The President and Founder of the foundation, Dr Lilian Obenwa, made the call in an interview with the our reporter in Abuja on Friday, to commemorate the International Day of Rural Women.

It was reported that the International Day of Rural Women is celebrated every Oct. 15, for the vital role rural women play in climate action with a spotlight on rural women and girls building resilience.

”Women formed greater percentage of the voting population in Nigeria, hence the need for stakeholders to involve them in decision-making bodies.

”The inclusion of of women will enable them to decide on issues affecting their lives, especially as it relates to maternal and child mortality rate as well as empowerment.

”There is also need for the government at all level to create an environment conducive for women participation in governance from the rural areas to the national level,” she said.

Rural women, she said, represent the backbone of many communities, but they continue to face obstacles that prevent them from realising their potentials and the impacts of climate change add to their hardship.

“Women account for a substantial proportion of the agricultural labour force and perform the bulk of unpaid care and domestic work within families and households in rural areas.

“They make significant contributions to agricultural production, food security and nutrition, land and natural resource management, and building climate resilience.

“The impacts of climate change, including access to productive and natural resources, amplify existing gender inequalities in rural areas,” she said.

According to her, women and girls, should have a major role to play in governance to restore their pride and dignity and encourage societal norms and values for nation building and development.

She added that the foundation had been empowering and promoting female education and providing educational support to young people through its female students scholarship scheme and skills campaigns.

The founder noted that “when one girl is educated, a whole community is strengthened, because educated girls delay marriage, have fewer children, earn a higher income and contribute to the community.

“Achieving gender equality, is not only vital to ensuring rural women have equal access to resources, food and public services, but an important aspect of the global efforts to avoid and limit the worst effects of the climate crisis,” she said.

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The President and founder of the foundation, Dr Lilian Obenwa, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday to commemorate the International Day of the Girl-Child.

Celebrated annually on Oct. 11, the International Day of the Girl Child is to recognise girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world.

Obenwa said that youths, especially women and girls, should have a major role to play in governance to restore their pride and dignity and encourage societal norms and values for nation building and development.

She added that the foundation had been empowering and promoting female education and providing educational support to young people through its female students scholarship scheme and skills campaigns.

She noted that “when one girl is educated, a whole community is strengthened, because educated girls delay marriage, have fewer children, earn a higher income and contribute to the community.

“When girls gain skills, knowledge and confidence, they break the cycle of poverty and rise up strong, so that their families and communities will strive.

“There is need for government to prioritise girl-child education through consistent and articulated plan captured in the annual budget.

“Girl-child education is very important, but it can’t be addressed without checking the poverty level in the country,” she said.

According to her, proper upbringing of the girl-child is important, as it predicts how she performs in her academic pursuit and psycho-social development.

She also stressed the need to equip parents with the knowledge and skills needed to take on the responsibility of parenting in the 21st century.

“It is no longer a trend when we flog, detain or expel a child from school for misbehaving; rather, we persuade and make them understand.

“Everyone has a role to play in the society, including the security agencies, churches, mosques and traditional rulers.”

She advised parents who leave their children in the hands of care-givers to strike a balance by giving adequate attention to knowing them better.

She noted that children who were not properly informed were at greater risk of being molested, engaged in risky behaviours and experimenting with drugs.

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