From Bode Durojaiye, Oyo.
A legal practitioner, Wale Adeoye, has said for women
empowerment to be meaningful, there is the need for clear legal provision that will address issues in their favour.
Speaking in Oyo town at a sensitization programme, Adeoye said these rights need to be made more explicit by ensuring some of them in the constitution where necessary.
“A legal instrument is called for, not only in relation to legal
status and equal rights within the family (in marriage, divorce, guardianship and custody of children), but in
relation to abuse, abandonment and discrimination.”
He noted that in Nigeria, most socio-cultural attitudes as well as practices undermine and negate women’s equality, adding that these, directly or indirectly, increase women’s vulnerability to marginalisation in the scheme of things.
According to him, “women have continued to display great dynamism, ingenuity and creativity in finding alternative to any situation individually at the household level, and collectively at the social level, thereby creating conducive atmosphere for democracy and democratic system of government in the country. They, therefore
constitute dynamic breeding ground within the framework of any perspective for change.”
Adeoye further posited that women represent the very best human resource which can play a crucial role in resolving certain major problems faced by the country, such as corruption, population explosion, environmental degradation, HIV/AIDS and ethnic intolerance.
“Unless these problems are adequately dealt with, they will seriously affect democracy and development perspective of the country, as women are key to any strategy that may be proffered. Different people and cultures had perceived leadership as a prerogative of men alone.
However, the active involvement of women folk in leadership positions in the country today dispute this fact. Hence, the slogan “what a man can do, a woman can do even better,” .
Therefore, women can play very important roles if given the
opportunity to serve in any leadership capacity”, he submitted.
