Commemorative of the International Women’s Month 2021, YNaija, an online content shop Wednesday, March 3, 2021, put together a virtual conference that tabled the issue of safe spaces for women in Nigeria.

The conference which was themed; “Is Nigerian a safe space for women already” aimed at highlighting the progress, if any, the Nigeria society has made so far in the equality and inclusion conversation, and the action(s) we can take to ensure that freedom for the Nigerian woman is conclusively established.

Participants of the conference call were treated to a volley of astute evaluations from notable female voices across different industries, which saw a more human angle brought to the conversation of equality for women, with the personal stories each of the panelists narrated.

“I think every nine of ten women have gone through this in some way, shape or form,” Oluchi Okafor, Marketing Director, Multimix Academy, one of the panellists, responded when asked about her experience with gender discrimination. She also added that, “You can always tell there is an expectation of weakness that comes with being female in certain jobs and an expectation for you to fail.”

When asked what people can do to make Nigeria a safe space for women, Motunrayo Ayo-Akwe, Marketing Specialist, Modern Workplace and Security, Microsoft said, “Don’t be the factor that makes a space unsafe. If you are a man don’t ask for sexual favours before giving a woman a job. Talking is very important, not everyone can act, there are so many facets to changing a systemic problem and if you are a woman you need to speak up about these issues.”

Also on the panel were Funmi Abiola, Head Marketing and Communications, Massillla Motors; Ifeoma Agu, Marketing Manager, Guinness Nigeria; Fatima Obanikoro, Wife to the Honorable Member, House of Representatives, Eti-Osa Federal Constituency and Temi Popoola, Founder, Voices and Face Community, who moderated the session.

---

YNaija is a youth-centred media platform with a rich history of creating impactful conversations that shape opinions and erases demeaning and outdated narratives. It also focuses on predicting pop culture trends by dissecting and examining factors that influence the evolution of youth culture.