By Lola Seriki- Idahosa, Kaduna
Tracereporters –Development Research and Projects Center (dRPC) has disclosed eleven reasons why they supported kaduna state Government in domesticating the Women Economic Empowerment Policy,
Director of Partnerships and Communications, development Research and Projects Centre, Abuja Hassan Aliyu Karofi gave the eleven reasons during the launch of the program in kaduna on Friday.
The reasons he gave includes:
1. The intersectionality between WEE policy domestication and implementation and prevention of Gender-Based violence is key to protecting women and girls and improving their economic status.
2. The National WEE policy is a guidance that provides a framework for decision-making, ensuring that actions, such as budgeting, Annual Operating Plans, etc are consistent with the values and objectives of the state government.
3. Nigeria has thousands of policies which focus on gender, but there is only one policy on women in the economy – the National Women Economic Empowerment Policy. Of the thousands of gender policies in Nigeria, only one other policy – the National Women Policy, 1999, focuses primarily on women; all others are on gender.
4. The National Women Economic Empowerment Policy provides the most effective framework for tracking how women benefit from the allocation of resources, from release of finances and from access to opportunities in the economy.
5. The National Women Economic Empowerment Policy is Nigeria’s only policy instrument around which a strong economic case can be made for the targeting of vulnerable, at risk and disabled women as well as survivors of violence-against-women.
6. The National Women Economic Empowerment Policy is a Blueprint for sub-national and national development. Women who are empowered economically, will support their family, they will also contribute to their communities and will work for the development of the Nigerian nation.
7. The National Women Economic Empowerment Policy is fundamentally a strong planning tool for coordination of donor programs and for private sector investment in the economy.
8. The National Women Economic Empowerment Policy is a smart way for state governments to bring together all women-focused programs, projects and activities Under-One-Roof to improve coordination, optimize use of resources and avoidance duplication.
9. The National WEE policy is an accountability framework that established standards and expectations, making it possible to hold those responsible for implementable accountable.
10. The National WEE policy is a regulatory compliance mechanism designed to help in complying with laws and regulations to avoid legal issues and penalties.
11. The National WEE policy is meant to ensure operational efficiency through streamlining processes, reducing ambiguity, and ensuring that operations run smoothly and effectively.
He commended Ford Foundation under its BUILD Project for supporting this and other interventions to improve Nigerian women’s living conditions.
The Drpc Director said his organization is also supporting eight states, Kano, Kaduna, Borno, Plateau, Kwara, Enugu, Akwa Ibom, and Lagos to domesticate this policy.
According to him, “Many states are at different levels of domestication, with Kaduna State being the first state to do so. This is a big kudos to Governor Uba Sani and Hajiya Rabi Salisu for their doggedness and commitment.
“Already, eleven more states that will meet with us on the 2nd of December 2024 to launch the domestication process in Abuja are joining the journey to improve the lives of women and girls through domesticating the WEE policy.
“This will make our support for the domestication to 19 states in the first and second phases of the support.
As I said, the overarching reason for domesticating the National WEE policy at the sub national level is to serve as a set of principles that guide actions and decisions among policymakers to achieve specific goals of improving the economic well-being of women at that level. This allows for tailored strategies that address specific local needs and challenges while aligning with the broader national objectives.
