First lady Remi Tinubu has said that women in the military should not be discriminated against for getting married or bearing children.
Mrs Tinubu stated this in her address read by the wife of the vice president, Nana Shettima, at the Defence Headquarter’s one-day gender mainstreaming conference themed, “Building Capacity Through Gender Mainstreaming to Meet Security Challenges.”
The first lady, while commending the leadership of Armed Forces for organising the programme, acknowledged that the event was timely.
“The theme is apt because it is about shaping a safer, better and more equitable world for all.
“I commend the leadership of the Armed Forces of Nigeria for accepting the gender mainstreaming concept in line with the Global Best Practice and the UN Security Council Resolution 1325,” she said.
Tinubu said that security challenges in the nation have become increasingly complex.
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“Addressing these challenges effectively requests innovative and comprehensive approaches and gender mainstreaming stands as a powerful tool in our arsenal.
“Gender mainstreaming is now much more than a charity and a policy agenda, this is a fundamental issue about the way we perceive and address security challenges,” she said.
The former federal lawmaker said security requires a collective effort.
“We can start by ensuring that gender perspectives are integrated into security policies and strategies, encouraging more women to join and progress within the forces.
“We must promote women’s participation and leadership in security institutions, peace negotiations, conflict resolution efforts and bringing a more reconciliatory perspective into negotiations,” Tinubu said.
The first lady advised that more cooperation is required towards elimination of gender-based violence within security forces.
“Through the Renewed Hope Initiative project, we have strengthened women empowerment by letting women have access to training and education. Additionally, we have equipped the women with laptops and grants to support their educational and professional pursuits. This is because we believe that when you empower a woman, you empower a community and inevitably a nation. We therefore hope that the leadership within the Armed Forces will extend this dialogue beyond the confinement of this conference and empower women and ranks and their ranks,” she said.
Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Christopher Musa and the Minister of Defence Mohammed Baduru applauded the first lady and agreed to look into her recommendations.
The maiden edition of the Nigerian Defence Gender Magazine which featured Mrs Tinubu as the cover story was launched at the event.
