My True Heroes as we Celebrate International Women’s Day

According to the United Nations, International Women’s Day is a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities. And this year it is celebrated on the theme:

Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030

According to the UN, the idea of this theme is to consider how to accelerate the 2030 Agenda, building momentum for the effective implementation of the new Sustainable Development Goals, especially goal number 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls; and number 4: Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning. The theme will also focus on new commitments under UN Women’s Step It Up initiative, and other existing commitments on gender equality, women’s empowerment and women’s human rights.

Some key targets of the 2030 Agenda:

• By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and Goal-4 effective learning outcomes.
• By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and preprimary education so that they are ready for primary education.
• End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere.
• Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation.
• Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation.

As a person like many others, I am rounded by women; my mother, kid sisters, wife (to be), colleagues at work and all that. But as we celebrate today; my heroes are the women that teaches in primary schools. These women put in their best to ensuring people at the local communities are taught amidst the lack of basic teaching aids, a conducive teaching environment and poor remuneration for the effort exerted to giving their pupils a future.

There exist a global abandon of the teaching profession at the early level by men. a development that have aroused concerns as to why men run away from teaching in crèche, kindergarten, nurseries and primary schools. In all this, the women have stood their ground – passionate, enduring, discipline, focus and sacrificial in their service delivery.

Today all Nigeria women that teach in the early setting are my heroes.