March 04, (THEWILL) – As the global community prepares for this year’s International Women Day, a female village head in Cross River State, Her Highness, Etieka Henrietta Efa Akpera, has decried discrimination by the male folk in the state.
Henrietta Efa, who is Village Head of Akai Efa Community in Calabar, spoke on the challenges she faced as a female traditional leader.
She said, “The challenges we are facing as female traditional rulers is that the men are not carrying us along.
“At times something will happen and they will say it’s only for the men.
“I was told that when you are on the stool, you are not a woman, but a man, but the way they are doing it in the state is that they are not carrying us along, they discriminate against us as everything is about the men.
“Have you ever heard that they have given a female traditional ruler even wheelbarrow, talk less of bicycle, it’s only the men.
“But if you look at all these things, the women work a lot and should be encouraged”, she said.
The female monarch said women should be carried along so that the society can be balanced.
She said the State governor should carry women along because they have been neglected a lot and also advocated for laws by the state House of Assembly that will empower women and make them have a role to play.
This year’s International Women Day, which will be held on March 8, has as theme “Inspire Inclusion”, while the United Nations theme is “Count Her In: Invest in Women, Accelerate Progress”.
The day serves as a platform to raise awareness about issues affecting women worldwide including discrimination, violence and unequal access to economic and political opportunity.
It is also a reminder of the importance of promoting women’s rights and fostering a more inclusive and equitable world.
About the Author
THEWILL Correspondent, Aniekan Bassey has over six years experience that spans across several fields in print journalism including development communication, sexual reproductive and health rights issues, crime, climate change, social justice, business and human interest stories.
