In 2017, Lagos ranked as one of the most dangerous cities to be a woman in, and after more than a year, it seems little changed.
When the survey was expanded, Nigeria still ranked as one of the worst countries for women.
While we celebrate International Women’s Day all over the world, learning that Nigeria is on the list of worst countries to be a woman in, is somewhat disheartening.
Thomas Reuters Foundation ranked Nigeria in its 2018 list of worst countries for women, along with other countries such as India, Afghanistan, Syria, Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Yemen and the USA.
It’s really been a tumultuous couple of months for Nigerian women — from the Yaba Market March, to fighting to make sure men guilty of rape are persecuted, to hearing that there are 20,000 Nigerian women trapped in Mali after being sold off as s*x slaves.
Part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals is to eradicate all forms of violence, oppression and discrimination against women and girls by 2030, to allow females live freely, safely and equally, and not as second-class citizens.
However, Nigeria, as well as the other countries listed, hasn’t progressed in the efforts to address overall risks faced by women, specifically regarding healthcare, access to economic resources, customary practices, s*xual violence, non-s*xual violence and human trafficking.
Nigeria is still plagued with the issue of child marriage and high mortality rate during childbearing.
This year’s theme for the International Women’s Day is, “Think Equal, Build Smart and Innovate for Change,” and it truly seems that more Nigerian women are taking charge and pushing back.
Hopefully, with more efforts from the government, Nigeria will become a much better place for women and girls in the coming future.
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