The Honourable Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development Hajiya Imaan Ibrahim Suleiman led a high- power Nigerian delegation to the 70th session of the Commission on the Status on Women (CSW70), currently holding at the United Nations Headquarters, New York.
Addressing the meeting on behalf of Nigeria, the Ministér highlighted the several efforts made by the Nigerian government under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, towards ensuring better welfare for the citizenry, particularly women and children.
The Minister stated that the Federal Republic of Nigeria aligns with the statement delivered on behalf of African Group and is honored to join the international community at this important moment to reaffirm its collective commitment to advancing gender equality and women empowerment as a cornerstone for inclusive action, equitable justice, safeguard of rights, and sustainable development.
According to her in prioritizing this commitment, Nigeria President Bola Tinubu, GCFR, as part of his Renewed Hope Agenda has declared 2026 as Nigeria’s Year of Families and Social Development, noting that the historic declaration reflects the firm belief of the President that strengthening families is fundamental to empowering women, protecting children, and fostering cohesive communities.
“Under the leadership of our President, Nigeria’s social protection architecture has expanded significantly from under one million households in 2015 to almost 10 million in 2026, with women constituting over 70 percent of primary beneficiaries. This represents one of the most significant social protection expansions in Nigeria’s post-independence history. It is also the foundation on which our government continues to build” she said.
Speaking further the Minister announced that Nigeria was already accelerating the delivery of its flag ship delivery program the Renewed Hope Social Impact Interventions 774 (RHSI774) which is a collection of interventions that represent the largest locally driven investment for women’s empowerment in Nigeria’s history, cutting across livelihood support, clean energy, finance, digital inclusion, and social protection. “These initiatives, while ambitious, are achievable with strong commitment and partnerships she assured.
According to her, through our women digital harmony initiative, we are leveraging technology and innovation with one of the components being the Happy Woman App; a mobile platform that serves as a one stop shop that aggregates intervention and support for women. “This initiative will enable access that connects over 20 million women to information, mentorship, and economic opportunities, while strengthening networks of support and inclusion.”
On campaign against gender based violence Hon. Imaan said that Nigeria continues to deepen institutional responses to gender-based violence through a holistic Safeguard mechanism that includes the National Electronic Dashboard to enhance real-time coordination, monitoring, and accountability. “To mitigate emerging trends in Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence, we are actively scaling up prevention and survivor-support systems across the country” she said.
The Minister further noted that Nigeria was advancing the Care Economy as a key.pathway to gender equality and inclusive growth by promoting policies that recognize and reduce unpaid care work while expanding childcare, eldercare, and social support services to empower women and strengthen families.
On gender equality the Minister reported Nigeria’s significant progress anchored in strong legal and policy frameworks.
“The National Gender Policy and the National Women’s Economic Empowerment Policy guide strategic action, while the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015 and the Child Rights Act 2003 remain critical instruments for protecting women and children, she said, adding that the journey from policy intent to legal reality has been long but consistent. With the recently approved Affirmative procurement system, “Nigeria has adopted an advanced procurement approach aimed at expanding access for women owned and women led businesses to public contracts unlocking significant market opportunities within Nigeria’s public procurement system.
Nigeria has seen a significant increase in domestic budget allocations for women, while continuous prioritization of gender budgeting, gender finance, and gender-sensitive financial practices to drive greater investment in gender equality, women’s empowerment, child development, and social inclusion remains intentional.”
The Minister noted that women’s political representation in Parliament remains low at below 10%, he ever, she acknowledged that the proposed Reserved Special Seats Bill represents a historic opportunity to enhance women’s participation in elective governance. She noted with delight that the nation had witnessed a significant emergence of women in appointive leadership positions across the public and private sectors; particularly in the financial sector, enabling women to shape policy, investment, and economic governance.”
This is even as she stated that positive masculinity was being promoted as a strategy for advancing gender equality and women empowerment for inclusive sustainable transformation.
According to her, the National Boy Child Policy developed alongside complementary frameworks is currently under validation, calling for deeper collaboration with global partners in this area.
On Women’s Right, she said Nigeria is advancing innovative partnerships at local and global levels. “We are promoting CEDAW Cities, translating international commitments on women’s rights into concrete actions within cities and communities”.
Furthermore Imaan gave an insight into the Nigerian for Women Program, a world bank supported initiative targeting 4.5 million women beneficiaries. “It focuses on income generation, harmful social norms and attitudes that restrict women’s opportunities.
The Minister reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to working with the international community to accelerate progress on gender equality and women empowerment, expand opportunities for women and girls as well as strengthen families.
Ahmed Lawan Danbazau mnipr
Head, Press and Public Relations FMWASD
