The
Lagos State Government on Friday said it had just employed 70 women as
truck drivers, as part of efforts to empower women in the state.
The
Deputy Gov., Mrs Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, announced this at a news
conference in Ikeja organised to mark Gov. Babatunde Fashola`s sixth
year in office.
She
said that the women had been trained on driving large vehicles before
they were deployed to the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA)
as waste truck drivers.
“We
are also considering training and empowering women as Taxi drivers. We
are currently examining some security risks that these women might face
driving taxis.
“But
we hope to partner with some hotels in the state on how we can attach
some of these female taxi drivers to them, so that we can track who they
are dropping off, in case there is a problem,“ she said.
Orelope-Adefulire,
who oversees the Ministry of Women Empowerment, stressed that gender
equality and women empowerment were top on the agenda of the Fashola
administration.
She
said the government had established a number of skills acquisition
centres across the state, saying that thousands of women had acquired
trade skills at such centres, to set up their businesses.
The
deputy governor added that women entrepreneurs who were in need of
tools and equipment for their trades had also been assisted by the
government with such needs.
She
said the government, through the ministry, had facilitated
micro-credits for small-scale business women, to assist them grow their
businesses.
Orelope-Adefulire
said the government was making steady progress at attaining the 35 per
cent Affirmative Action with the appointment of more women into top
positions in the state.
“Though
we are yet to attain 35 per cent Afirmative Action, we are
aggressively working towards it.Today. we have more and more women
occupying top positions in government.
“68
judges, 92 magistrates and 52 Permanent Secretaries is a indeed
progress. We are still working harder and we will surely surpass the 35
per cent target at the end of the day,“ she said.
The
deputy governor, however, decried the growing cases of domestic
violence in the state, saying that the government was taking appropriate
steps to control the trend.
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