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ECOWAS ready for Gender Devt. Centres

From TONY OTARU; Abuja

THE Economic Community for West African States (ECOWAS) has concluded arrangement for the establishment of gender based development centers that would take care of issues like health, social, welfare unemployment and poverty.

At the end of its 1st Extra Ordinary Session in Abuja, the Speaker ECOWAS Parliament, Hon. Mohmane Ousmane said the strategic plans would target support, for the education of the girl-child, her retention in school and make efforts to reduce the disparity between rural and urban women.

''The plan will also help in reducing the inequalities in certificates and diplomas from established schools and encourage good governance that has direct link with respect to the rights of women which is a panacea for maintaining peace and avoiding conflict,'' he said.

Similarly, he said, ''The strategic plan in its implementation will focus on the sensitization and training of the men folks who usually find it difficult to accept changes in areas that are traditionally permissible but mitigate and undermine the concept of gender parity, equity and partnership within the family unit and the society at large.''
He stressed that the implementation plan which had already been adopted by the parliament took into consideration members advocacy for precise policy statements/positions from ECOWAS prescribing percentage of quota participation of women in decision making positions within structures at the member states and the sub-region.
He observed that for the strategic plan to be successful, ''there is urgent need for the mobilization of finance for its implementation, Adequate political will to ratify instruments that will enhance gender issues in areas such as the rights of inheritance and land ownership, widowhood, female genital mutilation and the constraints of Sharia Laws which needs to be revisited.''

The Speaker announced that plans were in advanced stage for ECOWAS ''to establish its own University in the sub- region to foster socio-Economic and Cultural integration among its peoples for rapid development.'’