Women of Ekiti State have joined the rest of the world in marking the year 2011 International Women’s day.
The IWD is celebrated every year to campaign for the right of women to vote and be voted for, to work, to be trained, and to hold public offices as part of the efforts to end discrimination against the female gender.
The theme of the celebration was, “Equal access to education, training, science and technology: Pathway to decent work for women.”
Addressing a large gathering of women during the ceremony held at the Trade Fair Complex, Ado-Ekiti, wife of the state Governor, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, described women as the vanguard of civilization and emancipation all over the world.
She noted that women must be given adequate space and recognition for any society to progress, adding that women have been found to excel above their male counterparts in all facets of endeavours.
The First Lady observed that women would perform better if an enabling environment was provided for them, judging by the way they exhibit discipline and adhere to professional ethics wherever they occupy key leadership positions.
Erelu Bisi Fayemi charged women to reflect on their lives and live with dignity and respect, which she said were attributes of virtuous women.
Stressing the importance of the Day, she said it recognises the fact that security, peace, social progress and the full enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedom require the active participation of women.
Erelu Fayemi promised to mobilise human and material resources to ensure that women were adequately represented in elective and appointive positions in the Governor Kayode Fayemi-led administration.
The 2011 celebration was a turning point as it marked the largest gathering of a broad spectrum of women in the history of the state, with women and women groups and associations from the 16 Local Government Areas of the state adequately represented.
Part of the highlights of the celebration was when the women embarked on march-past and when they displayed food items, art work and handcrafts.
To add pep to the occasion, the women were assessed during the march past, with Oye local government adjudged as the best, while Emure and Ekiti East LGs came second third respectively. Ado-Ekiti LG also came first in the Cooking Competition.
[download id = “16”]Last modified: March 8, 2011