The Chinese Community in Nigeria in collaboration with Hua Xing Arts Troupe, Nigeria, has organised a symposium in celebration of the 2023 International Women’s Day.
The symposium with the theme, “Dedication to the Society and Embrace Equity”, was aimed at celebrating women’s achievements, raising awareness and creating opportunities that drive gender disparity.
In his welcome address, Chairman, Chinese Industrial and Commercial Enterprise Association, Dr Eric Ni, said that women are special creatures whose resilience and work must be continually celebrated.
Ni said, “Today is a special day for us as Chinese Community in Nigeria, as we honour our women for their hard work and dedication.
“Women are powerful and beautiful creatures but they are regarded as weaker than men, while they are blessed with power of creating life.
“Let us accelerate equality initiative in all we do, let us also work towards creating a world where all women can thrive and fulfil their potential, and ensure gender equality and empowerment remains a priority,” he said.
Zheng Yong, Director of the Office of the Chinese Consulate General in Lagos, congratulated all women on the celebration of the International Women’s Day.
He encouraged all to embrace equity and work toward a future where women become more valued and respected.
Also speaking at the event, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Chioma Ajunwa, also Nigeria’s first Olympic gold medalist, urged women not to relent in their quest to transform the society.
Ajunwa said taking a critical look at the sports industry, women have truly blazed the trail and such achievements must be upheld and consciously built on.
She urged the men and government at all levels to give full support to women to further contribute to nation-building.
According to her, deliberate efforts must also be taken to celebrate women.
“Men do not really celebrate their women well enough, they feel threatened by the achievements of the women but this should not be, we all should be able to have healthy relationships while contributing our quota to nation-building,” she said.
Mrs Nneka Isaac-Moses, Managing Director, Goge Africa, who identified the strategic roles women had played in the society, advised the Federal Government to further encourage women participation in leadership positions.
Isaac-Moses said that if the society must be truly developed, women must not be sidelined but rather given equal opportunity as men, to contribute their quota in nation-building.
“We observed that women are not given equal opportunities as the men, deliberately to guide against women taking over in virtually all aspects of human endeavour because the potential of the women have been noticed.
“This is the time and age when we should jettison all forms of bias and allow women to engage their God-given potential to nurture and develop the society.
“As women, we should consciously engage in training and retraining in all aspects of human endeavour to allow us contribute maximally to the growth of the nation,” she said.
Also, the Vice Chairperson of the Chinese Women Association in Nigeria, Loi Eng-Koon, advocated innovative solutions to help women unleash their human capital.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Chinese Community donated N500,000 as scholarship to the Bethesda Home for the Blind.
No fewer than 100 Chinese and Nigerian women were in attendance, while there were colourful cultural presentations by the Chinese community like the ‘Lion and Waist dance’.