BY TEMI OHAKWE, ABUJA – The Association of Nigerian Women Business Network (ANWBN), has called for a bridge in gap of Property Right Ownership affecting women in Nigeria.
This is as members of the Association said they have penned down the names of all National Assembly lawmakers that voted against the Gender bills and have therefore resolved not to return them to power as it is now.
The ANWBN said; “We are coming to the point where the Nigerian women will declare that no women no vote”.
The Association also said that is seeking for interventions on Housing development and policy change in property rights for women so as to bring about their freedom from cultural, religious and financial barriers placed on the feminine gender.
The ANWBN which is a Coalition of 63 Women Business Organisations stated these while addressing journalists in Abuja on the occasion of the 2022 International Women’s Day with the theme: ‘My Propriety Right’.
National Coordinator of the Women’s Network, Mrs Modupe Oyekunle, said the conference will create opportunities for the women to critically consider issues of high rate inequality, gender inequality, power, access to finance for women in business, issues of road network for easy distribution of goods & services among others.
Oyekunle also said the coalition will present a document on property rights of women in Nigeria to expose the stakeholders to the problems and its impact on the society.
According to her; “In Nigeria we have so many communities where women do not have rights to farm, talk more of building. These are few ways the rights of women to property are hindered.”
She stressed that equality for the coalition is not requesting for the positions of men rather it is giving the women their place of priority in the affairs of the country and precisely in the areas of decision making.
She said; “We obviously need to find possible solution to address these salient problems”.
Speaking on the rejected Gender bills, the ANWBN said it was disappointed in the action of the Nigerian parliament hence, the network of women has given the lawmakers more opportunity to reconsider the bills.
The Association said that it is still demanding for transparency from public servants in line with the 35 percent affirmative action, adding that they are also requesting for the rights of women in democracy, stressing that; “all actions taken against women in democracy must be publicly done”.
Also speaking, the Chairperson of Advocacy group of ANWBN, Olakitan Wellington said the objective of the group is to provide solutions for women business development in Nigeria.
According to her; “We are working with traditional rulers, religious leaders, political parties, the National Assembly and other major stakeholders to achieve our objectives.
“But most importantly we have begun nationwide advocacy program and training of our members to drive advocacy on the issues affecting women”.
Other members present at the briefing were Mary Hamman, the Deputy National Coordinator and Yetunde Oladeimde among others.
Members of the coalition include FIDA, Association of Women in Trade & Agriculture (AWITA), Women in Mining, Africa Women’s Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP), Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria among many others.
