Nigeria’s Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, has called on gender empowerment stakeholders to translate the outcomes of the New York CSW69 discussions into measurable actions across the country.
She made the call at a two-day national debriefing session on Nigeria’s participation at the 69th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69), held in Abuja.
Addressing participants, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim highlighted that Nigeria’s unified, multi-sectoral representation, participation, national statement, and side events at CSW69 amplified national priorities, reinforced international obligations, and forged deeper partnerships for robust implementation.
“We demonstrated that Nigeria is not merely participating in the global gender equality agenda but actively shaping it. Our global commitments must now translate into community commitments across every local government, every state, and every sector,” she said.
National Gains from CSW69
The Minister noted that Nigeria’s inclusive delegation model was recognised as a global best practice, and that regional coordination under ECOWAS and Commonwealth platforms had advanced significantly.
“Our subnational innovations were profiled as scalable models for localising Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) frameworks, reaffirming Nigeria’s leadership across platforms including CEDAW GR40, Beijing+30, and the Sustainable Development Goals,” she added.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim explained that the draft communique from the debriefing session reinforces shared priorities, including institutionalising gender-responsive budgeting, affirmative procurement, and embedding GEWE indicators across Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
The draft also sets out a roadmap for the proactive implementation of the Cities for CEDAW Initiative in pilot states, following the historic agreement signed in New York.
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The Minister emphasised that the communique strengthens the call for implementation of CEDAW GR40, particularly regarding equal and inclusive participation of women in decision-making positions, and for scaling up women’s access to clean energy, finance, STEM fields, and leadership spaces.
She further stressed the need for implementing digital inclusion frameworks to combat online gender-based violence and proposed expanding Nigeria Women’s Day into an internationally recognised platform for advocacy, innovation, and solidarity.
“Our 2024–2027 Strategic Action Plan aligns with global targets and includes ambitious but achievable goals, such as empowering 10 million women, supporting vulnerable children and families, and strengthening institutional capacity at all levels,” she affirmed.
“It is Women O’Clock in Nigeria. Let us keep the clock ticking forward, with integrity, urgency, and unity of purpose,” she declared.
In her remarks, the UN Women Country Representative for Nigeria and ECOWAS, Beatrice Eyong, reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s gender agenda to achieve national and global equality goals.
Despite notable progress, Eyong warned that much remains to be done to ensure that gender equality and women’s empowerment become a reality in Nigeria. Citing the gender pay gap report, she highlighted that 52 million Nigerian women live in extreme poverty and that women earn only 77 cents for every dollar earned by men for the same work.
She further noted that nearly one in three Nigerian women aged 15–49 has experienced physical violence; women’s representation in the National Assembly stood at just 4.4% as of 2023; and at least 30 million Nigerians are at risk of food insecurity, with conflict displacing 2.2 million people in the Northeast.
“Eighteen million children have dropped out of school in Nigeria, and 60% of them are girls,” Eyong added.
She called for the development of a robust, well-funded country plan backed by strong political will and domestic financial support, especially given the current global cuts to development aid.
“The plans we make today will determine the results we can showcase at CSW70,” she stressed.
She urged MDAs, development partners, civil society organisations, and youth and women’s groups to work closely with the Ministry of Women Affairs to build a better and more sustainable Nigeria where women, men, girls, and boys live in dignity.
Global Statistics Highlight Urgency
Eyong also pointed to worrying global statistics:
- 244 million fewer women than men use mobile internet
- One in three women globally has experienced physical or sexual violence (WHO, 2021)
- Women comprise less than 10% of formal peace negotiators (UN, 2024)
- Women earn 20% less than men on average
- Labour force participation gap stands at 24.3% (UN Women, 2024)
- Climate change may push over 158 million women and girls into poverty by 2025 (UN, 2023)
- Young women are twice as likely as young men to be unemployed
The debriefing session also featured the Federal Capital Territory Administration, represented by the Mandate Secretary of the Women Affairs Secretariat, Dr Adedayo Benjamins-Laniyi, signing onto the Cities for CEDAW Initiative as part of the pilot phase—a major step in advancing gender equality at subnational levels.
The Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, Dr Maryam Ismaila Keshinro, represented by the Director of Child Development, Mr Andrew Madugu, commended stakeholders for their dedication and urged continued unity in the collective push for women’s empowerment.
“Let us continue to advocate, innovate, and implement policies and programmes that uplift women and girls everywhere,” Keshinro said.
Participants reviewed Nigeria’s CSW69 strategic report, harmonised inputs from ministries, NGOs, state-level actors, and development partners, and drafted a national communique of strategic actions to guide future inter-ministerial planning and execution.
The globally agreed thematic areas for CSW69, which are critical to addressing gender gaps, include bridging the digital gender divide, ending violence against women, advancing economic empowerment, promoting women’s leadership, ensuring climate justice, and enhancing youth inclusion.
