Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti
The First Lady of Ekiti State, Mrs. Bisi Fayemi, has promised that the administration of her husband, Governor Kayode Fayemi, will continue to give more political positions to women in the state for relevance and gender balancing.
She said the war against gender inequality in the state is to engender social stability between men and women and not to trigger rivalry between spouses.
Mrs. Fayemi stated in Ado Ekiti during a programme to mark the 2020 edition of International Women’s Day.
The first lady said her husband has begun aggressive implementation of all gender equality laws that would tackle the incidences of rape, trafficking and all forms of discriminations against women in the state.
“This government will continue to position our women for greatness. The attempt to give our women their voice in this state is meant to bring stability and recognition to everybody, regardless of gender.
“Despite this, we are calling on women to respect their husbands because this advocacy is not about rivalry between spouses,” she said.
Meanwhile, the federal government in partnership with Ekiti State Government has commenced the distribution of cooking gas to 13, 000, indigent women across the state as part of efforts to reduce the use of firewood for cooking.
The Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen, represented by the Director of Finance and Administration in the ministry, Mrs. Dupe Bakare, while flagging off the programme, said President Muhammadu Buhari had directed the supply of cooking gas cylinders to 1,000 rural women in each of the 774 local government areas across the country.
She said the action is to create awareness and sensitise the public, especially women on the effect of using firewood for cooking, revealing that “the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said emission from stoves and firewood kills about 4.3 million people yearly through air pollution and indoor smoke inhalation causes respiratory diseases and death.”
However, Mrs. Fayemi commended the federal government for the initiative, appreciating the president for selecting Ekiti as one of the pilot states to benefit in the first phase of the free scheme.
She said experts have revealed that smoke generated by firewood exposes women to respiratory diseases such as lung cancer which had led to the death of many women.
