The Challenges of Women Empowerment for Sustainable Development in Nigeria

Abstract

Education is a potent tool in the emancipation and empowerment of women. The greatest single factor which can incredibly improve the status of women in any society is education. It is indispensible that it enables women not only to gain more knowledge about the world but helps her to get status, positive self esteem and self confidence, necessary courage and inner strength to face challenges in life. Apparently it also facilitates them to procure a job and supplement the income of family and achieve social status. Educated women can play an equal role as men in nation building. Therefore, the is no denying fact that education empowers women. In spite of the forceful intervention by international women groups, feminist critics, constitutional guarantees, protecting laws and sincere efforts by the government at all levels through various schemes and programmes to uplift the plight of women, education and women empowerment is still an enigma for variation of reasons. The 2003 and 2005 UNESCO report indicates that literacy among women is only 54% and Nigeria is still at the risk of not achieving the Education For All (EFA) goals. The growth of women education in the rural areas is still very low. This obviously means that there is still a large number of women folk who are illiterate, weak, backward and exploited. Gender inequality is re-enforced in education which is proved by the high percentage of men who are educated compared to the percentage of their female counterparts. This paper views the reasons for gender inequality in educational system, recommend that women themselves should develop negotiative skills and rise to the challenges of assisting themselves in a competitive society and conclude that there is obvious inequality against the girl child in enrollment, attendance and completion rate in all levels of education in Nigeria especially the northern part due to variety of cultural and religious factors.

Education, Women Empowerment and National Development in Nigeria

“…Today in Nigeria, women have become conscious of their right, there by engaging themselves in social and economic activities regarded exclusively for men. But majority of women in Nigeria have not yet been effectively mobilized and put in their own quota towards national development [4]. These may be as a result of constraints such as Poverty, Socio-Cultural Factors, Religious belief, Illiteracy, Tradition, sex stereotype, poor standard of living etc.…”

Women Empowerment as a Mediator Between Environmental Conservation and Climate Intervention

“…Women empowerment encompasses the multifaceted improvement of their economic [14,15], social [16,17], and political [18][19][20] status, addressing the systemic disadvantages faced by women in society [21]. Acknowledged as a pivotal challenge of the 21st century [22][23][24][25][26], true empowerment necessitates the creation of a societal and political climate where women can live free from the pervasive threats of abuse, prejudice, mistreatment, enslavement, and general harassment inherent in historical male dominated systems [21,[27][28][29][30][31]. A prerequisite for achieving sustainable development involves empowering rural women to assume leadership roles in their community's active development and participate in decisionmaking processes [32,33].…”