Promoting Women Economic Rights Legislation in Edo State: ECOWA hold sensitization workshop

A workshop on drafting and developing a legislative bill titled: 'A Bill for Urban Poor and Rural Women in Edo State', has been held in Benin City.

Giving an overview of the workshop which was organized by Echoes of Women in Africa Initiative (ECOWA), in collaboration with Women for Fairness and Equity Organisation (WEFON), with support from Urgent Action Fund Africa (UAFA), the Founder of ECOWA, Dr. Mrs. Louisa Elkhomun-Agbonkhese said the bill  when passed into law, will be the first Women Economic Empowerment Rights Law in Nigeria. According to her, "the law will respond to provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Women's Protocol of the African Charter of Human and Peoples Rights on the Rights of Women and Optional Protocol, the Sustainable Development Goals on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment, the Nigerian Constitution and the National Gender Policy". She enjoined all participants which were drawn from the civil society organizations, government officials, parliamentarians, religious bodies, non-governmental organizations, student groups, the media, etc, to use the avenue as a medium to contribute to the success of women economic justice project.

In a goodwill message, the Honourable Commissioner for Youth and Gender Issues, Hon. Andrew Adaze Ewanta, Esq said the workshop was timely and important because Women’s economic empowerment and financial inclusion have been recognized as key to achieving the 2030 agenda for sustainable development. According to him, "Women’s Economic Justice is defined as the fulfillment of women’s fundamental human right to economic resources and the power to make decisions that affect their lives. This requires women to have equitable access to, and control over, economic resources, including by having the time and opportunity to engage in economic activities.

"It also requires changes to discriminatory social norms and economic structures, laws, policies and practices that marginalize women.

"The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly, is often described as an international bill of rights for women. The Convention defines discrimination against women as '…any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.' The Convention provides the basis for realizing equality between women and men through ensuring women's equal access to, and equal opportunities in, political and public life, including the right to vote and to stand for election -- as well as education, health and employment.  States parties agree to take all appropriate measures, including legislation and temporary special measures, so that women can enjoy all their human rights and fundamental freedoms."

"The disadvantages and discrimination faced by women and girls severely limits their ability to lift themselves out of poverty. As a result, women are more likely to work in informal, low-income jobs with exploitative and unequal working conditions, and have restricted access to affordable, quality financial products and services, like a savings account or small loan.

"Investing in women’s economic empowerment sets a path for poverty reduction and for advanced gender equality. Women need to be empowered to build better livelihoods, earn more income, and create businesses that provide jobs and boost local economies.

"As a result, any collaborative effort amongst stakeholders that focuses on supporting women to access financial services, participate dignified work, to thrive as entrepreneurs and small-scale producers; changing the discriminatory social norms and economic structures, laws, policies, and practices that marginalize women should be encouraged and given utmost support," he said.

On her keynote address, a lecturer from the University of Benin- Dr. Mrs. Esther Jamgbadi while speaking on the topic Understanding Gender and Women's Economic Rights, said Nigeria ranked 128th out of 153 countries and 27th out if 55 countries in Africa, on the World Bank's Global Gender Gap Index 2020. According to her, this statistics "implies that the country still has a long way to go to attaining gender equality and equal representation for women.

"That said, the entrepreneurial spirit is strong, and Nigerian women account for 41% ownership of micro-businesses in Nigeria with 23 million female entrepreneurs operating within this segment. This places Nigeria among the highest entrepreneurship rates globally. The high-level participation of female entrepreneurs in the country is however driven mainly by necessity."

Mrs. Jamgbadi said the government can promote women's economic rights in Nigeria by: implementing the 3Rs- Recognize, Reward, and Redistribute the unpaid care and domestic work (majority of which is carried out by women) by providing quality public services and infrastructure that work for both women and men; ensuring women have access to decent work including equal pay for work of equal value, social protection, pensions, etc.; enforcing labour regulations including the rights to join a trade union and to earn a living wage; supporting fair tax systems that work for women and men and  stopping tax abuses by corporations; holding companies accountable for human rights abuses; and protecting women from violence in the workplace.

Speaking on Women's Economic Justice Nature and Scope: A Case of Women in Edo State, the former Managing Director of LAPO, and Executive Director of Osseo Centre for Challenged Children (OSEC), Mrs. Sabina Idowu-Osehobo said nearly 2.4 billion women globally don't have same economic rights as men, as stipulated by the World Bank. She said economic justice is about fairness for everyone participating in the economy. "This presupposes the removal of barriers. The economy refers to the activities we do to generate wealth - the ownership, control, management and distribution of forces of production and income.

"Edo State has policies that address gender inequalities which contribute to economic justice. They include: Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law; Female Genital Mutilation Law; and Anti-widowhood Practices Law", she said.