Women, bedrock of society – Fashola

The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, SAN, has described women as the bedrock of the society, saying that without them, men are nothing. Fashola made the assertion in a speech delivered on his behalf by his deputy, Mrs. Sarah Sosan, during the celebration of the 2009 International Women’s Day, in Lagos on Wednesday. The governor said that
over the years and down through the history of the human race, women had demonstrated great courage, commitment and strength of character in providing necessary support to their various families and societies.
He said ancient and contemporary histories were filled with exploits of women who had broken social and economic barriers and cultural stereotypes to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with men in impacting their world positively.
Fashola said, “Women are indeed, the bedrock of the society. They are our mothers, wives, daughters and nieces whose continued support and encouragement has been our source of inspirations and hope.”
He said that women deserved to be protected and not violated, stressing that violation of a woman was a violation of the vessel of life and therefore a violation of humanity.In her remarks, Sosan said the theme of the celebration, ‘Women and men unite against violence against women’ was very apt as many women suffered and died in silence in a bid to keep their homes and made their marriages work. She said violence against women was not new in the society but efforts must be made to reduce the ugly trend to its barest minimum if it could not be eradicated.

Sosan said women had been specially trained by God to take adequate care of the homes, including the husbands and children hence they should be appreciated and not abused. She said, “By abuse or violence, we should bear in mind that it is not only physical beating, but also emotionally and psychologically.”
The President, New Era Foundation, Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu, reminded the gathering that women were still not quite there, even if they had made tremendous progress.She said next year would be another milestone to take stock.The Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope, lamented the repressive culture that had reduced women to sex objects and sacrificial lamb, and in fact, playing the second fiddle to their male counterparts.

She alleged women were subjected to physical, mental and emotional torture because of their gender. She said that Fashola had empowered, appreciated and encouraged women in the state with different policies in place to check women violation.