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IWD: Friends Of The Earth Advocate Environmental Justice For Women

Published

9 months ago

March 10, 2024

By Gloria Ikibah

A non- governmental advocacy group and partners known as Friends of the Earth (FoE) have ramped up efforts to push for environmental justice and gender equality to enhance women’s status in Africa and other parts of the world.

This was the focus of a virtual press conference to mark the 2024 International Women’s Day (IWD, on Friday.

The Coordinator Forest and Biodiversity Programme of FoE, Rita Uwaka emphasized the need to chart a transformative course towards women’s empowerment and gender equality.

According to her, it has become incumbent on leaders, especially in Africa, to articulate a compelling vision of inclusive governance and gender parity, driven by structures that will give women more opportunities to occupy key decision and policy making positions.

Uwaka, a notable advocate of women empowerment, lamented that women play significant roles in agro-commodity production yet they are denied access to land based on obnoxious traditional and cultural practices that hinder them and reduce their potential.

She therefore called on the government and the media to help strengthen the means to democratize development and make women’s voices heard within international solidarity agencies that promote and support women’s right and permit women more access to land ownership, stressing that “environmental justice cannot happen without gender justice”.

Edna Tabajuika from Tanzania said that “women are the backbone of the societies because they are the primary producers in East Africa yet get fewer benefits because of cultural practices that deny them ownership of land”.

She decried the situation where companies in the extractive industries are notorious in grabbing land from women in Tanzania warning that this is leading to food insecurity.

“Food security suffers when women lose access to land, because it leads to economic disempowerment,” she said.

Azeeza Rangunwala from Groundwork based in South Africa in her remarks, highlighted the increasing level of violence against women in South Africa even as she called for a “feminist transition” that will dismantle the patriarchal system that has worked against women emancipation.

She called for reforms in all arms of government to give women more spaces with an action that will work towards ending the obnoxious ideas and cultural practices that exacerbate the crisis the women are grappling with.

Normor Bee from Liberia in her submission called on women to intensify their pivotal role in shaping the human trajectory. She advocated for new generation of empowered women equipped with the knowledge, skills, through training and capacity building to effect positive change in their communities and beyond.

Aminata Massaquoi from Sierra Leone in her remarks said that the issues of policies in plantation areas are rarely talked about. She pointed out that the advocacy groups in Sierra Leone are pushing hard, especially on strengthening the laws that will protect women.

However, in most parts of the world especially in Africa, enhancing the status of women has faced massive impediments due to historical pattern of poor priorities and policies as well as cultural practices that have hindered the women and limited their potential.

In Africa, women play massive role in agro-commodity productivity as their efforts help to feed the growing population of the continent. However, women have limited access to land in most communities and in many others they face gender violence, unequal pay for jobs and suffer severe exclusion in decision and policy making bodies.

They are victims of wars and conflicts like the war in Gaza, where many women have reportedly been killed. The women also face enormous sexual exploitation during such conflicts which most times plunge them into poverty and deprivation.

Naijablitznews.com reports that the International Women’s Day is conceptualized and enacted by the United Nations and celebrated every March 8.

News

NECO accredits more foreign schools for SSCE, BECE

Published

4 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The National Examinations Council (NECO) has given accreditation to more foreign schools to write the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) and the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).

The Acting Director, Information and Public Relations, Mr. Azeez Sani, disclosed this in a statement.

The newly accredited schools are in Niger Republic and Equatorial Guinea.

“NECO Accreditation Team visited the Schools to assess their readiness to write the SSCE and BECE.

“The Accreditation Team inspected classrooms, laboratories, libraries, computer laboratories, workshops, examination halls and sport facilities to determine their adequacy and suitability for NECO Examinations.

“After a thorough evaluation and comprehensive assessment, the schools were granted full SSCE and full BECE accreditation status,” the statement said.

The statement added that the accreditation of additional foreign schools is a testament to NECO’s commitment to providing quality education and assessment beyond the shores of Nigeria.

“With its expanding global presence, NECO is poised to become a leading examination body in Africa, offering opportunities for students worldwide to benefits from its expertise, thus contributing to the advancement of education in Africa and beyond.”

In another development, the statement disclosed that candidates are participating in the on-going NECO SSCE External in Diffa, Niger Republic.

“The UNHCR School, Diffa, Niger Republic is the first NECO SSCE External Centre outside Nigeria.”

NECO examinations are now written by candidates in Benin Republic, Togo, Cote’ d’Ivoire, Niger Republic, Equatorial Guinea and Saudi Arabia.

News

Guardiola suffers worst defeat of career as Tottenham hammer Man City 4-0

Published

4 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, suffered the worst defeat of his managerial career as they lost 4-0 to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday night.

The Premier League champions were already on a run of four consecutive defeats ahead of the visit of the North London side.

James Maddison scored twice in the first half to set Spurs on their way to a sensational win.

Pedro Porro drilled in a third, before Brennan Johnson got on the scoresheet late in the game.

The result leaves City in second place with 23 points. They could go eight points behind Liverpool by the end of this Game Week.

Guardiola takes his men to Anfield next weekend.

News

FUOYE Re-Marks Exam Papers of Student Failed By Lecturer Over Sex-for-Grade Scandal, Secures Justice

Published

4 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Federal University, Oye Ekiti, Ekiti State, has cleared a female student, Ramota Olahanloye, to graduate following the re-marking of her final-year examination scripts.

Olahanloye had alleged that a lecturer, Dr. Anthony Agbegbedia, demanded sexual favours from her, and when she declined, he deliberately failed her in two final-year courses.

In a statement issued on Friday by the Special Adviser on Media to the Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Wole Balogun, the university confirmed that Olahanloye’s allegations were investigated, and her scripts were re-marked.

“The young lady’s scripts were re-marked, and she performed fairly better than the scores initially awarded by Dr. Anthony Agbegbedia,” the statement read.

According to Balogun, the university management approved Olahanloye’s revised results, which qualified her for graduation.

“The university management has given executive approval for her results to be processed. She has since commenced her final clearance from relevant units of the university,” the statement added.

Balogun also disclosed that Agbegbedia had been sanctioned by the institution for his misconduct.

Olahanloye expressed her joy over the resolution of the case, saying, “I am happy that I have gotten justice, and I really appreciate the university Vice-Chancellor for setting up the committee that investigated the matter.

“I was shown my entire results, including the graduation list with my name on it. I have started my clearance as a graduating student of the university, and I am truly happy.”

Her father, Rasaki Olahanloye, also lauded the university for its commitment to justice.

“I can confirm to the world that FUOYE has served justice to my daughter. I was shown her upgraded results after her scripts were re-marked, and it is clear that she passed.

“The university fulfilled its promise to ensure fairness, and I appreciate the VC, Prof. Sunday Fasina, and the committee members for ensuring my daughter gets justice,” he said.