The World Bank Country Director, Marie Françoise revealed this during the national gender dialogue session in Nigeria which held on Monday in Minna, the capital of Niger state, where the issue of gender inequality and the high rate of maternal mortality in the country attracted a filled hall for the event.
Also speaking at the event the gender head, United Nations Department for International Development (DFID) Katja Jobes revealed that eighty percent of women in northern Nigeria cannot read or write.
She also affirmed that Nigeria has the highest maternal mortality in the world; a situation she noted is not good for the social- economic development of the country.
A recent study by UNICEF identified haemorrhage as the main cause of maternal mortality in the country.
Experts at the event are of the opinion that no meaningful development can take place in the country without the active participation of the womenfolk who formed a significant part of the country’s population.
Others believe that contrary to belief in some quarters and practice in some parts of the country, the role of the woman has gone beyond the kitchen and childbearing.
Source:247
