Hadjia Buhari promises that her husband will offer women fair representation in government

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari's wife Hadjia Aisha Buhari has promised that her husband's administration will offer for fair representation of women in both leadership and decision-making bodies in a bid to close Nigeria's gender gap.

 

Speaking over the weekend while hosting appreciation dinner for women and youths at the presidential villa in Abuja, Hadjia Buhari said that the measure was needed to ensure women play a role in nation building. She equally observed that high rate of divorce in the northern part of Nigeria was a major setback for the region, saying something must be done to remedy the trend.

 

According to Hadjia Buhari the harassment of women in higher institutions of learning was also a major worry, adding that steps must be taken to stop it. In addition, she called for the introduction of new laws on divorce, to prevent women suffering unduly once they were separated from their husbands.

 

Hadjia Buhari said: “Over the next four years, if you are divorced in the north, you can have what is called alimony. Whichever way our people may like to operate, whether based on religion or customarily, something has to be done on divorce in northern Nigeria and the widowhood rights in south.

 

“Because you have lost your husband, it will be like an end of the world for you, so something has to be done about it customarily or in the modern way. Women from the southern part of the country can’t continue living under suppression and oppression just because they are widows.”

 

In addition, Hadjia Buhari also bemoaned the high rate of female student harassment in higher institutions, noting that something drastic must be done to redress the menace. She appealed to patriotic Nigerians to partner with her husband’s administration in the fight against such collective problems.

 

“There was nothing that people did not say about the past administration. It is not Jonathan that is not good but the people around him, so, the people that are going to be around President Buhari have to be very careful because this election ended peacefully.

 

“We are praying and hoping that people around him should know that it took him 12 years to get to that position and they must know that they are coming to serve the masses, not President Buhari in person. It is the people that are around him that will determine the political health of our state,” Hadjia Buhari added.

 

During President Goodluck Jonathan's tenure, there was a policy of granting 35% of all political appointments to women. It is not yet clear what percentage of appointments President Buhari will offer women as he is yet to reveal his policy in this regard.