Hope Inspired Foundation, an NGO, has called on government at all levels to put structures in place for every woman, including those with disabilities, to enable them participate in the 2023 elections.
Its Programme Manager, Mrs Omolara Daniels, who made the call at a media roundtable held on Tuesday in Lagos, also said that women should be able to express their rights and not feel discriminated.
The event had as its theme, “Breaking the Biases Against Sexuality Education Among Women and Girls with Disabilities”.
The media roundtable was held to commemorate the International Women’s Day marked annually on March 8.
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“Women in general who have the expertise to contribute to this course should be given the opportunity to come out and express themselves and not be laid off.
“So, I am sure that there are certain women out there who feel that they have what it takes to make a change and it does not matter how small it is.
“Women should be part of the coming election and governments should also put structures in place to ensure that nobody is being discriminated,“ she said.
The manager identified poor reportage and portrayal of people with disabilities (PWDs) as a major challenge facing PWDs.
She said there was need for more public awareness including training the media on the right terms to use to describe PWDs.
According to her, such trainings will improve media reportage of PWDs and reduce discrimination among the populace.
“There is need for the media to better report issues relating with PWDs by using the right language; the language often used is the major challenge we face as PWDs.
“We as an organisation intend to carry out more public enlightenment like the media roundtable, for instance, to train more journalists on the right language to address PWDs.
“It will go a long way to reducing the stigma PWDs face in the society, “ Daniel said.
Also, a participant at the roundtable, Mr Ayoola Efunkoya, urged government to develop, empower and ensure women in Nigeria had the enabling environment to be actively engaged in order to be productive for herself and contribute to society at large.
“Government should also engage women, carry them along and ensure that their voices are adequately represented.
“My advice for women is women need to be one another’s best friends, supporters and that comes with a whole lot of things it means when a woman is excelling, encourage, uplift her, and project her.
“Do not always see it as she is excelling, that she is my competitor; that she is excelling does not mean that you cannot excel. It is a vast field and each can run her own race without disturbing the other if we understand one another,“ he said. (NAN)
