Women involvement will strengthen Nigeria-China relations – Envoy’s wife

The wife of the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Liang Huili, on Tuesday said women participation in various sectors in Nigeria will yield more achievement geared towards developing the country.

Huili stated this in her speech titled ‘Briefing on Development of Women Cause in China’ in commemoration of the International Women’s Day.

She noted that the bilateral relationship between Nigeria and China was strengthened by women’s participation from both countries.

Huili said, “The big achievements of Nigeria-China bilateral cooperation in recent years could not be made without the full participation of women from both sides.

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“Nigeria and China are about to turn into a new page of national development. With a deeper participation of women from both countries, our bilateral cooperation would definitely make more achievements and bring more benefits to the two peoples.

 “It is also my pleasure to see that the Chinese embassy in recent years also made a lot of effort to improve the well-being of women, girls and other vulnerable groups in Nigeria, by providing support to civil organisations or foundations.”

On the development of women’s cause in China, the envoy’s wife noted that the Beijing 1995 Conference was a turning point in gender equality.

Huili stated, “The world conferences on women are a mechanism organised by the United Nations. The one held in Beijing in 1995 is the fourth and also the last session, which is followed by a series of five-year reviews.

“Nowadays, the Beijing World Conference on Women is frequently cited and mentioned by different files and occasions, as it is regarded as a significant turning point for the global agenda for gender equality.”

She added, “Women account for 40 per cent of the labour force. In 2017, there were 340 million women in the labour force, doubling the figure in 1978.

“The number of female officials at Communist Party of China and government departments increased from 422,000 in the early 1980s to 1,906,000 in 2017, accounting for 26.5 per cent of the total officials.

“China endows men and women with equal rights to education by formulating and implementing laws and regulations.”