As women constitute over 52 percent of the world’s population, it is important to empower women for the sake of humanity, Founder/CEO of Whitefield Foundation, Mrs. Olufunmilola Johnson has said.
Johnson who spoke at the SHAPE 2020 poverty eradication programme for women and girls in Lagos last week, stated that keeping women unempowered, ill-equipped and economically disadvantaged is not only unfair to women, but the world is also worse off since half of her population is thus rendered incapacitated.
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She said, “I have come to see life from a paradigm that being a woman is not a limitation, being a woman is not a disadvantage, being a woman is a huge blessing if every woman will be given equal opportunity as her male counterpart in such areas as literacy, education, skill and vocational development. This will eradicate poverty and adequately equip the girl-child.
“As a foundation, committed to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, we started out by getting heavily involved in the education sector with the aim of helping the underprivileged to close the knowledge gap.
“Research has shown that to create a lasting ripple effect in an average African community, empowering women and youths is the key. Women empowerment generates growth in the community in the most impactful way as it directly leads to benefit to the immediate family and dependents.
