Women across Itesiwaju Local Government have been charged to see themselves as an essential ingredient of social integration and agent for capacity building who should be nurtured, protected and cherished.
The Chairperson, Itesiwaju Local Government Council, Mrs. Ojo Bashirat Adenike gave the charge during a sensitization/awareness programme organized for women in the council area.
The programme, tagged :Stop Gender Based Violence , focused on the need to end violence against women.
The chairperson described the act as inhuman, barbaric and perversive.
Wives of council honorables and councillors across the ten wards of the council as well as also women leader, Mrs Adeleye Sarat and other government functionaries participated in the programme.
The campaign train, led by the Chairperson, which took off from Okaka maternity centre moved through market centres, palace of Olokaka of Okaka and every nook and crannies of Okaka town.
Several women were seen holding banners and placards with different inscriptions such as, ‘Together, We Can Make A Difference’, ‘Oyo State Gov. Says No To Child Abuse’, ‘Girl Child Deserves Good Education’, among others.
While speaking, the wife of the council boss,Mrs Ojo Bashirat said the sensitization campaign was in tandem with the vision of the wife of the state governor, Chief Mrs Tamino minini Makinde, who tasked all wives of council chairmen to replicate the initiative across the various local councils in the state.
Mrs Ojo Bashirat noted that women are essential components of societal and national development who should not be relegated.
She emphasized that gone are the days when women were maltreated without any avenue for justice.
She stressed that women are not weaker sex or object of second fiddle who should be subjected to unnecessary abuse and discrimination.
The council chairperson urged parents and guardians to take good care of their female children and prepare them for glorious future.
While delivering the message of the wife of the state governor Chief Mrs Tamino minini Makinde,Mrs Ojo Bashirat educated the women that gender based violence can affect their physical, emotional and phycological wellbeing.
She admonished women in the council area to speak out and report any form of discrimination or violence against them to the appropriate authority.
Earlier, in their separate remarks,the Health Educator,Okaka Maternity Centre,Mrs Jokanola Busayo,Hon Yemisi Ajibola and the Deputy Director of Education, Itesiwaju Local Government, Comrade Bashiru Musa took turn to educate women on series of violence and child abuses
They also urged parents to desist from the habit of genital mutilation and other unwholesome practices, describing them as inimical to societal growth and development.
While hosting the campaign train in his palace, the Olokaka of Okaka His Majesty Oba Abdul azeez Olatunji Ayoola Ogelende the fourth admonished women to be agents of change in the society, urging them to cooperate with their husbands towards actualizing their dreams.
The monarch who underscored the importance of women in the society, also used the occasion to enlighten women on the need for right attitude, humility, integrity and perseverance.
The epoch event, also had in attendance Information Officer, Itesiwaju Local Government, Mr Oyeleye Toyese,ACCD 1 Mr Kehinde Ademola,SCDO Comrade Sulaimon Bola,SEO Mrs Hamed Fausat and Director of Education, Mr Adeagbo Dauda and all women leaders in the ten wards of of the council among others.
By Kaseem Jenrade