CLEEN FOUNDATION ADVOCATES STRONGER GENDER INCLUSION IN INSTITUTIONS

The CLEEN Foundation has called for stronger gender-responsive policies and institutional practices to promote gender equality and increase women’s participation in governance, peace and security, justice, economic development and public decision-making.

Speaking in Owerri during a three-day state-level dialogue, the foundation’s Executive Director, Peter Maduoma, said Nigeria had established several policies and legal frameworks to advance gender equality, including the National Gender Policy, the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security, the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act and the Child Rights Act.

Maduoma, however, noted that the major challenge remained the poor translation of these policies into consistent institutional practice. He attributed the gap to weak institutional ownership, inadequate funding, poor coordination, limited gender-disaggregated data and weak accountability mechanisms.

He said the challenges were more severe in conflict-affected and fragile communities, where insecurity, displacement, poverty and climate-related pressures disproportionately affect women and girls.

Maduoma explained that the dialogue was designed to examine how gender-responsive frameworks were being implemented through institutional policies, budgets and programmes, while identifying practical reforms.

The Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Nkechinyere Ugwu, said the state had continued to partner with CLEEN Foundation to promote the protection and inclusion of women in institutional structures.

Ugwu, represented by the Director of Women Affairs, Austin Okoro, urged stakeholders to strengthen advocacy and contribute to gender-responsive policies and practices across communities.