Non-Governmental Organisation, Gender Strategy Advancement International (GSAI), on Thursday paid an advocacy visit to Orozo and Karshi communities in the Federal Capital Territory.
The visit is part of an advocacy visit that seeks to draw attention to the plight of dwellers in rural communities and the need for the government to implement intervention projects that will better the lives of women in those communities.
GSAI’s visit is with support from Wole Soyinka Center for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ), and the MacArthur Foundation.
At the Orozo community, the women decried the government’s negligence of issues that concern women in their community.
Mrs Mariam said, “I am a widow with 3 children and lost 2 of them to illness after the death of my husband. I find it very difficult catering for myself and my only child left.
“This morning, I hard to borrow money from a neighbour just so that my daughter can go to her place of Industrial Attachment (IT) which she had missed going for over a week due to how difficult things are for not just me but virtually every women in this community, especially, widows, because we have no extra support.
“During every election period, politicians come here, make promises of how they are going to empower our women, support us in any field, help us grow our businesses and lots more. Then after they get what they want, we’re forgotten like used rags and are back to square zero”.
The story was not much different at Karshi.
A residence at Karshi, Madam Faith said, “Women in this community usually give birth at home, just like me. Because if we go to the hospital, the doctors there don’t understand our dialect and are not friendly, and the hospital environment is not even conducive. So there’s no point. We all feel it’s better at home, which we equally know it’s risky, but what can we do?
Government should come to our aid. We know that there’s so much allocated to each state and their communities, please, help us follow up and let the needful be done.”
Madam Shokoyemi narrated that, “Most of us here, our kids are at home because of school fees. We hear that government schools are free, but not here. We pay as much as Four to Five thousand Naira for primary and much more for the secondary section. We are not empowered.
“Every election season, politicians come here with some bags of rice and little token to beg us to mobilise more women for them which we do.
They get their votes, promise us heaven and earth and disappear. At the end of the day, we don’t see anything. We are used and dumped. Look at our community, no good school, good roads, no water, the women are neglected, and are only remembered during elections, which we’re tired of”.
Also another residence, known as Madam Shokolo said “There’s presently no proper health care system for us aged women here in this community, imagine I develop an emergency case at night, I can’t be rushed to the health center because there will be no Doctor on duty.
“When a High Blood pressure test is run on us, we’re asked to pay for the medication, meanwhile the government says it’s for free. We don’t blame the nurses because they need to keep the place running. We don’t have businesses and cannot farm because of our health and age.
If only the government can support us with a token to start up businesses at home, just as they promised to at least to feed and cater for ourselves and children.”
“The women here, lack empowerment, you know that when women are empowered, it boost their sense of self-worth, their right to have and to determine choices, their right to have access to opportunities and resources; their right to have power to control their own lives, both within and outside the home and their ability to influence the direction of social change to create a more just social and economic order, nationally and internationally and the world will be a better place.” The community chief added.
