HAJIYA AISHA ALHESSAN
By Oluwakemi Oladipo
Mrs Monique Ededuan, the President of Independent Women Initiative, an NGO, on Thursday advised women not to take independence as licence to become unruly or head of the home.
Ededuan spoke ahead of an empowerment conference being organised by the NGO to help more women to be economically independent.
She told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that her NGO empowers 30 women annually with start-up funds to enable them to be self-supporting in the society.
According to her, an independent woman should not become unruly or take over headship of her home.
She said that this year’s conference, holding on July 29 in Lagos, seeks to take women through the journey from dependant to independent.
“Some marriages today have stood the test of time because the responsibility of catering for the home does not exclusively rest on man alone.
“Independent women have risen to become agents of positive change by becoming inspiration to people through the positive roles they play in giving back to these communities.
“The woman strikes a balance by being a responsible woman, submissive, supportive wife, excellent business and career woman.
“An empowered woman with a vision finds fulfillment and achieves the impossible in her area of business and contribute to the nation’s economic growth,” Ededuan said.
She urged the three tiers of government to create the enabling environment for women to thrive in their businesses.
“An empowered woman becomes a positive tool and an inspiration to others.
“When a woman is empowered, she supports her family, which creates a society and extends it to all people in the environment.
“When a woman moves from being idle to independent, definitely, she becomes an agent of change in the country,” Ededuan said.
The NGO is a business and entrepreneurship network for women and was established in 2016.
Its vision is to support women financially with start up business fund and business ideas, to contribute financially in their homes and country.
