TheNewsGuru

Tag: Women

  • How active sex life helps delays menopause in women

    How active sex life helps delays menopause in women

    Women approaching menopause who have frequent sex are less likely to cross that threshold than women of the same age who are not as active sexually, researchers have found out.

    On average, intimate relations at least once a week reduced the chances of entering menopause by 28 percent compared to women who had sex less than once a month, they reported in the journal Royal Society Open Science.

    The difference, the study suggests, reflects the body’s response to evolutionary pressures.

    “If a woman is having little or infrequent sex when approaching midlife, then the body will not be receiving the physical cues of a possible pregnancy,” Megan Arnot and Ruth Mace, scientists at University College London, wrote.

    Rather than continuing to ovulate, according to this theory, “it would be better — from a fitness-maximising perspective — for the woman to cease fertility and invest energy into any existing kin she has.”

    Earlier research seeking to explain why married women reach menopause later than never-married or divorced women points to the influence of male pheromones, natural chemicals in the animal kingdom that attract the opposite sex.

    To find out whether either theory held water, Arnot and Mace examined data on nearly 3,000 women in the United States recruited in 1996 and 1997 to take part in a multi-decade health study.

    Known as SWAN, the project was designed to collect data and track changes — both biological and psychological — that occur alongside menopause.

    The average age of the women going into the study was 46. None had entered menopause, but just under half were “peri-menopausal”, with minor symptoms beginning to appear.

    During the following decade, 45 percent of the women experienced a natural menopause, at an average age of 52.

    Going into the study, nearly 78 percent of the women were married or in a relationship with a man, and 68 percent lived with their partner.

    The correlation between frequency of sex and onset of menopause was unmistakable, the researchers found.

    All the relationships reported were heterosexual, so it is not known whether same-sex activity would have a similar effect.

  • Women in Elective Representation: Nigeria’s Missing Link, By ‘Biodun C. Olujimi

    By ‘Biodun C. Olujimi

    On Tuesday March 15th 2016 during Nigeria’s Eighth National Assembly, I presented the Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill(GEOB) on the Floor of the Senate for its Second Reading.

    The formal title for the Bill is “ A Bill for an to Incorporate and Enforce certain provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all forms of discrimination against women, the Protocol of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the rights of women in Africa, and other matters connected therewith 2016 (SB116).”

    The Bill which contains 29 Sections seeks to give proper effect to certain provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). These are Chapters II and IV of the Constitution which bothstipulate the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of Stated Policy and the Fundamental Human Rights. GEOB is alsopremised on several international and regional treaties andprotocols which Nigeria has ratified, but is yet to domesticate. These protocols include the 1979 the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) which Nigeria ratified in 1985; the Protocol to the 2003 African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa also known as the Maputo Protocol; the proposed legislation will also give life to our National Gender Policywhich was birthed in 2006 to create gender-mainstreaming in the public and private sector. Nigeria also supports non-treaty agreements that promote gender equality and women’s empowerment such as the New Economic Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the 2015 Millennium Development Goals and now its successor goals the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

    This piece of legislation seeks, amongst other things, to make gender mainstreaming a core value in Nigeria’s development agenda. It will “guarantee the rights of women to equal opportunities in employment, equal rights to inheritance for both male and female children, equal rights for women in marriage and divorce, and equal access to education, property/ land ownership and inheritance.” It protects widows, outlaws violence against women and prohibits gender discrimination in political and public life.

    However, the Bill was received with reservations by some of my colleagues and directed to be sent back for further consultations and review on some sections. Areas of misgivings were what were described as “contradictions to some of Nigeria’s traditional and religious practices.” Another reservation was that the provisions of the Bill were “superfluous “to the Nigerian Constitution because the latter already guarantees freedom against discrimination. In short, the argument was premised on what was seen as the Nigerian Constitution being clear on the rights of all citizens whether male or female.

    My legislative team and I acquiesced and spent a further threemonths reworking some sections on which objections had been raised during the Reading, with a view to re-representing it to the satisfaction of all. Thus on 15th June 2016, the GEOB was re-introduced for renewed legislative action. The opportunity to debate the Bill came on Thursday 29th September 2016. I explained that the Bill will “prohibit discrimination against persons on the grounds of gender, age or disability by any organ of government or private institution.” I also said the Bill will “promote equality, development and advancement of all persons, especially young women and girl children through the provision that special measures that would eliminate discrimination and increase political appointment positions for women in public and private spheres. The Bill recommends that a minimum of 35 per cent of such positions should be reserved for women.” After several contributions from several of my colleagues including Senators Ike Ekweremadu, Remi Tinubu, Binta Garba Masi,further clarifications were made, and former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, ruled that the Bill be referred to the Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matterschaired by Senator David Umaru.

    Unfortunately, the legislative procedure for the GEOB was not completed before the end of the Eighth National Assembly. This implications for this is that, it did not pass through the mandatory Public Hearing before a Third Reading and eventual assent into Law by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    However, the Ninth National Assembly’s tenure which runsfrom 2019–2023, provides a golden opportunity to revive the Bill and present to the Senate and re-ignite in the public consciousness. This was done on Tuesday 26th November 2019. I urge us all to support the process once again.

    The GEOB is a protector and promoter of women’s rights by addressing non-domestication of some fundamental human rights and it will be a sacred document to ensure that women no longer experience discrimination in our dear country.

    One of the visions for the proposed law is to see more participation of women in elective representation and when passed into law will afford more female voices to participate in legislative debates and have better representation in leadership and governance; and that our legislative institutions at the national and sub-national levels, will reflect Nigeria’s totalpopulation. This legal framework will guarantee the rights of women in all spheres of life, and will usher in a fundamental turnaround in the gender disparities in our society.

    However, before it journeys to the expected logical conclusion,all stakeholders, men and women must come on board andtogether as one united voice to ensure that all Nigerian citizensenjoy what the Bill has to offer.

    • ’Biodun Christine Olujimi is a Senator in Nigeria’sNational Assembly.

  • I enjoy having good sex- Dayo Amusa

    Nollywood actress and filmmaker, Dayo Amusa has opened up on her stance on sex.

    The outspoken singer noted that the society puts a lot of pressure on women when they talk about their sexual encounters. She further added that women shouldn’t be shamed for having sexual relationships.

     

    Sharing her thoughts via her Instagram page, Amusa said: ”I enjoy having sex. I mean good sexual intercourse. You know the thing that people do that is acceptable in society if you’re married, or if you’re trying to conceive a baby or if you’ve been in a partnership with somebody for sometime, but most definitely not acceptable if you have sex with somebody on the first date or if you have sex with somebody that you don’t know all that well. Why can’t people just have sex for the sake of having sex? Why does a woman that enjoys having sexual relationships with a partner automatically make people jump to the conclusion that the woman doesn’t respect herself? You know your body, and at the end of the day it’s your body therefore you make the rules. Why are women being shamed for having sexual relationships?”

     

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B6nlxjdJAUm/

     

    TheNewsGuru recalls that back in November, Amusa made her HIV status public.

    “Well, the declaration of my HIV status wasn’t attached to this movie. What I posted was just a random thing. I just felt I should encourage people to go for their HIV test, to know their status, so they can know what next to do and go for medical advice if necessary.”

  • WOMEN: ‘Why it is wrong to shave your pubic hair’

    A gynaecologist is urging women not to remove their pubic hair. Dr Jen Gunter, author of ‘The Vagina Bible’, warns waxing or shaving creates “microscopic trauma” that can lead to infections.

    While the purpose of pubic hair is somewhat of a mystery, going “au naturel” is thought to protect the skin by acting as a barrier against the outside world.

    Getting a Brazilian may also reduce sexual pleasure, with pubic hair being connected to nerve endings that might help arousal, Dr Gunter added.

    Pubic hair “grooming” has almost become the norm, with many blaming the porn industry.

    Scientists from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), asked more than 3,300 women about their downstairs grooming.

    Of which, 83.8% claimed to wax, shave or epilate their pubic hair, with just 16.2% leaving it intact.

    “Hygiene” was the most commonly reported reason (59%) for women removing their hair.

    But Dr Gunter warns waxing, shaving or “sugaring” – mixing sugar, lemon juice and water to create a wax-like gel – may do more harm than good.

    “You are causing microscopic trauma to the skin,” she told the BBC.

    The gynaecologist added she sees women with cuts, grazes and even infections when hair removal goes awry.

    “Pubic hair has a function, it is probably a mechanical barrier and protection for the skin,” she said.

    “It may also have a role in sexual functioning because each pubic hair is attached to a nerve ending, that’s why it hurts to remove it.”

    Why do we have pubic hair?

    The role of pubic hair is not fully understood.

    Most experts think it is involved in the release of pheromones, chemicals that trigger arousal.

    Pheromones are thought to be “get trapped in pubic hair when glands release an odourless secretion on the skin that combines with bacteria decomposed by the secretion of (other) glands”, according to an expert from Columbia University in New York.

    This produces a scent that varies from person-to-person.

    Some studies suggest women are attracted to pheromones that differ significantly from their own because it suggests genetic diversity, the expert added.

    Other theories as to pubic hair’s purpose include warmth or helping the vagina stay “clean”.

    “Pubic hair prevents dirt and particles from entering the vagina,” the Columbian scientist reported.

    Critics argue, however, if warmth was the reason, men would surely have more hair along their penis and around their scrotum.

    The protection theory also falls short because men do not have similar cushioning around the opening of their urethra.

    Humans are thought to have removed their hair as far back as prehistoric times.

    “Tweezers” made of shells have even been found in ancient caves.

    The Egyptians also reportedly associated body hair with uncleanliness.

    Removing pubic hair may have some benefits, by protecting against body lice.

    The tiny insects live on coarse human hair, like that found around the genitals, according to the NHS.

    Pubic lice

    Find out about pubic lice, including what they look like, how you get them, symptoms, when to seek medical advic…

    Body lice spread via skin-to-skin contact, usually sex.

    As well as thriving on the genitals, the insects can also set up home on the armpits, legs, chest, abdomen, back, face, and even the eyebrows and eyelashes.

    Basically, anywhere with hair, aside from the scalp.

    These days, women are less likely to remove their pubic hair out of a fear of lice.

    “The increased prevalence of pornography that depicts bare genitalia, popular magazines and television are primary drivers of the trend in the United States,” the UCSF scientists wrote in the journal JAMA Dermatology.

    In their study, 875 women (31.5%) claimed they groomed their pubic hair because they felt it “made their genitals more attractive”.

    And 586 (21.1%) said it is their “partner’s preference”.

    Asked when they would remove their pubic hair, most (55.6%) said before sex.

    This was followed by before a holiday (45.7%) and to prepare for a “healthcare professional visit” (40%).

    For those who still want to go hair-free “down there”, Dr Gunter urges them to use a clean razor and shave in the direction of the hair.

    Going “against the grain” increases the risk of ingrown hairs, which can become infected.

    And for those who go for a wax, ensure the technician does not “double dip” the wooden sticks used.

    This could spread bacteria between clients, Dr Gunter added.

  • Giving back makes me complete – Oshoala

    Giving back makes me complete – Oshoala

    As the only Nigerian and African in the 100 best women footballers in the world 2019 packaged by the influential London Guardian, and in line for the CAF African Women Player of the Year 2019 for the fourth time, Asisat Oshoala has attributed the on-going Asisat Oshoala Football Championship for Girls holding at Campos Mini Stadium Lagos, as part of her quest to be responsible and give back to the society.

    The first phase of the clinic which has become an annual event is aimed at discovering talented girl footballers in Nigeria and Africa and helping them achieve their dream of playing for world-rated clubs in Europe.

    In collaboration with FC Barcelona Academy, the final phase of the clinic will hold from Dec 21-24 where the best of the over 100 talents that started the journey will be selected and processed for Europe.

    Speaking with newsmen, the Barcelona and Nigeria striker who on Wednesday again made the iconic 100 female players of the world list, a second year running, said the clinic and other giving were not to showcase herself but to make her responsible and complete.

    The Guardian citation on Oshoala, who jumped 31 places from 86th to 55th from the 2018 edition, goes thus; “After helping Nigeria to the Africa Cup of Nations title at the end of 2018, Oshoala embarked on an exciting new journey with Barcelona in 2019 after some time in China. It couldn’t have started much better as Oshoala found the net three times in her first two games and she has been one of the club’s most consistent goal scorers since. She scored a further four goals before finding the net in the Champions League final against Lyon. With her pace, skill and finishing ability, Oshoala was on target at the World Cup but her best form has been seen this season. Two goals in a 6-1 demolition of Atlético Madrid set the tone before she went on to find the net in five consecutive games, scoring six goals.”

    The Super Falcons star described herself as sometimes a lone fighter who takes up whatever she believes in without waiting for anyone. That, she said, was behind her resolve to take up the task of liberating girls through her foundation.

    On an individual level, she has won awards from everywhere. She was the first BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year in 2015, has won African Women’s Player of the Year award three times and several others.

    She said all that awards make no sense if she cannot be responsible for people who are vulnerable in the society.

    The fight for the girl-child is uppermost in her heart now.

    Oshoala added: “I have an opportunity through football. It is something I acknowledge and I’m grateful for, but beyond football, I am fully concentrated on my foundation.

    “Even when I’m not around, my foundation takes care of the less-privileged. We’ve been involved in feeding programmes, especially during Ramadan periods, visiting schools, distributing books and educational materials to students and even partnering with a major pharmaceutical company to donate drugs and health equipment to hospitals.

    “I believe it’s the only way I can connect with the grassroots. I have a world outside football and that is exactly why I am fully committed to my youth empowerment programme and other social projects.

    “Life is all about opportunities. I won’t say I was the best player among my friends in those days. I think I am fortunate and feel I must be responsible for the others and younger ones coming after.”

    Oshoala hinted that her foundation has also been doing behind the scene consultation with parents of talented girls to make them understand the need to support their girl-children who aspire to become professional footballers.

    “I am trying to change the mentality and help this generation to believe they can achieve whatever they want. With my foundation, I want to help the under-privileged girls, so that they attend school and play football at the same time.”

    The 2019 edition of the football clinic where hundreds of young girls, including parents, are enlightened and educated on how their female children can become professional footballers is ongoing in Lagos currently.

    “We have brought in the academy wing of my club FC Barcelona to help us out and partner with us because they have the expertise and we have coaches from them coming to see with their own eyes. Also my colleagues from my former club, FC Robo, are on ground to oversee things for me.

    Oshoala is also in the forefront of anti-drug campaign as a Lagos State Anti-Drug Ambassador. “I have achieved by staying drug free, so we tell and sensitise the young ones against drug abuse and motivate them to be believe in themselves,” she said.

  • [Photos] Women remove blouses, protest in court over Sowore’s Continued Detention

    A group of women on Thursday protested in front of the Federal High Court in Abuja to demand the immediate release of Omoyele Sowore and Olawale Bakare.

    To drive home their demand, the elderly women removed their blouses, revealing only their bras.

  • Rural Women as Catalysts to Promote Safe Hygiene and End Open Defecation in Nigeria, By Jonathan Ekhator

    Rural Women as Catalysts to Promote Safe Hygiene and End Open Defecation in Nigeria, By Jonathan Ekhator

    As the sun sets behind the hills of Oke Aladie village, one of the first communities certified as open defecation free (ODF) in Nigeria, Simbiat Afolabi rises from her sitting position to address a group of women gathered for hygiene promotion sessions.

    Afolabi is one of the volunteer hygiene promoters trained by the Local Government Area (LGA) Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Department to promote safe hygiene behavior in communities.

    As a volunteer, her goal is to ensure that the members of her community embrace safe hygiene practices as the norm.

    “I don’t want us to go back to the times when we use to defecate in the open and don’t care about washing our hands after using the toilet or before cooking and eating,” Afolabi said.

    Although her community has been declared open defecation free, efforts are still being put into ensuring that they maintain their ODF status. The WASH unit facilitators, with support from UNICEF provide trainings on safe hygiene practices such as proper handwashing at critical times.

    In Nigeria, about 50 per cent of the population live in rural areas. But this group of people are disproportionately served and have less access to WASH services than their counterparts in the urban areas.

    According to the 2018 WASH National Outcome Routine Mapping (WASH-NORM) conducted by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and National Bureau of Statistics with support from UNICEF, only 26 per cent of the rural population in Nigeria have access to basic water and sanitation services compared to 45 per cent in urban areas and 30 per cent of rural population practice open defecation compared to 11 per cent in urban areas. Thus, those living in rural areas are about two times less likely to access basic water and sanitation services and are three times more likely to defecate in the open than those in urban areas. If Nigeria is to end open defecation by 2025 and meet the SDGs on water and sanitation by 2030, attention must be given to improving access to WASH services in rural communities.

    With the adoption of the “Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet” campaign by the government in May 2019, the momentum to revitalize the WASH sector is growing. UNICEF, through the support of the European Union, DFID and DGIS, is supporting many rural communities to tackle issues related to open defection and poor sanitation and hygiene practices. Through the Community-Led Total Sanitation with Sanitation Marketing and Financing (CLTS++) approach propagated by UNICEF and adopted by the government in 2016, LGA WASH units visit rural communities to facilitate community dialogue processes on open defecation using participatory tools. This enables community members analyze and appraise their sanitation and hygiene situation. During this process, people often realize that they have been eating and drinking food and water contaminated by their own feces. They are also made aware of the negative health, social and economic impacts of poor hygiene practices. To tackle the issue, they all work in collaboration to draw up an action plan to end open defecation in their communities and adopt local solutions for all households to own and use a toilet. Communities and their leaders, with support from state agencies and LGA WASH units, build and strengthen supply chains, link sanitation entrepreneurs to households and create financing opportunities for households to scale up the uptake of improved toilets in their communities.

    With the critical role of women in promoting WASH services clearly defined and recognized, women in these rural communities have been placed at the heart of CLTS++ activities. Like Afolabi, these women serve as volunteer hygiene promoters, community influencers, toilet business owners, and key Adashe (community local savings and loans group) and WASH Committee members, who have supported many communities to end open defecation. With support from UNICEF, 8 LGAs (out of 13 ODF LGAs) and over 18,000 communities have attained their ODF status, and the proportion of improved latrines has increased from 40 per cent to over 60 percent since 2016. Narrowing down to Oke Aladie village, all households now own and use a latrine and practice safe hygiene and handwashing at critical times as a result of the influence of women who are amongst the key community leaders that lead the CLTS++ process. A similar trend is taking place in all the 160 communities under Ifedayo LGA. This LGA is on its way to becoming the first to attain LGA-wide open defecation free status in southwest Nigeria.

    While these may be early days in the journey to an open defecation free Nigeria, lessons from women in Oke Aladie village who are driven by their passion to see their communities become open defecation free is a beacon of hope for the country. Engaging women in CLTS++ processes such as toilet business owners, WASH entrepreneurs, sanitation or hygiene officers, WASH facility caretakers, amongst other activities, has played vital roles in boosting community ownership of WASH services and women empowerment. Government at all levels, with the support of partner organizations, should continue to engage rural women when facilitating community action to promote safe hygiene and end open defecation in Nigeria.

     

    About the author

    Jonathan Ekhator is a WASH Specialist at UNICEF Nigeria.

     

  • 2019 polls: Effort to increase women participation did not yield desired result-INEC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says its efforts at ensuring the participation of more women in the electoral process did not yield the desired result in 2019 general elections.

    INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, made the assertion at the “INEC’S review meeting of 2019 general elections from a gender perspective”, held in Abuja on Friday.

    Represented by Dr Adekunle Ogunmola, INEC National Commissioner, Yakubu said that it was evident on the number of female candidates who emerged in the general elections.

    He described the situation as appalling, “in spite a general commitment to the principle of non-discrimination, Nigeria fell short of the deserved result of giving males and females equal opportunities.”

    Yakubu said that evidences abound of several negative aspects of gender relations such as: disparities between male and female access to power and resources, played out in the 2019 general elections.

    He said that the 2019 general election activities and engagements showed high level participation of women in the electoral process as aspirants, but due to barriers, they regressed in the number that won elections.

    Yakubu added that party primaries amongst others fell short of expectations as many women could not secure tickets to represent their parties.

    “During the elections, only five out of the 73 candidates who ran for the position of president were women.

    “Also, 1,668 men and 232 women contested for the 109 senatorial seats while 4,139 men and 533 women contended for 360 seats in the House of Representatives.

    “At the end of the election, only seven women won senatorial seats and 11 were elected into the House of Representatives, while four were elected as deputy Governors.

    “However, other countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa have laid examples to follow.

    “For instance, 12 Sub-Saharan countries elected more than 30 per cent women to legislative positions, while Rwanda reportedly have so many success stories and advancement in electing women to more than 60 per cent of its legislative positions.

    “The huge efforts made by the commission to support the participation of women in the electoral process did not succeed in addressing the decline of women’s representation in politics.

    “This is worrisome as women’s participation in governance and leadership is not only essential prerequisite for removing gender inequality, but also the attainment of basic human rights,” he said.

    The chairman said there was need to start thinking of how things could be done differently for more impact.

    “Such exercise will assist INEC to learn vital lessons that could enable the commission review its policies and programmes and serve as a roadmap in planning for future elections.

    “There is also need to review the operational framework put in place by the commission, identify success factors with a view to consolidating and sustaining them,” he said.

    Yakubu added that the reviews were not about the commission alone, but about mutual credibility for a successful electoral process and outcome in the future elections.

    “He said that INEC would continue to engage with critical stakeholders at various levels to support and interrogate gender issues in politics and political processes in Nigeria,” he said.

    Prof. Antonia Okoosi-Simbine, INEC National Commissioner, said that the overall level of representation of women in politics remained a cause for concern.

    Okoosi-Simbine said that the meeting would interrogate the actions and inactions of the commission and other stakeholders around gender issues during the elections and how to change the narrative going forward.

    “The overall objective of the review is to provide a platform to analyse the 2019 elections, especially from the commission’s perspective and to advance the rights of women in Nigeria towards setting an agenda for 2023,” she said.

    In her remarks, Dr Asmau Maikudi, INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) Zamfara, said that the marginalisation of women in Nigeria had been a huge detriment to its efforts to grow as a stable, democratic nation.

    Maikudi said that any democratisation process that fails to incorporate a gender perspective was a flaw.

    Maikudi recommended that every man and woman, starting from the ward to the presidency level should be made to compulsorily receive an awareness education/lecture on equal access of women in politics.

    The event, which was attended by INEC Desk Officers from the 36 states and the FCT, was organised in collaboration with the European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES).

  • UEFA tells teams not to play where women can’t watch

    UEFA tells teams not to play where women can’t watch

    European football’s governing body (UEFA) said on Tuesday it would tell member clubs and national teams not to play games in countries where women do not have full access to stadiums.

    UEFA’s ruling executive committee agreed that it would “recommend to its 55 national associations and all European clubs not to play matches in countries where women have restricted access to stadiums”.

    UEFA did not specify which countries the action would affect.

    Iran, however, has been the focus of attention since a female fan died earlier this month, after setting herself on fire to protest against her arrest for attending a match.

    Soccer’s world governing body FIFA says it has been given assurances by Iranian authorities that their World Cup qualifier against Cambodia in Tehran on Oct. 10 will be open to women.

    UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said his body did not have the power to punish European teams who might play in countries that do not allow unrestricted access to women.

    He however stressed that there was wide support in his organization for the approach and for not playing teams from those countries.

    “We cannot punish anyone if they play (in these countries) because it is out of our jurisdiction but that doesn’t mean we should be quiet and say we can’t do anything and we (just) develop European football,” said the Slovene.

    “Our advice to 55 associations and all the clubs… will be not to play there or with the teams from those countries where the basic rights of women are not respected.

    “The representatives of the clubs and the leagues agreed with us”.

  • Why I entrusted women with nation’s treasury – Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari says placing women in strategic positions of his government, like the financial sector, is to ensure effective management of limited resources, and promote a stronger sense of inclusiveness.

    The president gave the insight into his preferred choice for Ministers of Finance when he received a delegation of National, Zonal, State and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Women leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The delegation was led by the party Women Leader, Hajiya Salamatu Baiwa at the State House, Abuja, on Thursday.

    President Buhari added that he preferred women to oversee the economic and financial hub of the country, Ministry of Finance, as they could readily deploy their experience in aligning resources with the needs of the country.

    According to him, the nation also have many female technocrats with local and international experiences on economy and finance.

    “I am happy that I can defend myself very effectively on this issue. The APC party leader is my witness. Since the coming into power of this administration, I have handed over the treasury to women.

    “Even at household level, you hand over the money to women to manage. It can be taken to the level of managing the country’s treasury as well. I have consistently given it to women. It is strategic.

    “I am conscious of the leadership roles of women in the society and by my action i have justified my belief,’’ he said.

    The President reiterated that his administration would ensure inclusiveness for women and youths, especially in the second term, “by providing more access to facilities that would enable spread of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, and encourage more interest in agriculture”.

    He said the traditional and subsistence style of farming should be replaced with commercialized and business oriented techniques.

    “We have to move away from the traditional ways of farming that were practiced in the pre-colonial and colonial era,’’ he added.

    The President said he instructed the ministers to work with traditional institutions to encourage interest in farming, with the Central Bank of Nigeria readily providing loans at low interest rates and longer periods of repayment.

    “On unemployment, I know there is no able bodied person that went back to the farm in the last three years that regretted the action,’’ he added.

    In her remarks, the APC Woman Leader congratulated the president for his victory at the polls and the tribunal.

    She commended the Buhari administration for its efforts in managing the affairs of the country, which provided the impetus for the vigorous campaigns.

    Baiwa said women were particularly pleased and willing to vote for the President because the government deliberately formulated some policies to favour and empower women, like the social intervention Trader Moni.

    She said the APC had many resourceful and loyal women that would contribute to the success of the administration.

    She commended the President for giving women strategic positions in the government.

    “Our prayer is that God will give you the tenacity to overcome all obstacles,’’ the Woman Leader said.