Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen has said that there could be no peace or development when equality was absent from Nigerian society. She said this while espousing the tenets of the Women’s Anthem at the Emergency Dialogue on the current security issues in Nigeria and its effects on women and children than held on Thursday at the Ministry of Women Affairs, Abuja.
Tallen said, “In the chorus to the Women’s Anthem, emphasis is on “Equality, Development and Peace.” Therefore, there cannot be peace in a society devoid of equality. In the same way, we cannot be talking about development without equality.
“The Nigerian women’s demand for equality, therefore, resonates in a peaceful environment, where the joyful noises of children are music to the ears; where girls are safe in their boarding houses eagerly looking forward to completing their education; where women are walking freely on the streets without being molested; where young men and women going for the mandatory National Youth Service Scheme to contribute their quota in service to our dear motherland, without parents living in fear;
“…young women looking forward to having suitors/husbands in uniform without fear of becoming widowed in their prime as a result of mindless wars, caused by insurgents leading to loss of lives of these gallant officers and men in defence of our territorial integrity. Indeed, the prevalence of rape and sexual assault, which tends to generate fear and helps to silence campaigns for social, economic and political rights.”
She also said that it was important that ‘every Nigerian woman’ contributed towards the peace-keeping negotiations at the community level even as the government tackled the problem at the national level.
She said, “Our voices must be heard and positively too. Across the world, the role of Women in Peace Building has been identified as very crucial because of their special place in society. From the ECOWAS region to the African Union and the United Nations, it has been recognized that women’s involvement is crucial to the peacebuilding process.”