Director of Centre, Dr. Otive Igbuzor said when women participate in governance there is increased acceleration of development.
Igbuzor lamented that Nigeria is lagging behind in fully engaging the potential of the female folks in politics and in the economic space.
She stated this while speaking with newsmen during the event, stating that Nigeria is faring very poorly in gender indices.
“To this end, the human development expert said for the country to experience accelerate development delibrate efforts should be made to empower women politically and economically.
"My message to the citizens is that they should recognize that gender justice is not a favor done to women. To men is that men should be part of correcting the gender injustice against women. It's not a question of whether it is necessary It is an imperative.”
Gender-based violence: 3,200 men trained as feminist allies
Recall that over 3,200 Nigerian men were trained as feminist allies to combat gender-based violence.
The Male Feminists Network project aims to empower men in dismantling patriarchy in Nigeria.
The initiative launched world’s first online course for Male Feminism and GBV prevention.
Center takes action to end gender-based violence
Legit.ng also reported that the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development launched the Male Feminists Network (MFN) to mobilise men in the fight against gender-based violence.
Igbuzor said the MFN will train 1,000 male leaders and build a network of 10,000 certified male feminists to champion equality.
Women leaders, including Dr. Margaret Fagboyo, hailed the initiative as a transformative step toward building an inclusive society.
Source: Legit.ng
