Source: This Day Live
The Kolagbodi Memorial Foundation (KMF) in conjunction with Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FEF) recently held its 18th Annual Kolagbodi Lecture in Lagos, with a call on women to fight for their rights in their workplaces.

The seminar also focused on the prospect for effective participation of women in the trade unions.

A seasoned socialist and consultant on public sector governance, Drew Povey said women's participation in the workplace should be treated beyond trade union walls, adding that the scope has widened from private to societal agenda to enable women occupy their rightful place in the scheme of things in and around the globe.

He said: "Gender discrimination took its root from industrialisation when men had to spend long hours in the factories, leaving their wives to take care of the home and the children. And during the World Wars, while men went to fight wars, women stayed behind with their children, which later became a tradition rather than an exception." That even though the western world are far out of this tradition, as half of Britain work force are women, the same cannot be said of African continent, and Nigeria in particular.

African traditional society and religion naturally accords women their rightful position in the administration of her community and the society at large, thus making the present day relegation of women alien to the continent, he noted.

He added: "Inequality between men and women in Nigeria isn't thousands of years old, it came with British men in 20th century when they came and appointed mostly men in positions of authority, thereby relegating women to the background. This was not in tandem with the African traditional religion. Before the colonial era, there were female gods, priests and other such key positions that made them relevant in the society".

He painfully noted that the present day Nigeria has not only built on the foundation of gender discrimination laid by her colonial master, but has gone further in widening the gap with such weapons as culture of impunity found in her education system, sexual harassment, lack of opportunity in formal and informal sectors, poverty, maternal mortality death, among others.

"And the reality of women suppression in Nigeria today is the terror her poor women go through in child birth as statistics has it that one Nigerian woman dies every ten minutes in child birth. According to him this is the real terror women across the world face, particularly in Nigeria which he described as a rich country of poor people," he added.

Pointing out that women are great instrument of change and that are too powerful to be ignored, he reflected on what he called some strong and powerful women activists Nigeria has had and the strong women the country will continue to have, if provided with equal opportunity with their male counterparts.

According to him, Nigeria had always had strong women who had in the past mobilised themselves against unpopular policies, injustice and even sought for the nation's independence.

"The Aba Women Riot of 1929 did not only achieve its target but went a long way to show the danger of neglecting women in any society", he enthused.

Speaking further, he said: "While the roles of such women as Margaret Ekpo, one of the three women in the then house of chiefs that joined the campaign for Nigeria's independence also, who along with OlufumilayoRansome-Kuti, protested the killings at an Enugu coal mine and others such women in the past whose active participation in the fight against injustice against women and as well as the general well being of their immediate communities remains a pointer to her ability to affect her society.

He warned that trade union without active participation of women will never be strong and will as well never be taken serious. And that the fight for women active participation in trade unions should be a joint action by both women and women cutting across all spheres of life. According Povey, "It is very important that Trade Unions recognise that the fight for women emancipation, women liberation is a fight for both women and men, because if women are not active members of the unions, the union will be weaker. However, all of us will be better off if women are allowed and welcomed into playing active roles trade unions and in other policy making organs."

As a key to fostering more active participation of women in trade unions and policy making in general, Povey expressed the need to ensure that government and trade unions' documents are gender sensitive. According to him "we need to do more on gender sensitive language by addressing as appropriate offices and positions occupied by women."

He stressed that the fight for women right should be both private and public agenda. For him, men should encourage their wives to be politically active, earn their own income, attend political and trade union meetings, seek her opinion in political issues and assist them with the house chores.

• Nigeria