Ms Ulla Mueller, the Country Representative of UN Population Fund (UNFPA), says the UN will continue to support women and hundreds of thousands of others kept from making autonomous decisions about their bodies.
Mueller said this at a news conference on the State of the World Population (SWOP) with the theme: “My body is my own: Claiming the Right to Autonomy and Self Determination” in Abuja on Monday.
She called for dedicated actions and commitments toward supporting the right to bodily autonomy and integrity essential to women’s empowerment.
The UNFPA country representative described actions as vital to disarming the many legislative, social and economic barriers that disqualified women, girls and others from making their own decisions about their healthcare, contraception and sex.
She said “UNFPA has been at the forefront of advocating for rights and capacity to make choices for decades.
“Since 1994, our programmes have been guided by International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD).
“It prioritised the empowerment and autonomy of women, making this the foundation for sustainable socioeconomic progress throughout the globe.”
Mueller, who condemned deprivation of women and girls’ bodily autonomy, said it compounded inequalities caused by gender discrimination and violence.
According to her, women and girls need to be able to make most fundamental choices about their bodies, gain their autonomy and advance in their health education, income and safety.
Dr Eyitayo Oyetunji, the Federal Commissioner for Oyo, lauded UNFPA for the pivotal role in driving girls’ and women autonomy.
Oyetunji, who described the theme of the 2021 SWOP as apt, said it was aimed at empowering women and girls in view of the trauma and deprivations they were made to suffer.
He explained that it was not only men that deny women autonomy, but women who employed girls as commercial sex workers and human traffickers were also guilty. (NAN)
