Senator asks security agencies to recruit more women

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Women Affairs, Ireti Kingibe, has advocated for the inclusion of more women in the recruitment for security agencies.

Kingibe spoke on Thursday in Abuja at a two-day Strategic Sensitisation Workshop with Senior Officers of Defence and Security Agencies and Relevant Committees of the National Assembly.

She said such inclusion would show the gender sensitivity of the country.

The training was jointly organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies, UN Women and National Defence College, was themed: Enhancing Gender-Responsive Security Operation and Community Dialogue Project (Phase II).

In her remarks,  Kingibe (LP-FCT) called for the promotion of diversity and inclusivity within the security forces for gender responsiveness.

She explained, “There is the need to also encourage the recruitment of more women and prepare pathways for their professional development and leadership within the security force.”

She said including women in all spheres of governance would guarantee their inclusion politically and security-wise.

She added, “We are the giant of Africa and we need to start thinking like the giant in every way. As long as we don't legislate on issues on women, we won't achieve more.”

The lawmaker also called for the implementation of training programmes for security personnel to raise their awareness about gender dynamics.Kingibe explained, “Equip them with the skills to handle diverse security issues in a gender-responsive manner.

“Develop and utilise gender-disaggregated data to understand the specific security needs of different demographics, specifically women.

“This approach enables targeted intervention and helps in assessing effectiveness of security measures.

In his presentation, a representative of UN Women, Mr Peter Mancha, said that women were largely excluded from peace-building processes.

Mancha noted, “We have failed to utilise the potential that women have to contribute to conflict prevention and peacebuilding.

“If we want to have sustainable peace, we must bring women to the table because of their potential.”
He said that legislators were very critical actors in ensuring the security of women calling on the need to have laws formulated that were gender responsive.

“We need to have lawmakers who will have oversight functions to ensure that gender responsiveness is fully achieved,” he noted.

Earlier, Director-General NILDS, Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman said that no stone would be left unturned to ensure that all laws were gender friendly and seek to achieve gender equality.