Kaduna State House of
Assembly in collaboration with the State Ministry of Women Affairs and
Social Development and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have resolved
to set up a Gender Technical Unit (GTU) in the Assembly complex and
integrated in the system within a year.
Rising from a meeting in Kaduna at the weekend,
stakeholders including the State Assembly House committees on women
affairs, information, pensions, judiciary, security and intelligence
and house committee on public accounts as well as Civil Society
Organisations including Gender Working Group, Gender Awareness Trust,
LEADS Nigeria, Affirmative Action Initiative for Women (NCAA) and
Connecting
Gender for Development (COGEN) among others
discussed the possibility of establishing an internal mechanism to boost
the responsiveness of the State Assembly to gender and social inclusion
issues.
A communique issued at the end of the meeting and
signed by representatives of the State Assembly, State Ministry of Women
Affairs and representative of the CSOs, Hairy Gumbo Santana, Mary M.
Sawok and Dr. Lydia Umar respectively stressed the need to establish the
GTU to act as a liaison between the legislature and CSOs as well as
Ministries on gender and social inclusion issues.
The stakeholders in the meeting noted that there
are knowledge gaps in the legislative arm of government, the executive
and Civil Society on legislative processes and gender concepts as well
as gender mainstreaming processes.
The unit according to the communique would provide a
forum to collate information and galvanize support to gender bills,
bringing legislators close to gender and social inclusion issues as well
as bringing about close working relationship between CSOs and the
legislature.
“It will also act as a resource center and a focal
point for information pathways and will facilitate a harmonious
relationship between the society and legislators," the communique reads
in part.
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