Kano state government has pledged to sustain the tempo on women empowerment in order to make them feel that they were not being marginalised.
Speaking exclusively to Blueprint in Kano, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Dr. Binta Tijjani Jibril, said women empowerment was the revolutionary feat of the Kwankwaso administration, stressing that no democratic dispensation could ever be realistic without the contribution of women.
She said: “For the women of Kano state, appreciation was extremely high. Like I mentioned during the International Women Day, we celebrated the event with a lot of hope, a lot of joy, a lot of pride because for the first time in the history of Kano state in less than three years 3,000 women have been empowered.
“These women are trained in various income generating activities ranging from one week to one month, some of them even three months. They are given intensive training on trade and skills that are competitive which have markets and that they can sustain themselves.”
On the menace of hawking by young girls and street begging by able bodied women, the commissioner, however, said sensitisation campaign was in top gear, adding that “government is also working a great deal on child labour, particularly young girls working in domestic spaces.”
“We are all working on this issue sensitising people and supporting parents to ensure that, this policy of government succeed.”
On the alarming spate of rape cases amongst women, especially teenagers, the commissioner said rape cases are inherited legacies of the previous administration, adding that the Kano state government was handling the issue with iron hand in pursing rape cases to a logical conclusion.
On drug abuse, the commissioner said the most important programme in that regard was the rehabilitation of drug addicts, and that the Kano Drug Reformatory Institute had so far graduated two batches of reformed and rehabilitated drug users.
