The Minister of Women Affairs, Ms. Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye on Tuesday said her ministry is working with women across the country to change the narratives and stereotypes against women.

“We have changed the narratives. Women have changed the narratives as well,” she told State Commissioners of Women Affairs across the country that converge on Abuja for the domestication of Nigeria’s Women’s Economic Empowerment Policy (WEE) workshop.

WEE was launched in 2023 to streamline all gender policies to address disparities faced by women in accessing financial benefits and opportunities in various sectors.

Nigeria is the first African country to launch the Women’s Economic Empowerment Policy (WEE) as a project.

The WEE initiatives also seek to enhance gender equality, reduce poverty, and coordinate efforts among development partners to promote women’s rights and empowerment in Nigeria.

The workshop specifically aims to provide guidelines for the domestication of the policy in states, seek to enhance gender equality, reduce poverty, and coordinate efforts among development partners to promote women’s rights and empowerment in Nigeria. Also, the policy seeks to address Nigeria’s gender pay gap and women’s empowerment.

One year after its launch, most states are yet to domesticate the policy in their states. Under the federal system, states have to domesticate federal government policies for it to take effect.

According to Ms. Kennedy-Ohanenye, “There cannot be gender inclusion without the empowerment of women,” stressing that her ministry has commenced the distribution of empowerment packages to 15 states across the country.

The minister also called for action instead of meetings and unending talks without results.

She stated that the ministry now has a portal for the registration of women, adding that, so far, 283,000 members have registered.

She said some states have not helped in registration, but acknowledged some states including; Akwa-Ibom, Anambra, Ebonyi, Katsina, and Ebonyi.

The Executive Director of the Development Research and Project Center (dRPC), Dr Judith Ann Walker said the dRPC and the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) have worked together in partnerships for more than two decades to address social issues that concern women and girls.

She noted that the RPC, along with NIPPS and the Ministry of Women Affairs, will partner to ensure the implementation of the WEE policy at all levels.

According to her, the organisation will be starting with a cohort of eight states, and in the coming months, another cohort will be selected and supported to domesticate the policy.

In her speech, the Director General of Maryam Babangida National Center for Women Development, Ms. Asabe Bashir, emphasized the need for the development of women and access to cheap credit.

Ms. Bashir who was represented by Ms. Jumai Idonije, who delivered a prepared speech said women’s empowerment is not just morally imperative but economically imperative.

She described the implementation of the WEE as an important initiative, adding that women’s empowerment is necessary for societal development.

Her words :”Women economic empowerment is not just a women issues, it is crucial for the overall development of the society and it is important to ensure that conversation around this is sustained”.

Ms. Grace Obi-Okpabi, Deputy Director (Economic Growth), Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, lamented the lack of inclusion of women’s contributions to economic planning.

She said most times women’s issues are looked at through the prism of “handouts” instead of their economic contributions.

Ms. Obi-Okpabi noted that women, who constitute 49 per cent of the population, should be adequately captured for national planning.

In her brief remarks, Ms. Moji Makanjuola who is one of the facilitators at the workshop emphasized the need for collaboration among all the major actors in the gender space.

Mr. Ayo Omotayo, the Director General (DG) of NIPSS, called for meaningful and engaging conversations on women inclusion.

He pledged the support of NIPSS in the implementation of policy at the federal and state levels.

Mr. Omotayo said there is a need for policymakers to be practical stressing that any nation that prioritises the empowerment of women is on the path of development.

He lamented the low enrollment of women into the NIPSS course. According to him, women have 18 slots for the 2024 course, however, they currently have nine women.

He said the institute believes the WEE policy has the ability to transform the situation of women in the country, and allow for the inclusion of more women in the country’s policy and decision making process.

He said the institute is dedicated to ensuring the domestication of the policy at grassroots level where women are excluded more.

In her contribution, Ms. Ini Adiakpan, the commissioner of Women Affairs , Akwa Ibom state, said the country is wrongly structured and must be restructured.

She called on the federal government to allocate a quarter of the national budget solely for the women development.

Ms Adiakpan, who is also the Dean, Commissioner of Women Affairs, said policymakers must make policy that are gender friendly and targeted at accommodating women.