Hajiya Jumai, the wife of the Chief Servant of Niger State & Mrs. Asmau (Left) attended a Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) at the United Nations (UN) in New York in June/July of 2008.

The Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women, adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly, is often described as an international bill of rights for women. Consisting of a preamble and 30 articles, it defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination. According to the Convention, discrimination against women is "... 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 Nigerian government signed and ratified the UN convention on Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1985 and 1991. Over the years, women's role in developmental issues, employment, education, political life, decision-making, and in the economic cycle is still a work in progress.  In addition, Violence against girls and women is still endemic.

In spite of the challenges, Niger State is committed to achieving gender equality and women empowerment. No wonder, the Chief Servant of Niger State, Governor Aliyu has made girl education free at all levels (Primary, secondary and University) in the state. The tackling of this important issue of girl’s education, especially where traditionally girls grow up not having the same access to education as boys, is of progressive and historic significance.

The Federal government has also stressed the need to respect and protect women’s right under the auspices of the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, as well as Women’s Aid Collective (WACOL)

According to statistics from a variety of sources, including UN publications:

• Women have not achieved equality with men in any country.
• Of the world's 1.3 billion poor people, it is estimated that nearly 70 per cent are women.
• Between 75 and 80 per cent of the world's 27 million refugees are women and children.
• Of the world's nearly one billion illiterate adults, two-thirds are women.
• Two-thirds of the 130 million children worldwide who are not in school are girls.
• The majority of women earn on average about three-fourths of the pay of males for the same work, outside of the agricultural sector, in both developed and developing countries.
• In most countries, women work approximately twice the unpaid time men do.
• Women make up 31 per cent of the official labor force in developing countries and 46.7 per cent worldwide.
• Rural women produce more than 55 per cent of all food grown in developing countries.
• The value of women's unpaid housework and community work is estimated at between 10-35 per cent of GDP worldwide, amounting to $11 trillion in 1993.
• Women outlive men in almost every country.
• Women are becoming increasingly affected by HIV. Today about 42 per cent of estimated cases are women, and the number of infected women is expected to reach 15 million by the year 2000.
• An estimated 20 million unsafe abortions are performed worldwide every year, resulting in the deaths of 70,000 women.
• Approximately 585,000 women die every year, over 1,600 every day, from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. In sub-Saharan Africa, 1 in 13 women will die from pregnancy or childbirth related causes, compared to 1 in 3,300 women in the United States.
• Globally, 43 per cent of all women and 51 per cent of pregnant women suffer from iron-deficiency anemia.
• Each year an estimated two million girls suffer the practice of female genital mutilation.
• Worldwide, 20 to 50 per cent of women experience some degree of domestic violence during marriage.
• Men are the primary perpetrators of violence against women
• The primary victims of today's wars are civilian women and their children, not soldiers.
• The use of rape as a weapon of war has become more evident. In Rwanda from April 1994 to April 1995, estimates of the number of women and girls raped range from 15,700 to over 250,000.

The above statistics show that more needs to be done to eliminate all acts of discrimination and laws against women. The State, Federal and Local governments must continue to support and adopt appropriate laws that promote women’s rights.

The words of former United Nations Secretary General, Boutros Boutros-Ghali sums it all:

“Without progress in the situation of women, there can be no social development. Human rights are not worthy of the name if they exclude the female half of humanity. The struggle for women’s equality is part of the struggle for a better world for all human beings, and all societies.”