Liang Huili, the wife of the Chinese ambassador to Nigeria, stated on Tuesday that women’s engagement in many areas will increase the country’s progress toward development.
Huili expressed this in her address titled ‘Briefing on Progress of Women Cause in China’ in commemoration of International Women’s Day.
She stated that the bilateral connection between Nigeria and China was reinforced by women’s engagement in both countries.
Huili said, “The big achievements of Nigeria-China bilateral cooperation in recent years could not be made without the full participation of women from both sides.”
“Nigeria and China are about to turn into a new page of national development. With deeper participation of women from both countries, our bilateral cooperation would definitely make more achievements and bring more benefits to the two peoples.”
“It is also my pleasure to see that the Chinese embassy in recent years also made a lot of effort to improve the well-being of women, girls, and other vulnerable groups in Nigeria, by providing support to civil organizations or foundations.”
Huili stated, “The world conferences on women are a mechanism organized by the United Nations. The one held in Beijing in 1995 is the fourth and also the last session, which is followed by a series of five-year reviews.
“Nowadays, the Beijing World Conference on Women is frequently cited and mentioned by different files and occasions, as it is regarded as a significant turning point for the global agenda for gender equality.”
She added, “Women account for 40 percent of the labor force. In 2017, there were 340 million women in the labor force, doubling the figure in 1978.
“The number of female officials at the Communist Party of China and government departments increased from 422,000 in the early 1980s to 1,906,000 in 2017, accounting for 26.5 percent of the total officials.
“China endows men and women with equal rights to education by formulating and implementing laws and regulations.”
The envoy’s wife commented on the advancement of women’s rights in China and observed that the Beijing 1995 Conference marked a turning point for gender equality.