Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman, the Director-General of National Institutes for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) has called for women’s inclusion in mediation processes toward effective conflicts resolution.
Sulaiman said this in Abuja on Tuesday at the opening of a 2-day public dialogue on Enhancing Gender-Responsive Security Operation: the Role of Legislators in Women, Peace Security (WPS) in Nigeria.
He said that the conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza and African countries had continued to put women at risk.
“It is no doubt that the participation of women in mediation and decision-making processes is vital to conflict prevention and resolution.
“This is because of their understanding of conflict dynamics and how to build effective response and prevention strategies.
“Studies have shown that the active engagement of women in peace building increases the chances of lasting peace, as shown during the civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
“That is why we need full gender parity, including through quotas, to accelerate the inclusion of women across election monitoring, security sector reform, disarmament, demobilisation, and the justice systems,” he said.
He said the fact that in spite of consistent agreement on the value of women on the peace table, there was still a huge gap in their participation, and in the implementation of promises made for their protection, human rights, and dignity.
The DG said that the institute had taken the lead in the advocacy for gender equity on all fronts, from political, social, and economic perspectives.
“This is because social and economic development can only thrive in an atmosphere of peace as equal opportunities for all genders is a conflict control mechanism,” he said.
In his remarks, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar said that discussions on national development cannot be effective without understanding how social power structures affected gender.
Represented by Air Commodore Obi Abiaka, Abubakar said that the focus should be on factors mitigating the temerities of every individual in living a good life and attaining desired goals.
He said that the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) remained committed to enhancing gender responsive operations.
He said that NAF looked forward to emerging legislations to curb gender discrimination.