Ms May Ikokwu, the Chief Executive Officer, Save Our Heritage Initiative (SOHI), has canvassed support for the education of women and girls for national development.

Ikokwu made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in commemoration of the World Population Day (WPD) in Abuja on Tuesday.

The 2023 World Population Day has the theme “Unleashing the Power of Gender Equality, Uplifting the Voices of Women and Girls to Unlock Our World’s Infinite Possibilities”.

The WPD, established by the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme in 1989, observed on July 11 every year, is to raise awareness of global population issues.

Ikokwu, therefore, said that enrollment of women and girls in school would go a long way in reducing child marriage, stressing that, “education is key to empowering women and girls and making them independent in terms of decisions and choices.

“Educate the woman and you educate the community is an axiom, let all of us support women education for a better Nigeria.”

She quoted the World Bank as indicating that 43 per cent of girls in Nigeria are married before their 18th birthday and 16 per cent are married before they reach 15 years.

She urged parents to enroll their daughters in school to strike gender parity and national development, and called for an end to discrimination against women.

Describing the small number of women in the 10th National Assembly as a demonstration of gender inequality, adding that, “it is highly unfair for women to occupy only three seats in Nigeria’s Senate out of 109 seats, and 14 seats in the House of Representatives out of 360 seats”.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria