The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed has supported the launch of the ‘I DEY WITH HER’ campaign at the commemoration of the ‘16 Days of Activism to end Violence Against Women And Girls’ which commences on the 25th of November.
‘I Dey with her’ means ‘I am with her’ in Nigerian Pidgin language.
The minister joined her Women Affairs counterpart Dame Pauline Tallen and Development Partner Representatives at the Ministry of Women Affairs Headquarters in Abuja.
Ahmed said “It is imperative that Governments and particularly those in Africa, prioritize the empowerment and advancement of women in all spheres of society”.
She added “That there must be Gender Responsive Budgeting, Women must sit at the table when decisions are made and be co-creators of any strategic interventions”.
In her closing remarks, Zainab Ahmed reiterated that Gender Equality and Women’s Economic Empowerment remain critical to ensuring inclusive and sustainable development, and achieving goals as a nation and the SDGs.
She added “We are working to strengthen gender responsiveness through the implementation of tools such as budgeting and other interventions along the Public Financial Management life cycle”.
The ministers reiterated the commitment of the Federal Government towards supporting the prevention of Gender Based Violence (GBV). They called on the general public to support the end of GBV and other gender based support processes.
The commemoration themed “Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect”, calls for the funding of Women’s Organisations, response to survivors needs, prevention by addressing social norms that normalize violence against women and girls; and collecting data to inform policies and programmes.
People around the world are expected to support via activism for 16 days and the commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against women on the 25th of November, 2020.
Due to the #COVID-19 lockdown around the world, violence against women, especially domestic violence intensified. The ministers and all other speakers at the event called for the continued support even after the 16days are up. “Support should be continuous and not just for today” said Dame Tallen.
