Abuja — Secretary-General Women's Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA), Saudatu Mahdi, has said that Nigeria is to receive N50 million for the Raising Her Voice Project (RHV), from Oxfam GB.

Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja, Mahdi said the main objective of the project is to use the fund to help women in raising their voices in governance and to ensure that the African Women's Protocol is domesticated in Nigeria, adding that the project is expected to engage 1,000 local leaders.

"Nigeria is a signatory as well ratified the protocol, but is yet to domesticate it. This has made it impossible for Nigerian women to enjoy the protection it offers. The RHV project is, therefore, supporting women focused groups, the media, parliamentarians and other interest groups to overcome this hurdles," she said.

Mahdi said: "65 per cent of women live below poverty line, as against 35 per cent of men, men had an average $1,495 purchasing power while women had an average of $614, there were average of 76 per cent men in the Federal Civil Service to an average of 24 per cent women, an average of 86 per cent of men were in the management staff while women were 14 per cent and there was an average of 82.50 per cent men as medical doctors while women were 17.5 per cent."

"The statistics further showed that while there were an average of 13 per cent of men in the informal sectors, there were 87 per cent women , 90 per cent of men were land owners to 10 per cent of women, there were 30 per cent of men in agricultural work and 70 per cent of women, 50 per cent of men and women in animal Husbandry, an average of 10 per cent of men in food processing to 90 per cent of women, an average of 40 per cent men in marketing inputs to 60 per cent of women while 95 per cent could dispose off their properties at will only five per cent of women could do that", she said.

Mahdi said 60,000 Nigerian women of reproductive age do not survive pregnancy or childbirth. While noting an increase of Versico Virginal Fistula (VVF) with Nigeria having 80,000 -150,000 cases of VVF.