By Etop Ekanem

AS part of activities marking the International Women’s Day, the Lions Club International District 404A1, Lagos in collaboration with Rotary Club District 9110 and Project Alert organised a one-day training for female students drawn from different schools in Lagos where they were tutored in different skills.

This year’s International Women’s Day is themed: ”Digital: Innovation and technology for gender equality.”

Other activities included a symposium where eminent personalities presented papers on different topics. The resource persons included Mrs Patunda-Ajayi Olayinka, Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Water Front and Infrastructure Development, who spoke on “Equity in girl-child education: Increased access to digital skills;” Dame Tope Tychus, Trustee, Lions International MD404, Nigeria, delivered a paper on “Gender and disability inequality for women in the workplace while Josephine Effah-Chukwu, Executive Director, Project Alert talked on “Gender discrimination, sexual harassment and inequality in the workplace.”

Speaking at the event, District Governor, Lions Club International, District 404, Ano Anyanwu said the fight for equity by women “is not really a gender fight but a fight for us to do the right thing.”

He advised them to focus on getting the women to be given the opportunity to display their skills and capabilities.

According to Anyanwu, “a lot of grounds have been covered right from the days when women were fighting to be able to vote. By year 1900 women were not allowed to vote. In fact, the first women agitators for women right to vote were branded racists. The issue is that why should women be confined to the kitchen? So, they started agitating for women to be allowed to vote. From being allowed to vote, women started agitating to be allowed to be elected. Now there are female presidents, female prime ministers, female executives all over the place.

“The fight is not over. They should continue to strive to assert their position; they should continue to fight to ensure that the girl-child is quibbled with the necessary skills and knowledge to be able to be equal participants in national development

Lion Anyanwu also advised the men to make sure that everybody is treated equitably in accordance with their capacity and their needs so that the world will become a better place.

According to him, “despite the fight for women rights many years ago, it is the men that still hold the power. Men should realise that things are done equitably. Men should take necessary steps to bring equity in everything we do. Give equal education to our children both male and female. Give equal opportunity to both male and female to acquire skills. Give equal opportunity to male and female to display their capacity, to use their skills and knowledge to participate in the development of the nation.”

On why the Lions Club collaborated with Rotary Club District 9110 and Project Alert to celebrate this year’s International Women’s Day, Anyanwu said: “These are three great organisations coming together to celebrate in a collaborative way the International Women’s Day. We believe that if we celebrate it together the awareness level will be much higher and more people would be called to attention of theme of the International Women’s Day 2023 celebration which is, “Digital: Innovation and technology for gender equality.”