Mainstreaming gender inclusion in governance requires institutional and legal reforms and deliberate efforts by political leaders to give women a fair chance to contribute their own quota to development .
This is the conclusion of the panelists at the 1 st Kwara State Gender Conference held on Thursday .
The virtual conference was attended by a former Liberian President , Ellen Sirleaf ; Deputy Secretary - General of the United Nations, Amina Mohammed ; Minister of Women Affairs , Pauline Tallen ; World Bank representatives ; ECOWAS Parliament ; Chair of the Forum of Nigerian First Ladies , Erelu Bisi Fayemi ; First Lady of Kwara and Secretary of the First Ladies Forum , Olufolake AbdulRazaq; the First Lady of Sokoto State , Mairo Tambuwal, among several others .
The event was organised by the office of the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Sustainable Development Goals , Jamila Bio - Ibrahim .
In his welcome remarks , Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq said gender inclusion was key to faster growth that leaves no one behind .
“ We set out to offer a strong platform to state and non - state actors alike to discuss domestic , bilateral and multilateral strategies to increase women ’ s participation in our societies . True to that , we are joined at this conference by some of the strongest voices in the clamour for better opportunities for women in Africa . Kwara State is actively taking the lead in the campaign for gender inclusion because we are convinced that society works better and grows faster when no one is denied equal opportunities to succeed . And we have no regret pursuing this noble cause , ” he said .
Sirleaf said advocacy for women empowerment should include reforms at various levels , a view shared by World Bank Country Representative for Liberia , Khwima Nthara , who added that institutions needed to undergo reforms to promote gender inclusion and women empowerment .
Sirleaf called AbdulRazaq a regional leader in the promotion of gender inclusion and said other leaders should emulate him .
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