Women Empowerment

Dear Michelle Bachelet,

The greatest tool in fighting gender inequality and upholding the rights and needs of women in our local communities is women empowerment.

By virtue of my work and career, i interact with women in our communities daily. Our women are poor, they lack financial strenght. their dependency on men in most cases is as a result of lack and want. Lack of food, lack of clothing and shelter.

I met a woman in a community called Igede in Ekiti State. This widow had a child. the child had six children but unfortunately, the lady and her husband died of an unknown disease leaving this poor widow to cater for six children all by herself. All that mattered to her was how to take this children to school and how to feed them.
When women are empowered financially or gainfully employed i notice that they are more respected in the society even by their male counterparts. women compete favourably in the \" men's world\" of AFRICA.
Women who are holding elective posts at our communities are the educated ones. most of them teachers, successful traders or business women or wives of traditional leaders.

In my opinion, the greatest tool in actualising UN's gender equality and upholding the rights of women is education, capacity building and financial empowerment for women.

Funke Arogundade
NigeriaAdo-Ekiti, Nigeria

As the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women officially begins its work this month, World Pulse is asking women worldwide: What is YOUR vision and recommendation for UN Women? We invite you to raise your voice by writing a letter to UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet outlining your recommendation for how this new UN agency can truly affect change on the ground to promote gender equality and uphold the rights and needs of women both on a local and global scale.
Learn more: http://www.worldpulse.com/pulsewire/programs/international-violence-agai...