Gender equality: Akeredolu wants more attention to girl-child education

By Ene Osang

Abuja

Ondo state First Lady, Mrs. Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, has called for priority to be given to girl-child education particularly in ICT, noting that “gender equality can be achieved easily with more girls growing into educated women in the country.”
Mrs. Anyanwu-Akeredolu made the call yesterday while receiving a delegation from the World Affirmative Action Awards (WAFAA) who paid her a courtesy visit at the Ondo state government lodge in Asokoro, Abuja.
She lamented the huge gap existing in the technology sector, regretting that the career “is being regarded for men alone, while women around the world were leveraging on the gains of ICT and making impacts.”
She said: “I am very much interested in women in technology, but in Ondo state it is a nonstarter because nothing was on ground when we came.
“The first program I organised was in ICT for girls in Ondo. We also trained girls in solar technology because girls are not in this area as well. We encourage more girls to go into ICT because there is a huge gap that is why female programmers are few in the country compared to the western world where females are benefiting much from it,” she noted.
“We need to be serious with the education of women and girls and I think being serious means changing the status quo and let there be a paradigm shift to make women education a top priority.
“A lot comes along with education of women; in health, she would know the value of ante natal care, exclusive breastfeeding amongst others because these are the major reasons for maternal and child mortality.”
Earlier, the Vice President, World Assembly of Youth (WAY), Comrade Preye J. Ketebu-Brown, who led the delegation, stressed the importance of gender equality, noting the importance of women to nation building.
Also spaeking, the Founding President of WAFAA, Dr. Hephzibah Suobo, reiterated the need for “Nigeria to implement the UN conventions on gender equality it is signatory to,” saying “this would bring more development to the country.”

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