The British Council says it has embarked on global
Sustainable and Development Goals to bring about gender equality in Nigeria and
other developing countries.
It stated that the SDGs looked into how the gender
discrimination could be addressed by empowering women through education,
sports, arts and justice.
The Press and Public
Affairs Officer, British High Commission, Joe Abuku, disclosed this in a
statement on Tuesday to commemorate the International Women’s Day.
Abuku said a report titled, ‘Women and Girls – making a
lasting difference’, detailed the council’s empowerment of women between 2010
and 2015, adding that there were renewed efforts to sustain the programme.
“Due to the level of priority placed on highlighting gender
related issues, the British Council had commissioned a global report to
highlight the work of the council in relation to the empowerment of women and
girls between 2010 and 2015, generating recommendations on ways to improve on
the existing offer through the identification of strengths, gaps and
opportunities in this area.
“The report was commissioned covering eight countries. These
are Nigeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Pakistan, Tunisia and Uganda.
As the United Nations marked its 70th anniversary in 2015, Heads of State and
High Representatives had decided on 17 global Sustainable and Development
Goals. The 5th goal listed is to achieve gender equality and empower all women
and girls.
“The British Council works through sport as a way of
reaching and engaging young people, and uses it as an entry point and engagement
tool to also address issues such as child protection, boys’ and girls’ rights,
violence against women and promoting changes in gender norms by linking sports
to education. So far in Nigeria, 300 female students between the ages of 12 and
16 years have participated in two football coaching sessions and one
classroom-based session (on rights) per week over a nine-week period.
“Over 20 community coaches in Kano and Jos have been
provided with skills in community football development and child protection advocacy
through the Premier Skills programme. These teachers, acting as volunteers,
have delivered the Premier Skills training,” the statement said.
It further stated
that the goal sought to eliminate all forms of violence, including trafficking,
sexual exploitation, early and forced marriage and domestic violence against
women and girls.
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