Int’l Women’s Day: Siju Iluyomade Charges Women To Challenge Poverty

The Convener of Arise Women, Dr Siju Iluyomade has urged women around the world particularly Africans to stand up against the scourge of poverty that has bedeviled the human and social economic growth of Nigeria as well as the continent.
 
In a statement to encourage women and commemorate the 2021 International Women’s Day with the theme ‘Choose To Challenge’, Dr Siju, as she is fondly called, pointed out that “gender inequality is one of the  problems that face every developing country in the 21st century and globally. It is also a major cause of unemployment in Nigeria.

She stated that the latest data released on unemployment in Nigeria by the National Bureau of Statistics indicated that women ranked the highest when it comes to unemployment.

“The discrimination against women remains a common occurrence today and serves to hinder economic prosperity,” she noted.

“Various indicators suggest that poverty is a major obstacle to Nigeria’s socio-economic development. Poverty has persisted and several interventions have failed to yield significant improvement in Nigeria’s Human Development Index even in periods of economic growth.

“Plagued with the challenges of unemployment crises, climate change, conflict, fragility and violence, Nigeria —the most populous country in Africa— stands at a grave risk if poverty is not tackled.”

On efforts of Arise, her organisation, to improve the lots of Women in the society, Dr. Siju said Arise has set up several skill acquisition and empowerment programmes all across the nation to aid the Women and Girl child with adequate skills required to compete in the economic market and be gainfully employed.

While urging other corporate bodies to give more support to Women especially in Africa, the accomplished Corporate lawyer of over 35 years further emphasized that education should be accessible to everyone irrespective of gender.

The Philanthropist also disclosed that Arise Women started equal educational projects in areas with the highest rate of illiteracy.

“We have built a well-equipped library in the Dafara Village, a suburb in Abuja under our “Adopt a Village” project. Primary and Secondary Schools have been built in Kobi and several other communities in Nigeria, all aimed at improving female literacy which is now among highest in West Africa,” Dr. Siju disclosed.

She added that more rural women have been put to work when it launched Arise Farmers’ Foundation by providing seedlings and facilitating smooth farming processes to improve government planned food sufficiency initiative.

The International Women’s Day is marked globally on every March 8.