Gender activist says social conditioning still disempowering women in Nigeria. By Lucy Osuizigbo-Okechukwu

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Owerri,  Feb. 28  A gender rights Activist,  Mrs Dorothy Njemanze on Friday, said social conditioning was still a major problem hindering women and girls  from aspiring and  asserting themselves in the society as well as harness their potential. 

Njemanze said this at a two-day workshop tagged "Gender Reporting for Media Professionals, organised by TechHer-Nigeria in collaboration with Premium Times Newspapers and Ford Foundation.

She described social conditioning as a process through which individuals, especially women inherit the grand beliefs and behaviour of her society and act accordingly. 

According to her,  the social conditioning surrounding gender issues affects women in many areas of life. 

"Women are first, human beings and should not be objectified or put in a 'box', and when they act out of the 'box',  the society sees them  as rebels. 

"Social conditioning is one of the reason we have few women in leadership position. It is the reason  women still face torrential storms, especially with climbing the career ladder in the work place. 

"Social conditioning is also a big hurdle for women in areas of  employment, livelihoods, education, rights,   health and political representation.

"Many women and girls suffer systematic disadvantage and discrimination.  We therefore,  need to fix  this  hurdle and hindrance that holds down women, "she said. 

Njemanze urged women to be assertive about vocalizing their needs and claiming their personal space when they were being denied it.

She also tasked media practitioners on the need to take conscious steps in mainstreaming gender in reporting to improve the lives of girls and women in the country.  



Also speaking,  Ms Ummi Bukar,  founder, Participatory Communication  for Gender Development Initiative (PAGED), said it was disheartening that women were under-represented and rarely feature in media reporting even when they constituted the majority of the population.

Bukar urged the media to be gender sensitive and inclusive in their reporting.

"As a reporter go the extra mile to make more women talk and be seen or heard in the media,  :she said. 




Earlier,  Ms Kawthar Ahmed, the Project Lead said the workshop was to train journalists to create and mobilise demand for the fair and balanced portrayal of women in the media. 

According to her,  the media have a whole lot to contribute to gender equality and women's empowerment in Nigeria.
I'm Lucy Osuizigbo. A graduate of Mass Communication, now a Journalist, with special interest in Health, Environment, Gender and Poltics. I'm simple, passionate, all about self development and I'm the Journalist's Journalist

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