From Omo Obazee, Asaba
The Delta State chapter of the Standup For Women Society (SWS), has been inaugurated in Asaba, the State capital with a call on Nigerian women to be united and encouraged themselves to achieve their desired goals in a male dominated world.
Special Guest of Honour at the inauguration ceremony, HRM Obi Martha Dunkwu, who delivered a keynote address, urged the womenfolk not to relegate themselves to the background, but rather speak with one voice to promote and uplift the status of women at all times.
She told the Standup group, not to rub shoulders with the menfolk in anything they do, saying there is nothing like gender equality, going by how God, Himself patterned life around man from creation.
She said, because the story of creation did not talk about equality, she would never support equality but instead, would prefer to agitate for women to be supported by men to complement them and be allowed to fulfill their God-given potentials in life.
Dunkwu, who had standing ovation while admonishing the women about the do’s and don’t and the challenges women face in life generally, posited that for any woman to succeed in life, she must acquired education both formally and informally because education is the universal key that opens all doors.
The National President of SWS, Mrs. Deborah Ijadele Adetona, said the group is apolitical and solely for women affairs; saying that doesn’t exempt their members from joining Political parties of their choices.
According to her, the group believes in women agenda, fighting their course together without considering men as their problems.
Adetona affirmed that women are the problem of women, stating that SWS seeks to change the narratives by engaging the menfolk to support the womenfolk in achieving their God-given purposes on earth.
The National President said the vision to purely end the attitudinal reproach towards the woman folk by the society and encourage women to place value upon their lives, remained sacrosanct.
She noted that women, who have suffered reproaches and other forms of domestic violence and the girl-child whose rights have been abused are direct beneficiaries of the Standup group.
The Chairman of the occasion, Bashorun Askia Ogieh, who spoke through Mr. Lawrence Efenudu, tasked women to ensure that they are not relegated to the background in the scheme of things.
Ogieh who is the Managing Director of DESOPADEC, affirmed that women must be encouraged to achieve their full potentials in the scheme of things, promising to partner with the group to achieve its purpose.
According to him, if the girl child is properly nurtured, the better for the society.
“If the girl-child is properly nurtured, the society will be a better place. We are out to change the impression that women don’t support women. To project and plan for women’s world against pull-her-down syndrome. A woman will be better positioned for a better tomorrow, if the rights of women are protected.”
Delta State Chapter Chairperson, Mrs. Stella Macaulay, the Functioning Permanent Secretary at the Delta State Orientation Bureau, said “I welcome you all to this auspicious event of our inauguration. We are here to uncover what the Liberators had been doing already through the Standup for Women Society platform. Our sole aim is to heed the clarion call of sisterhood; which is to change the narratives of women not supporting their kind.
“We in SWS are building strong linkages with other like-minds to advance the course of women. Our business is that the mental wellbeing, the consciousness of women and girl children are taken into paramount consideration in executing our agenda.
“The life of a Girl-Child is centred around the production of a nation; and so that precious opportunity must not be wasted on the excuse of not having time to attend to the numerous needs of girls and women. The girl child in some societal beliefs is prepared ahead of time to get into marriage even when she doesn’t understand what marriage is all about.
“From the time the girl child is born, she has no time to think of herself, except being made to undertake multi tasks in life. It’s time to discuss as women; and so this ceremony provides that opportunity to dissect the many challenges of women and thinker ways forward to most of them”, Mrs. Macaulay added.
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