Mrs Lizzy Omojuwa-Okiye, Spokesperson for the Federal Government Girls College, Kazaure, Jigawa, has called for more attention on women and girls to enable them to contribute more to nation building.
Omojuwa-Okiye told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on telephone on Wednesday that governments should adequately address the challenges faced by the girl-child as a strategy to boost women’s contributions to national development.
“Today’s girl-child has potential to add value to our nation but she needs to be encouraged.
“Women suffer more than men in terms of missing out on education, politics and other spheres of life,” she said.
According to her, many girls were not encouraged to acquire education in some parts of the country, thereby limiting their abilities to contribute to national development.
She added that some traditional practices such as female genital mutilation had brought sorrow and pains to the girl-child.
“It is unfortunate that Nigeria has a high number of women and girls who have undergone genital mutilation,” she said.
She also called on givernments to adequately address healthcare challenges suffered by women.
“The maternal healthcare being given to women during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum periods is fundamental as it will ensure good health outcome for women and babies,” Omojuwa-Okiya said.
She noted that gaps between the rich and the poor contributed to maternal deaths.
“Nearly 100 per cent of global maternal deaths occur in developing countries with more than half of these deaths occurring in sub-Saharan Africa,” she said.
She noted that women in remote areas were the least to receive adequate health care. (NAN)
