12 January 2009
Lagos — Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Salamatu Suleiman, has identified girl child education, adult literacy programmes for women and total child education and development as her areas of focus in the ministry.
She also listed education as the bedrock for empowerment, saying that it was the only panacea to women empowerment and gender equality not only in Nigeria, but in any part of the world.
Speaking to newsmen in Abuja, the minister emphasised the need for parents to provide quality education to the girl-child, adding that genuine empowerment was only in educating the girl child and women in the society.
She stated that the significance of education to the Nigerian woman cannot be over emphasised, considering the fact that without education, it would be difficult to become genuinely economically empowered and relevant in the society and the world.
"Even more significantly, educated women make better traders and farmers. This is in addition to the fact that an educated woman is likely to be a better house wife and home manager, and be able to pay more attention to children's health, education and personal hygiene.
"Suffice to say that every woman who wants any kind of empowerment must seek knowledge because economic or political empowerment is tied to education", she stated.
While commending her predecessors on the achievements recorded so far on issues of women, children and the physically challenged people, the minister pledged to build on those achievements and make significant progress in her tenure, with the support of all stakeholders.
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