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Women in the country have been charged on the need to cultivate the
habit of offering timely assistance to one another, especially those
in distressful situations.
The First Lady of Ekiti State, Erelu Bisi Fayemi gave the charge while
speaking at the “2019 Arise Women Conference”, with the theme:
“Bloom”, held at the City of David Church, Victoria Island, Lagos State.
She said it was by doing so, that the less privileged among them could
be empowered more than ever before, as well as have a sense of
belonging.
According to her, the duty of ensuring the emancipation of women’s
care and protection in all spheres of life should be of paramount
concern to women.
She added that it would not be in the interest of the womenfolk if
they are found to be their own enemies, when they are supposed to be
champions of togetherness in matters capable of adding value to their
course and advancing their hopes aspiration.
Erelu Fayemi urged the women to be their sisters’ keeper rather than
serving as clogs in the wheel of progress of their fellow women.
“We are here to bloom, and before we can bloom and for every woman to
excel in their pursuits, we need one another”, she said.
To buttress her points, Erelu Bisi cited an example of a woman in
Uganda, a couple of years ago, who was about to give birth to a baby
at a market place and was helped by some women, who rather than
abandoning her and possibly leaving her to die, as others would do,
quickly rose to save the situation and helped her deliver safely,
thereby preserving her life and that of the baby even though, they
never knew her before then.
It was great to see other women in the market rallying round to assist
her even though most of them had not even experienced a process of
delivery before.
Every one of them participated in the delivery by bringing forth
various items, including their wrappers to cover her nakedness and
shield her from public view while some others who had little knowledge
of child delivery, showed up and helped the woman to deliver safely.
The point I am making here is that not everyone had a wrapper that
day, but they all stood by her in record time, one way or the other,
they all shielded her.
In this context, we might want to ask a question on what “wrapper”
signifies and my answer is; “wrapper” here signifies Unity,
sisterhood, solidarity, love, oneness and affection among others.
As such, every woman here too, has a wrapper. Every woman here is
capable of shielding another woman or protecting another from the
hands of an abusive violent husband.
We are here to bloom, and before we can bloom, we need a wrapper,
where is your wrapper?
We all have wrappers to protect one another, so let us cultivate the
habit of applying the wrapper if and when such situations arise”, she
said.
Speaking earlier, the Convener of the Programme, “Arise and Bloom”,
Pastor (Mrs.) Siju Iluyomade, said woman could be likened to a plant
that blooms.
To bloom only means you are alive, matured and ready to be shown off.
A woman is matured and has truly come of age. She is educated, she is
accomplished and she is ready to be shown off”, she illustrated.
Among dignitaries present at the occasion were Nigeria’s First Lady,
Hajia Aisha Buhari, represented by the Minister for Women Affairs,
Pauline Tallen and the Special Assistant to the Wife of the President,
Mouren Almakura.
Others were Wife of Ogun State Governor, Mrs. Bamidele Abiodun and the
Chairman of First Bank Plc, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, among several others.
