A former Minister of Women Affairs, Iyom Josephine Anenih, has called for equality, fairness and justice to ensure that women are given their rightful position in the country.

Iyom Anenih stated this during the 2024 A-WIN summit tagged “Gear Up,” as part of activities marking a two-day event to celebrate International Women’s Day.

She regretted the “second fiddle” treatment still given to women in the society, especially by politicians, stressing that it was high time women rose to their positions in the society, urging women to stand up and take a stand as they cannot sit back and wait for an invitation to contribute their quota.

She said gone are the days of sharing of bags of rice to women by politicians, and insisted on empowerment of women with education, economic emancipation and enabling environment to reach their zenith, and frowned at what she called “absentee fathers”, calling on husbands to rise up to their responsibilities as heads of family for balanced child upbringing.

Contributing, the Anambra State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare Mrs. Ify Obinabo, thanked Commissioner of Police in the state, Adeoye Aderemi, for ensuring timely conclusion of criminal cases relating to women, even as She appreciated the Chief magistrate in charge of Children, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Court, saying that her unbiased disposition had contributed in reducing cases of violence against women in the state.

Also speaking, the Anambra State Commissioner of Police, Mr Adeoye, who spoke on “Security,” explained that women are natural agents of policing from upbringing of children, which makes the society orderly, and emphasized the importance of investing in women for progress in all sectors of the economy.

Earlier, the President, All for Women Initiative Nigeria, A-WIN, Comrade Stella Igboka, called on women to ensure that they are more prepared, better equipped, ready to be counted among and be invested in for accelerated progress.

She said that the summit was to encourage women to come together and rally round one another, even while attracting collaboration from respected male counterparts.