I am Olufunke Baruwa, a gender and development practitioner. I
believe in and pursue the inclusion of women on all fronts
WHAT FUELS ME?
Faith – I have faith in the triumph of good over evil
Passion – I follow my dreams with a passion
Audacity – I love to dare
MY GREATEST INFLUENCE:
God, for always giving me a second chance
My mother, for her strength, resilience and hope
MY TOP THREE ROLE
MODELS:
·       Amina Mohammed, Hon. Minister of Environment –
for her faith in me and for throwing me a lifeline
·       Erelu Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi – for her tenacity
and ability to break through all frontiers taking other women along with her
·       Mrs. Agatha Mbanaso – for looking beyond
ethnic biases
·       Nigerian women for their resilience, hardwork
and hope for a better and more inclusive Nigeria
IN THE NEXT FIVE
YEARS…..
My goal in the next 5 years is to be
one of the foremost voices in Nigeria and beyond speaking and taking action for
women’s inclusion in decision making. I am discussing this with my friends, mentors
and also joining groups and coalitions in Africa and beyond.
THE AFRICAN WOMAN’S CHALLENGE:
I believe African women are burdened by the weight of
patriarchy, misinterpretation of religious tenets and a culture that has
refused to grow beyond the stone age. These factors are exploited by a majority
of men who are sole beneficiaries of the status quo to continue to keep women
and girls behind.
I also see the culture that grooms women to aspire to marriage
and motherhood beyond and above all other virtues while grooming men to aspire
to greatness in other spheres as flawed. Marriage and family are good, but that
shouldn’t be all that women should be encouraged to aspire to. This societal
expectation of marriage and children places an unnecessary burden on women to
see themselves as failures if they do not have a family of their own even when
they are successful in their own way.
My contribution is to continue to amplify these issues, link
young women to mentorship opportunities, and encourage women to aspire to
achieve more than domestic excellence. There is room for achievement in
technology, industry, the financial sector, entertainment industry, innovations
and much more.
WHAT
I DO TO RELAX:
i.                
Sleep, sleep, sleep!
ii.              
Spend time with my family watching our favourite TV series, rent
a new box office movie over cooked/roasted corn or just go to the cinemas
iii.            
Go for a traditional Borno body wash or a Hamman wash (a
traditional Moroccan spa treatment)
MY   –  
I.C.E. [INSPIRE|CELEBRATE|EMPOWER] VISION
I strongly believe that the African woman has great potential
that we can harness to really develop our continent. Africa is decades behind
the rest of the world because we choose to play ostrich to the changes taking
place in our world. The custodians of our culture and tradition are comfortable
with lording it over women when the rest of the world are now working together
with men and women; our politicians have marked the political landscape as “men
only”; our law makers are busy legislating over women’s bodies and right to
their future; our educational system has refused to plan with futuristic
ability. As President Barrack Obama’s words “Nigeria is playing with half her
team when we refuse to include women in our development agenda”
MY
AFRICAN UNION PLANS:
I would like to occupy a position that gives me the opportunity
to work with women in decision making, policy makers and politicians to address
the growing imbalance in governance at all levels
FINAL WORDS OF ADVICE:
My advice for the African woman is:” don’t’
give up, dare up!”