First Lady Oluremi Tinubu has emphasised the importance of integrating gender equity into educational systems to promote societal change and reduce violence against women and girls.
Speaking at the launch of the #WeAreEqual Campaign by the Organisation of African First Ladies for Development (OAFLAD) in Angola, Mrs. Tinubu stressed that educating boys and men to respect and value women and girls as equals is crucial.
In a statement on Saturday by her Senior Special Assistant on Media, Busola Kukoyi, the First Lady highlighted the focus of the campaign on the Alternative High School For Girls, aiming to drive gender equality and support victims and survivors of gender-based violence.
She said it is imperative that Nigerians in particular and Africans in general recognize that education plays a pivotal role in shaping attitudes, beliefs and behaviours from an early age, hence early education should be treated with utmost importance.
First Lady Tinubu noted that education remains a critical component of any progressive society, thereby calling for the inclusion of activities to help dismantle notions of gender specific roles in teaching.
“When gender equity becomes an integral part of our educational system, there will be a shift in societal attitudes whereby boys and men learn to respect and value women and girls as equals, reducing the likelihood of engaging in violent behaviour.
“We are not unmindful of girls and women who have been victims and survivors. I chose education to drive the #WeAreEqual Campaign and specifically adopted the Alternative High School For Girls as the focus,” the First Lady said.
She decried the spate of gender and domestic violence, especially the incidences of rape and defilement, saying an educated and well informed people of both gender would abstain from such.
“Education is not simply about acquiring knowledge and skills, it is about instilling values of respect, empathy and understanding. This goal requires the collective efforts of everyone.
“Therefore, I charge us all to commit ourselves to this important cause, for the sake of our children, the youth, and for generations yet unborn,” she said.
In his address to declare the conference open, the President of the Republic of Angola Manuel Goncalves Lourenco urged the First Ladies to lend their voices to quel the various conflicts around the world especially as women and children are the worst affected.
“By providing Equal opportunities for girls and women to actualize their full potentials , it will go a long way to eliminate the belief of supremacy of men above women”, she said.
He commended OAFLAD for its efforts at giving a women an audible voice in ensuring the building of a society where men and women have equal rights and opportunities.
Angolan First Lady Ana Dias Lourenco promised to sustain the fight against rape and see to the enhancing of legislation to punish perpetrators appropriately.
The launch of the #WeAreEqual Campaign for Angola had as its theme the role of education in achieving gender equality as a means to combat child and youth violence had in attendance the First Ladies of Sao Tome, Cape Verde, Sierra Leone, Mozambique and representatives of others.
The campaign is one of the efforts of the OAFLAD to improve women’s equity and related issues in the continent.
