The struggle by Federal Ministry of Women Affairs to ensure that the developed 2021 – 2026 National Gender Policy gets the buy-in of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) received a boost Thursday, 17th February, 2022 when the Women Rights Advancement Protection Alternative (WRAPA) declared its support to the Dame Pauline Tallen-led advocacy and sensitization to some Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
WRAPA has its motto as Social Justice for Women.
Dame Pauline Tallen has been the arrow-head of advocacy and sensitization by Federal Ministry of Women Affairs to get the FEC to approve the document and also to pass the National Gender Policy Bill into Law for programmes and projects implementation.
At a meeting held to brief the Ministry and for advocacy planning held Thursday, 17th February, 2020 at the Ministry’s Conference Hall, the Permanent Secretary of Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, Engr. Olufunso Adebiyi, FNSE who represented the Honourable Minister, Dame Pauline Tallen, OFR, KSG noted the areas of concentration of efforts pointed out by WRAPA’s Lead Consultant on the subject, Prof. Olabisi Aina who demonstrated her deep knowledge and vast experience on the subject within the 15-minutes’ presentation detailing what has to be done and how the Honourable Minister of Women Affairs has to lobby fellow Honourable Ministers such as the Honourable Ministers of Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development; Youths and Sports, Education; Finance and some others well ahead of bringing the subject up for deliberation at FEC.
The erudite Professor along with WRAPA also came with timelines for action and lobbying and readiness to be on the entourage of the Women affairs minister for the lobby.
A statement signed by the Director of Press and Public Relations Mr Olujimi Oyetomi revealed that Immediately after getting the briefing, the Honourable Minister of Women Affairs, ably represented by the Permanent Secretary recalled the earlier draft of the Council Memo on the subject of the National Gender Policy Bill meant for FEC to be enriched by the Departments of Planning, Research and Statistics Department as well as the Economic Services to take into cognisance some of the newer submissions by WRAPA.
The Honourable Minister of Women Affairs as represented, further directed for a draft letter to the Honourable Minister of Education suggesting an enriched elementary and secondary schools’ curriculum on rights to include not only human rights, political rights but also social and economic rights of girls and women.
WRAPA’s briefing Team to the Ministry on Thursday was composed of Zainab Abdurasheed, Yemisi Nathaniel and WRAPA’s lead Consultant, Prof. Olabisi Aina who suggested through her paper that the Honourable Minister of Women Affairs should consider having Lobbyists on board its advocacies to colleague Honourable Ministers whose Ministries have direct input into and impact on the National Gender Policy; that there must be a proper stakeholder analysis from the lens of Gender Equality, Empowerment and Social Inclusion (GEESI) principle.
