 |
| Her Excellency Mercy A Odongo and His Excellency Edson K Ndirangu PHOTO: TESHALE CHALUMA, MICROBUSINESS COLLEGE |
There was a lively interaction between the audience and the speaker. Diverse questions raised by the listeners included some of the following:
Why do girls generally have inhibition of using their genuine innate abilities?
What are the measures to support women farmers who suffer extra burden due to climate change?
What could be done when it is evident that education alone cannot lead to emancipation of women?
How can we assure welfare of rural women who depend on subsistence farming?
How can we use education as a tool for women empowerment?
Why can’t there be schemes to promote self-defense training among girls?
How is employment opportunity and equality made accessible for rural women?
Her Excellency Mercy A Odongo and His Excellency Edson K. Ndirangu attended to each question and answered with useful information regarding each query. In brief, their replies had certain pertinent thoughts as follows:
Overcoming ihibition: Empower girl children from their younger age onwards so that they do not remain inhibitive of understanding and displaying their innate talents
Climate change: African Union is well aware of the major share provided by women labourers in the agriculture and informal sectors of labour. Hence is committed to solve any additional burden suffered by women farmers due to climate change.
Mindset change: Need for providing education to girl children as well as ensuring change in the mindsets of conservative patriarchal societies
Education: Establishment of Pan African University and prioritizing female enrolment for higher studies
Health: Formation of alliance of Heads of States against Malaria with due consideration of women awareness and involvement
Sports: Encouraging women in sports – Ethiopia is an example with many women stars in sports.
Wider impact: Empowering a woman means empowering an entire village
Self-defense: Motivating girl child from very young age onwards that she gets a chance to train in everything she likes including the ways to self-defence.
Individual change: Altogether, women empowerment issue boils down to the individual attitude – both of men and women. This demands huge lot of community participation and public awareness measures.
‘While thinking of the best measures to achieve women empowerment, the issue boils down to the single need of achieving change of mindset of individuals’
No comments:
Post a Comment