‘Political mentorship vital for women’s inclusion in governance’ – AWF

The President of Aspire Women Forum (AWF), Barrister Zainab Marwa-Abubakar, has described political mentorship as a vital tool for inclusion in governance, saying it will help create spaces for women and youth participation in political and entrepreneurial domains.

During her address, she spoke on the strength of her advocacy for women’s empowerment at the ECOWAS parliament in Abuja.

According to Marwa-Abubakar, the gender inclusion gap in Africa is yet to be weathered, saying more needs to be done to achieve uniformity in youth and women’s access to governance and other political systems.

To drive gender inclusion in politics, she stated that the role that women and youth play developmentally and economically in any nation cannot be over-emphasised.

“We are conversant in the problem of the systematic and institutionalized marginalization of women and youth based solely on their age, gender, limited opportunities, and assumed lack of political experience.

“I put it to you that mentorship is the single most important tool for creating a space of inclusivity for women and youth in both the political and entrepreneurial domain,” the AWF President said.

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She also stated that the women and youths could no longer wait for the right time, government, or economy to press for political inclusion.

“Across all strata of society and transcending all borders, the same rings true.

In the interest of the quantum leap of inclusion we seek and the paradigm shift to a culture of more involvement of women and youth, we must start with ourselves and create those systems of mentorship in our own lives.

It will ultimately cascade down to create the wave of change we so fervently crave.

For the desired inclusivity, you will first have to include them at your level,” Marwa-Abubakar stressed.

VANG/S.O