Day of the Girl 2019: Bayero varsity’s gender centre holds policy dialogue on equity, social inclusion

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The Centre for Gender Studies (CGS) at Bayero University, Kano Monday held a one-day policy dialogue on the theme: ‘Gender Equity and Social Inclusion (GESI) policy as a safeguard for girls in Kano state,’ about a proposed GESI policy for Kano state, in commemoration of the 2019 International Day of the Girl.

The policy dialogue discussed step-by-step process for the development of a gender equity and social inclusion policy for Kano state as well as modalities for successfully implementing the policy to get results; the Kano GESI policy will emerge from the domestication of the National Gender Policy.

In her speech, lead discussant at the event cum regional coordinator and head of Kano office for the UK-Department for International Development (UK-DFID), Ms Nafisa Ado described girl-child education as a key factor in achieving gender equity, social inclusion and societal development. “The education of the girl child is very important because women constitute half of the world’s population. So, if you don’t educate them you have not educated half of the world’s population. A woman is the primary custodian of the family and its values; she is not just a mother but also the spiritual teacher who shapes children’s moral conduct,” she said.

Also speaking at the event, Dr Ismail Lawan Suleiman, Federal Commissioner at National Population Commission (NPC) said: “The population of Kano is almost equally divided between men and women. Overtime, we tend to neglect a half of the population which is the women; they tend to be the poorest segment of the population, the least educated. Consequently, they are dragging back the entire population of the state and by extension of the country. By designing this policy and ensuring its implementation, you are carrying along a key component of the population which is the women.”

In her welcome address, director of the center, Prof Aisha Abdul-Ismail said Kano needed a GESI policy that would be acceptable to the people and consequently be implemented by the government, considering the state’s peculiarities.

“As a centre our focus is on the family; when you talk about the family, the mother is the queen of the family. So, we want to ‘catch her young’, we need to ensure that she is well-trained and educated to be the first school to her children,” said Prof Abdul-Ismail. “The GESI policy is aimed at ensuring that structures are put in place to safeguard and ensure that women, men, children, adolescents, youths i.e the family get the opportunity to be educated and issues of poverty are eradicated so we can achieve sustainable development.”