As the World gets ready to mark the 30th anniversary of the iconic conference that set up guidelines for universal considerations and actions on issues of concern to women, The Beijing Declarations and Platform of Actions for Women, foremost women non-governmental organization in the Niger Delta in Nigeria, Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre, supported by Ford Foundation organized a two-day Review Meeting in Port Harcourt, from February 12-13th, 2025.
The objective of the gathering of over 100 women and some gender friendly men, was to appraise the level of implementation of the 1995 Beijing Declarations, challenges encountered and come up with suggestions on how to further advance the women cause especially, with relations to the realities in the region and Nigeria. Participants were drawn from the Niger Delta states of Rivers, Bayelsa, Edo, Delta, Akwa Ibom, and Imo while representatives of government leaders in related ministries of Women Affairs, Environment and Agriculture as well as some state legislators and local government commissioners were also present. Special focus was on the women in decision and political leadership, environment, human rights, armed conflict and the media.
After presentations by resource persons, dialogues on the journey so far and group works on the 12 critical areas addressed by the 1995 Platform of Action.
The following observations were made:
1. That though the route to progress has been slow and challenging, a few milestones have been recorded. That more work needs to be done as women have been constrained over the years because of cultural norms and practices which are inimical to the actualisation of critical concerns of the Beijing Platform for Action Declaration.
2. That women are instrumental in providing early warning signals and assisting through psychosocial support during armed conflicts.
3. Women are now playing more roles in the area of environment than ever before.
That in traditional communities, women are now being appointed as chiefs because of the adoption of gender policies and gradually changing perceptions about women.
That women have answers to peace and security resolutions and so, should be included in peace resolution bodies.
That women in different communities in the Niger Delta are not fully included in decision-making positions leading to lack of rapid transformative development in society even though women are recognised as caregivers, good home managers, and responsible for family chores.
Violence against women and girls in the cases of rape is on the rise because perpetrators are not being convicted, shamed and made to pay compensation.
Patriarchal political system has caused the slow progress in the implementation of the Beijing declaration with regards to increase in the number of women in political office as women presence continues to decline.
The failure of the National Assembly to adopt Affirmative Action in the constitution has widened the gap for women’s participation in politics
The most vulnerable people during armed conflict are women and children who, are mostly used as weapons of war to humiliate rival communities.
“Godfatherism” in the political sector is a major reason for the low participation of women in politics as women are not adopted by godfathers/
Political violence and thuggery easily scare women away from politics, making politics more of a male affair.
That in the area of human rights and gender-based violence, the South-South region has recorded some level of achievements as specific laws are in place to protect women and girls but implementation has not been effective.
That there is need for special courts on gender-based violence since in many communities in the region, there is no court of competent jurisdiction close by to handle such cases
That because of the nature of the region as oil producing, women and girls are exposed to contamination from oil spills and gas flaring because of their constant relations with the environment.
That despite challenges experienced by women in the Niger Delta, there is a serious absence of adequate documentation of women issues which has impaired the level of interventions where needed and successes recorded, hence, the need to prioritize data representation and capturing.
There is a lack of comprehensive database to track achievements of women on implementations of critical concerns.
That women have not received commensurate media visibility some of which can be traced to poor access to funds, fear, patriarchy and still existing levels of media bias.
Based on the issues and observations, recommendations were as follows:
Civil Society Organizations (CSOs)
CSO’s should lead the advocacy on environmental issues that affect the women and girls in the region.
There is need to raise awareness and win more support among the male folks through advocacy and networking. In addressing the identified challenges, women should work side by side with men to achieve the desired success on the implementation of the Beijing declaration 30 years after.
There should be strategic and continuous mobilisation/ sensitisation of communities on the need to increase women's empowerment.
That gender equality measures should intentionally be mainstreamed into policies and plans from community to local government, state and national levels.
That communities should be engaged and involved in planning and decision-making processes in the governance structure to promote inclusive governance.
That the capacity of communities in gender response should be built and local institutions and networks strengthened for effective coordinating efforts.
That holistic and implementable strategies be put in place to ensure that gender concerns are given priority attention. This should be backed up by the domestication at state and local government levels, of key gender policies like the UNSR, National Gender Policy, National Gender Climate Action Policy, VAPP, among others.
There should be training and sensitization programmes for the traditional leadership, men, and the larger society on existing gender focused policies.
MEN
1. Men who believe in the ideologies of gender parity should engage and sensitise other men to be of like mind in promoting women's inclusion.
WOMEN
Should recognised that they have the power to assert themselves through capacity-building interventions.
Seek more collaboration with the male by lobbying.
Women should begin to support other women to succeed in leadership positions and empower them to build their capacity to remain relevant.
Women should invest in personal and educational development to become adequately empowered to be able to leverage leadership opportunities.
There is need to train/ build women’s capacity to engage with the media.
There should be a gender desk in all police stations to tame the increase in the incidents of violence against women and girls.
Women should invest in self-development and work collectively to protect their interests because together they can achieve more.
Women should be involved in policy formation for a better representation of their concerns.
GOVERNMENT
The government should create opportunities for women to participate in environmental decision-making.
The government should ensure proper gender policy enforcement and infrastructural development.
Government should mainstream women's issues and concerns in all policies and frameworks.
To reduce the workload on women, government should provide potable water for all and a good health system in all the states.
Government should show commitment to the implementation of the Beijing platform for Action Declaration and involve women from planning to execution of policy processes for a better representation of their concerns.
CALL TO ACTIONS –
Everyone should be involved in the campaign for better representation of women in decision-making, gender equal and respect for the rights of women and girls.
While we celebrate three decades of the declaration, the Niger Delta continues to grapple with severe environmental challenges compounded by a legacy of inadequate policies and enforcement. Women in the region have suffered disproportionately from these environmental and economic hardships, despite their critical role in sustaining their communities. Over the last three decades, while there has been progress through grassroots mobilization, legal actions, and capacity-building initiatives, significant gaps remain.
The Beijing+30 Declaration and the Platform for Action offers a clear roadmap: integrate gender perspectives into all environmental policies, ensure women’s access to resources and justice, build capacity, improve data collection, and foster inclusive partnerships.
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