By Nasir Shuaibu
In an effort to strengthen the Gender Policy and Action Plan, the Bauchi State Ministry of Women Affairs and Child Development has organized a two-day stakeholders’ engagement to review and validate the Bauchi State Gender Policy and Action Plan for effective implementation in the state.
Speaking at the event, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Child Development, Mrs. Lydia Haruna Tsammani, welcomed all stakeholders and solicited their contributions during the session, with a view to achieving the aims of the project by ensuring thorough review and validation of the document.
Mrs. Tsammani informed participants that the review and validation exercise became necessary as the existing document had lapsed, hence the need for the ministry to update it to meet present realities.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Sale Mamman, the commissioner urged participants to critically examine and scrutinize the document where necessary and come up with a comprehensive working document that would serve as a collective reference for all gender stakeholders in Bauchi State.
The UNFPA representative, Deborah Tabara, said the Bauchi State revised Gender Policy and Implementation Planning engagement had given stakeholders the impetus to roll out and implement programmes aimed at addressing gender gaps and barriers in line with present-day realities.
According to her, the document also provides guidelines for policy advocacy, legislation, and capacity building for service providers to deliver services to different populations, as well as guidance for the development of activities and programmes that address harmful social norms.
The Director of Gender in the ministry, Mrs. Fatima Abdullahi, called on all stakeholders to ensure effective utilization of the document as a reference in their respective organisations during its implementation in the state.
Corroborating this, a former Director of Gender, Mrs. Easter Patrick, said the ministry, with the support of UNFPA, had finally developed its own Gender Policy guiding document after years of struggle. She commended the efforts of all stakeholders from the inception of the process to the present moment of validation.
Earlier, the project consultant, Prof. Cheluchi Onyemelukwe, said the Gender Policy is critical to the implementation of gender-related issues across various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), adding that Bauchi is one of the few states with a Gender Policy document.
She commended participants for their commitment throughout the two-day sessions, noting that their contributions, expertise and experiences would help produce a robust and living document.
Some participants interviewed, including Mr. Gideon Daku and Abigail Hardo, representing civil society organisations, applauded the Ministry of Women Affairs and UNFPA for bringing together stakeholders from diverse backgrounds to review and validate the Bauchi State Gender Policy for effective implementation and future reference by MDAs.
Highlights of the event included group work and presentations, energiser activities, and group photographs.
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