Girl Empowerment: Sweden To Support Nigeria's Policies, Programme
Swedish Government has promised to support policies and programmes aimed at empowering girl child in Nigeria.
The Swedish Ambassador to Nigeria, Annika Hahn-Englund, made the promise in Abuja when Plan International , an NGO, through its Girl Takeover Campaign, paid a courtesy visit on the ambassador.
While reiterating the commitment of the Swedish government to support and enhance gender equality in the society stressed that gender equality remains the Sweden priority
The Ambassador said the embassy would not relent in promoting activities and issues that would promote and support girls’ rights work and the empowerment of girls and young women.
According to Hahn-Englund, "gender equality is a priority for Sweden when it comes to cooperation with Nigeria, saying that such cooperation will further be strengthened to achieve the necessary goals."
“Gender equality is one of the milestones of the countries. There is need for concerted efforts to ensure same rights among genders to form the society and sector.
“Our goal for gender policy is to ensure that men and women have same power to form society, same possibility when it comes to work and economy and same possibility when it comes to education and personal development."
“There should be equal division when it comes to unpaid work at home, equality in terms of health and both men and women should have the same possibility when it comes to integrity of the body,” she said.
Recognizing the importance of gender equality and the need for diverse voices in leadership, the Swedish ambassador explained that these efforts aim to break down barriers and create opportunities for girls to thrive.
Also speaking at the occasion, the immediate past Country Director, Action Aid Nigeria, Mrs Ene Obi stressed the need to strive more for equity in governance said all hands must be on deck to ensure women participate actively in decision making in the society.
Obi emphasized the need for more support by international organizations to enable Nigerian women to be self reliant.
She expressed dissatisfaction over the gender bill introduced to address the issues of gender equality that was thrown out, called for the need to form formidable force to ensure women representation and promotion in every aspect.
The Girl Takeover Campaign by Plan International is an activity that provides an opportunity for young girls around the world to take over influencing roles and positions of power to support the global movement on gender equality and inclusion to encourage girls and be an good ambassadors.
This was part of activities to mark the International Day of the Girl celebrated annually to promote the rights of girls by raising awareness on gender equality and inclusion as well as providing opportunities for girls to participate in influential roles, likewise, addressing the challenges faced by girls in general.
More photos below.
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