WOMEN AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER ONE

1.0      INTROUCTION

From the beginning of time women have made to be a vital instrument of social development in almost all capacities of human engagement. The biblical injunction that women shell be man’s helper has lured various service and capacities for instance they have laboured in the house as the mother and housewives. They have a time extending their roles a cross the frontiers of a house-wife. At sometimes many women from age to age have proved to be invaluable silent counselors by their husbands. By thus is meat that some of the policy decision of their people are the brain child of their wives who inform their husbands of the decision that sometimes convey public impacts. That is not all.

Women are also found to be involved in some trivial but equally essential services to their families and the general society. These include harvesting and processing farm products for house holds consumption or assisting their make counterparts in farming. In fact, the term “assisting” might be misapplied have, because in the practical aspect, the African women engages in more tedious labour in the farm than we husband, most work done by men are easer going and work at shorter duration compared to the women tasks. For instance, men’s work are usually confined to cleaning an area for cultivation and even her sometime with women’s assistance and then cultivation. The rest of the work which is more labourious is entirely shifted to the women. These includes planting of the crop weeding and he general technical supervision of the farm.

In spite of these contribution, instead the form of trend that women have been suppressed to exploitation, subjected to psychological and in some instance physical assaui. (C.F. Iyayi,199:8)

Today, however the situation has assumed a different dimension as women are enjoying more freedom in our economic and technological complexities. It dawned on women that their intention is no longer suspected to menial Jobs but that also have a crucial role to play in positive development in Nigeria. Among the antecedents of these changes as they occurred in a historical sequence are as follows

In 1946, the united organization created the commission on the status of women in recognition of the disadvantage status of women.

The charter include the promotion of equality of opportunities regardless of race sex etc. in 1907, the general discrimination of education and in 1967, the united Nation general Assembly adopted a declaration on the elimination against women as an elaboration of the universal declaration of  human right.

In 1972, the U. N general Assembly declared 1975 an internal women’s year. This led to the first world conference held in Copenhagen in 1975 where action was to be intensified to promote equally between men and women and to ensure the full integration of women in total development and effort and also increase their contribution to the strengthening of place. Another conference on international year for women oathining a ten year plan of action on “equality development and was held in Mexico.

In 1979, the U.N. took a resolution against any form of discrimination against women in Nigeria, the idea belong women originated from the interest that evolved during the founding members believed that the liberation of women cannot be fully achieved outside the context of liberating the oppressed and the poor majority in the country.

In 1685, the world conference on women was held in Nairobi Kenya, at a very ethical period when Nigeria was undergoing econ depression. Based on the 1985 forward-looking strategies for women, the federal government of Nigeria organization awareness campaigns, workshops, seminars and rallies to mobilize women and teenage girls.

Thus resulted in creating activities for both urban and rural women.

In 1989, United Nations educational scientific and cultural organization (UNESCO) stated that “human kind in entering the 21^stcentury with a list of unresolved global issues on it’s agenda……women comprising half of the world’s population cannot be divorced from active participation in solving those global problem. This implies that women are entitled to equitable involvement in decision making in solving our problem.

Between August 27 and September 3, 1995, the forth U.N. conference on women was held in Belgium, China, it was the fourth and the largest world conference on women in the context of equality and sustainable development.

All these development illustrated human effort at redefining women status in the human folk. They bring with them corresponding challenges and responding challenges and responsibilities.

Moreso, it is intentionally accepted that the family is the bedrock of every society.

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