Government of Nigeria and UN Women Jointly Launch Generation Equality Campaign in Nigeria

Clockwise: Chief of Staff to the Deputy Senate President, Dr. Otive Ogbuzor; UN Women Country Rep, Ms. Comfort Lamptey; UN Resident Coordinator, Mr. Edward Kallon; UN Deputy Secretary-General, Ms. Amina Mohammed; Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen; Special Representative of the Secretary-General to West Africa and the Sahel, Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas; Special Representative of the Secretary-General to the Africa Union, Ms. Hanna Tetteh; and Assistant Administrator, Director, Regional Bureau for Africa, United Nations Development Programme, Ms. Ahunna Eziakonwa. Photo: UN Women Nigeria

Other dignitaries at the launch included the Honourable Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr. Sunday Dare; Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), Mr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas; Special Representative of the Secretary-General to the African Union and Head of the United Nations Office to the African Union (UNOAU), Ms. Hanna Tetteh; Assistant Administrator, Director, Regional Bureau for Africa, United Nations Development Programme, Ms. Ahunna Eziakonwa; UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Mr. Edward Kallon; Chief of Staff to the Deputy Senate President, Dr. Otive Igbuzor; British High Commissioner to Nigeria, H.E. Catriona Laing; Australian Ambassador to Nigeria, H.E. Claire Ireland; Swedish Ambassador to Nigeria, H.E. Carl Michael Grans and Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Norway in Nigeria, H.E. Ingrid Skjølaas.

UN Women Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms. Comfort Lamptey introduced the campaign: “The Generation Equality campaign is rooted in a journey that began 25 years ago in Beijing, China when 189 countries gathered to adopt what is considered the most ambitious blueprint for women’s empowerment and gender equality to date – the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, with its 12 critical areas of concern. Today, 25 years later we have a chance to take stock of progress and also to chart a new path forward. It is in doing so that we launch the Generation Equality campaign.”

The UN Women global Generation Equality campaign was launched by Executive Director of UN Women, Ms. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka on May 6, 2019 in New York. The campaign demands equal pay, equal sharing of unpaid care and domestic work, an end to sexual harassment and all forms of violence against women and girls, health-care services that respond to their needs, and their equal participation in political life and decision-making in all areas of life. It seeks to raise awareness about the Agenda of the Beijing Platform for Action and foster inter-generational exchange and dialogue to empower a new generation of women’s rights activists.

“Generation Equality is about older and younger generations learning from each other but critically it is for us, the older generation to hand the baton over to the young people to carry on our mutual vision for a more prosperous and gender equal Nigeria”, said Deputy Secretary-General, Amina J. Mohammed.

The official Generation Equality campaign in Nigeria track song and video – No Woman, No Naija were unveiled during the event. Produced by veteran musician and producer, Cobhams Asuquo, the Generation Equality song and video features the voices of vibrant Nigerian female artistes including Di’ja, Waje, Omawumi and Adesua Etomi-Wellington. The artists are using their platform to drive home the importance of prioritizing the rights of Nigerian women and girls for an equal future. “I wish to acknowledge and thank the artists and producers behind the No Woman, No Naija track for using your platform not only for entertainment but to spread a message of truth and hope”, said Ms. Mohammed.

“The year 2020 is a significant year for all who believe in women’s empowerment and gender equality, as well as better days for the girl child. This informed my tagging of the year as the Call for Action for Nigerian women and children, earlier this year. This year provides us all with an occasion to reflect and map several other historic moments in the calendar of the advancement of women’s rights”, said Dame Tallen.

Mentorship, intergenerational dialogue and exchange are critical components of the Generation Equality campaign. Going forward, the campaign will also focus on strengthening the leadership capacity of young women, as well as supporting them to elaborate a forward-looking agenda for building a more gender-equal Nigeria and world at large. We hope that this campaign will set the momentum for more young women and men to take centre stage that realizing women’s rights means putting women front and center to achieve gender equality. The global Generation Equality campaign will culminate in a Forum for women leaders and rights activists from across the world, in Paris, in June 2021.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

UN Women and the Country Office in Nigeria

UN Women is the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women working to ensure that every woman and girl can exercise her human rights and live up to her full potential. Established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide, UN Women is a trusted partner for advocates and decision-makers from all walks of life and a global champion for women and girls.

In Nigeria, women and girls make up more than half of the population but still do not have sufficient access nor opportunities to realize their full potential as agents of change who can provide solutions to some of the country’s most pressing issues. In order for Nigeria to meet Sustainable Development Goal five (SDG 5) a holistic approach that engages women as stakeholders is critical.

UN Women Nigeria works to:

• provide normative support to the Nigerian government at federal & state levels in efforts to champion initiatives and implement policies, systems and practices that advance women’s rights;
• deliver transformative interventions in four critical programme areas: Peace, Security and Humanitarian Action, Economic Empowerment and Resilience, Leadership and Political Participation, and Ending Violence Against Women;
• coordinate networks and platforms within the UN System and Development Community to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment.