The UN Women in partnership with the National Institute for Legislative And Democratic Studies (NILDS) on Monday, May 23, 2022, kick-started a 3- day workshop aimed at training the staff of NILDS and the National Assembly on Gender Responsive Budgeting.
The workshop tagged: “Strengthening Capacities In Conducting Gender Responsive Assessment of the Nigerian Budget” was officially declared open by the Director-General of the National Institute For Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS).
In his keynote speech, Prof. Abubakar Olanrewaju Sulaiman established that the workshop was another effort of the National Assembly to “equip the National Assembly, Legislature and parliamentary staff on the necessary tools for observing the budget from the Gender perspective.”
According to him, the training in gender-responsive budgeting is intended to enhance the capacity of the staff in the Institute as well as the relevant committees of the National Assembly to scrutinize the annual appropriation bill and ensure that it is gender-sensitive.
In his words, “Democracy is premised on a genuine partnership between men and women and the eradication of gender inequalities.”. He further stated that “analyzing the budget from a gender perspective, therefore, provides a useful mechanism to assess the effects of government policies on men and women, boys and girls, and the real contributions all individuals make to the economy.”
In his opinion, if this is put in place, the government can “evolve and implement policies that ensure equity.”
The UN Women Deputy Country Representative, Mr. Lansana Wonneh also gave his remark and stressed the need for the National Budget to be distributed fairly in order to achieve true development for each segment of the society with each segment being Men, Women, Boys, and Girls.
He added that it is expected that going forward, lawmakers who approve budgets are able to do so with an equitable eye aimed at promoting equality.
Participants were taken through different interesting and enlightening sessions with speakers who lectured on Understanding Gender concepts, Equality, Gender, and Women Economic Principles (WEP). Participants also engaged in breakout sessions to further discuss and come up with solutions to some issues raised.
