Although women possess great potential to advance innovation and creativity, the wrong interplay of gene and environmental interaction makes it difficult for them to access the resources needed to thrive. With history laden with the great contributions women play in advancing the course of nature, the burden of this essay lies in examining two case studies, discussing them, highlighting some challenges facing women, and proffering possible solutions.
Case study 1
In the agrarian region of Dapchi town, many girls are given out for marriage at earlier ages while their male counterparts further their education to become refined leaders in the future. For Leah Sharibu however, the choice of gaining quality education motivated her to enrol at Government Girls Science Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State. According to accounts from a schoolmate of hers who luckily escaped being captured, “Leah was a member of the minority Christian group in the school who had always engaged her peers in discussions like If Bokoharam strikes our school and you are asked to deny your faith, will you? While many couldn’t give pinpoint answers, Leah always maintained her resoluteness to hold on. Since the school was cautious of an attack, the students were trained on how to escape and run for safety in the face of a terrorist attack. On the 19th of February 2018, at 5:30 pm when the girls were in their dormitory, Bokoharam insurgents with sizeable lorries visited the school with sporadic gunshots to announce their arrival. While many of the girls ran into the bush for safety, Leah ran towards the school gate for safety. Upon arrival, there was a lorry parked with some men in soldier-like uniforms shouting get in, get in. Many of the students ran into the lorry thinking it was a rescue team. The narrator also wanted to jump into the lorry but when she observed that the men were without boots, she quickly remembered that correct soldiers always put on their boots. This alerted her to evade capture. With the lorry full, the girls were driven off into the forest as captives.” The Nigerian government painstakingly started negotiations with the terrorists to secure their release. After a series of contacts, the exercise paid off with the release of 108 girls. Leah was however held back for rejecting attempts to renounce her faith. According to intelligent reports, ISWAP has reportedly turned her into a sex slave and she has given birth to two children having been married off to one of the terrorists. Leah ought to have completed her secondary education and maybe gone ahead for further studies and maybe curb the menace of girl child school drop-out but her dreams have been aborted.
Case study 2
Ngozi Okonjo Iweala was born in Delta State to a professor who was a king in Nigeria. Through his influence, his daughter enjoyed gender inclusivity to be educated before going to Havard to study Economics. As an economist, she had a 25 years career at the World Bank in Washington DC as a development economist and rose to the position of Managing director for operations. She served as a finance minister twice in Nigeria spearheading negotiations with the Paris Club that led to the wiping out of a $30 billion Nigeria’s debt. In 2020, she was appointed by the African Union as a special envoy to solicit international support to help the continent deal with the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Some months after her nomination to be the director general of the World Trade Organization, she was unanimously appointed as the director general on the 15th of February 2021, making her the first woman and African to lead the organization.
Discussion
From the first case study examined, it is safe to say that terrorism, cultural beliefs, religious extremism, insecurity, negative societal norms, and gender discrimination are some of the challenges limiting the inclusiveness of women and making the environment unconducive for the girl child to thrive.
In the second case study, however, the provision of a conducive environment laden with easy access to resources facilitated the development of Ngozi Okonjo to accomplish the jaw-breaking works she executed for the overall good of humanity.
Challenges women face and their possible solutions
*Insecurity and extremism
Due to the poor security network in Northern Nigeria, many a girl with the potential to facilitate innovations and creativity have become victims of abduction. To this end, the government should as a matter of urgency, make an effort to create a conducive environment devoid of insecurity through the creation of community police. This will restore the girl child’s hope and create the freedom needed for the interplay of genetic-environment forces to accelerate national transformation. Religious leaders should also learn how to deliver anti-extremism sermons to curb extremism.
*Lack of access to technology
In spite of global technological advancement, many women in Nigeria lack access to technology. This makes them ignorant about coding, GBV, reproductive health, nutrition, women empowerment, and how to prevent mortality. The government, NGOs, and concerned members of the public should make it a duty to train every Nigerian woman to be digitally literate.
*Lack of women in positions of power
The continuous lack of women in senior positions tends to stymie the progress of issues like pay, humanitarian aid, and discrimination in all its forms. It is therefore important for women to be given leadership roles for the wholesome advancement of society.
*Patriarchy
Regardless of a woman’s experience, the patriarchal nature of our society relegates women to the background and makes them look less qualified than men. This consequently disrupts the social order and makes the female gender to represent a problem.
*Few decision-making women
Experience has shown that women in power tend to bring a different perspective to the problem-solving table. This is because of the way nature wired them to personalize problems. With few women on the decision table, there is a need for everyone to keep speaking up to give the female gender a voice.
*Economic inequality
In our society, men tend to have more access to economic opportunities than women. Nigerian women for instance only earn 77 cents for every dollar that men get for the same work. This skewed system makes it practically impossible for girls to have access to knowledge capable of stimulating their inner potential to drive innovation. Annihilating this inequality and engaging women can help the country’s GDP to grow by 23% ($229 billion) by 2025.
*Lack of access to equal opportunity
Many opportunities in society are tilted to favor men than women. This dysfunction makes it difficult for women with the requisite qualification to gain access to the system. Advocacy should be made continuously to push and hold wide, the doors of access to equal opportunity till gender inclusivity is achieved.
*Navigating career and motherhood
Due to the challenges of motherhood, many women find it difficult to navigate through their career routes when compared to their male colleagues. It is important for policies that will enable women to re-enter the workforce where they left off before childbirth to be enacted. This could also be complemented with bridge courses that will keep them on par with their male colleagues.
*Increasing rates of maternal mortality
According to the World Health Organization, about 830 women die daily from preventable causes related to pregnancy. These deaths truncate the ambition of many women loaded with the potential to contribute to the nation’s development. Primary health care centers should be provided across the country to stem the tide.
*Gender-based violence
According to the 2018 demographic and health survey, 31% of women between the ages of 15 and 49 have experienced sexual violence. With gender violence driven by social norms, economic stress, family relations, patriarchal beliefs, and targeted assertions against female anatomy, there is a need for the Nigerian government to employ policies that will criminalize the practice and give women a thriving environment to contribute to national development.
*Education parity
According to UBEC, females had the most basic education promotion and completion rates. This is a testament to the incredible excellent potential of Nigerian girls. Free education should be provided to promote the wholesome development of girls.
*Discriminatory employment
Many Nigerian women still experience discriminatory practices while seeking employment. Such practices include wage parity, inadequate maternity leave, sexual harassment, and slow promotion to top managerial positions. It is pertinent for these discriminatory practices to be abolished to pave the way for women's inclusion.
*Political exclusion
Nigeria ranks 181st out of 193 countries for female representation in parliament. In 2018 for instance, only 24% of the national parliamentarians were women. Political quotas should be earmarked to give women the right to exercise political inclusion.
Conclusion
Since the positive interplay of gene-environment interaction played a vital role in the second case study, a conducive environment loaded with easy access to skills, knowledge, and education should be nurtured to encourage gender inclusiveness in order to produce a crop of women, capable of accelerating innovation and creativity in the nearest future.
References
https://www.dataphyte.com/latest-reports/governance/5-gender-challenges-nigerian-women-face
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/03/08/women-biggest-problems-international-womens-day
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ngozi_okonjo-iweala
https://guardian.ng/opinion/leah-sharibu-symbol-of-faith-and-courage