The Chief of Defence staff has said the Armed Forces of Nigeria has been deliberate about the adoption of gender mainstreaming policies in it's military operations conducted within and outside Nigeria, thereby attaining 27.9 percent female participation in peace keeping operations .
The CDS said this at the Annual Gender Mainstreaming Conference 2023 in Abuja. He added that owing to the nature of security challenges, there is need for the military and other security agencies need to adopt a more realistic gender mainstreaming strategy to defend and protect women and children
The CDS said, "I am glad to inform this august gathering that Nigeria and indeed the Armed Forces of Nigeria in particular have received encomium from notable international organisations, such as the United Nations and the Africa Union for adopting commendable gender mainstreaming policies in all its military operations conducted within and outside the shores of Nigeria. As available record reveals that Armed Forces of Nigeria have been able to attain 27.9 per cent female participation in peacekeeping operations, surpassing the 17 per cent recommended benchmark by the United Nations."
"These deliberate efforts by the military is in line with the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, mandating countries to develop own action plans to identify, evaluate and control efforts to achieve the objectives of Women, Peace and Security. The United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 was mooted to ensure women and societal security needs are safeguarded through increased emphasis on prevention, protection and participation of women in military operations,"
"Consequently, the asymmetric nature of current security challenges bedeviling us as a nation brings to bear the need for the military and other security agencies to adopt a more realistic gender mainstreaming strategy to defend and protect women and children who are the most vulnerable group of persons and victims of the consequences of security challenges. As we look forward to fruitful deliberations throughout this conference, I want to urge all participants and stakeholders to be open minded in order to engage in constructive discussions that will further improve the existing gender policies and gender mainstreaming in the military."
The Defence Chief while expressing appreciation to their development partners reiterate commitment in championing gender based policies for the Amred Forces of Nigeria
"While expressing our sincere thanks to our local and foreign partners for all their support, let me also reiterate that the Armed Forces of Nigeria under my Command will remain focused in championing gender based doctrinal policies both in its operations and other engagements. Before I conclude, I wish to once again express our profound gratitude to the First Lady, distinguished invited guests and participants for honouring our invitation."
With the theme , "Building Capacity through Gender Mainstreaming to Meet Security Challenges," The Conference is also tailored at fashioning out the right ambience for the Armed Forces in designing implementing, monitoring and evaluating operational and administrative doctrines that seek to promote and enhance capacity by leveraging gender mainstreaming in combating the myriads of security challenges in Nigeria.
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