IWD 2025: Celebrate Success and Achievements of Women
AN ADDRESS PRESENTED BY PROF. COMFORT ADENIKE ONIFADE, THE PRESIDENT, INITIATIVE FOR PEACE AND COMFORT (IPC) ON THE OCCASION OF THE 2025 INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY AND THE CELEBRATION OF WOMEN ACHIEVERS BY IPC – 8TH MARCH, 2025.
Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, and fellow advocates for gender equality.
I am honored to address you today on the occasion of the 2025 International Women’s Day, an occasion set aside in celebration of the progress made towards achieving gender equality and a call to action for accelerating progress. We in the Initiative for Peace and Comfort have chosen to commemorate the occasion by celebrating women achievers.
Initiative for Peace and Comfort (IPC) is a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) whose focus is on advancing peace in every sector of the society. We are committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a call to action to end poverty and inequality, protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy health, justice and prosperity. We therefore engage in the development and empowerment of the Nigerian girl-child, youth and women through Peace Education, Conflict Resolution, Relief services, Women Empowerment, Socio-development programmes, children education and counselling. This is done through sensitization against social vices, radio and TV programmes, research and documentation, advocacy and partnering with other NGOs and Networks.
We believe that every woman deserves to live a life free from violence, discrimination, and marginalization. Our mission is to provide support, resources, and opportunities for women to thrive and reach their full potential.
Over the years, we have provided small business grants to women, offered financial aid and scholarships to girls and ladies in secondary and tertiary institutions, given out funds to cater for the welfare of women, as well as partnered with other organisations to enlighten and empower women.
Today, as we celebrate International Women’s Day with the theme: “Accelerate Action”, we are to yield the clarion call to action for all of us to accelerate our efforts towards achieving gender equality. It is a fact that there has been a little increase in the number of women in leadership positions, an increase in access to education and healthcare for women and girls, and an increase in the number of women participating in the workforce.
However, despite this progress, we still have a long way to go. Women and girls continue to face significant barriers to achieving their full potential. They continue to face discrimination, violence, and marginalization. They continue to be underrepresented in leadership positions and continue to face significant gaps in pay and economic opportunities.
The theme “Accelerate Action” is a call to do more to address these challenges. It is a call to action for governments, businesses, and individuals to work together to create a world where women and girls have equal access to education, healthcare, economic opportunities, and leadership positions.
So, what can we do to accelerate action? We can start by making a commitment to gender equality. We can commit to challenging our own biases and stereotypes. We can commit to supporting women and girls in our communities and advocating for policies and programs that promote gender equality.
We can also accelerate action by supporting organizations that work to promote gender equality, support organizations that provide education and job training programs for women and girls, support organizations that provide healthcare services for women and girls. We can support organizations that work to end violence against women and girls. Initiative for Peace and Comfort is a very good example of such Organisations.
Finally, we can accelerate action by celebrating the achievements of women and girls as we are doing today. We can celebrate their successes and accomplishments. We can recognize their contributions to our communities and our society. We can inspire and motivate them to continue striving for excellence. Let us work together to create a world where women and girls have equal access to education, healthcare, economic opportunities, and leadership positions. Thank you.
To distinguished Awardees who will be receiving recognition today, I congratulate you on your achievements. Your hard work, dedication, and perseverance are an inspiration to us all. May your achievements serve as a catalyst for others to strive for excellence and make a positive impact in their communities.
I would like to end with a quote from Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani education activist, she said “One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.” Today, as we celebrate International Women’s Day, let us remember that every woman, every girl, and every individual has the power to create change and make a positive impact in the world. Your efforts or impacts don’t have to be big at first but the little drops will become a mighty ocean. A step at a time and we will definitely get there.