Stakeholders across various sectors have reaffirmed the urgent need for women’s empowerment as a core strategy to reduce rising cases of unwanted pregnancies and related health challenges.
They stressed the importance of coordinated efforts that support women’s wellbeing and drive broader societal development.
This was the focus at a symposium themed “Women’s Voices in Focus,” organized by MESBA Promotions Limited and partners on Sunday in Abuja, where participants discussed practical interventions to tackle the growing challenges affecting women nationwide.
Maimuna Abaji-Yahaya, Chief Executive Officer of MESBA and convener of the event, underscored the need to expand women’s access to education, economic opportunities and reproductive health information to promote informed decision-making and effectively support vulnerable groups.
Abaji-Yahaya, also a film producer and actor, said empowering women and girls gives them the tools to make choices that improve health outcomes, strengthen resilience and drive long-term community development.
She called for comprehensive policy reforms aimed at strengthening families and communities, noting that such measures would help address systemic factors contributing to the vulnerabilities faced by women and girls.
According to her, MESBA will soon release a film that spotlights issues affecting women and girls while offering practical solutions to inspire dialogue and encourage sustainable social change.
“I am looking at producing my next movie on the issue of teenage unwanted pregnancies,” she said, expressing concern over the stigma often faced by girls who become pregnant too early.
“It bothers me to know that when a woman gets pregnant out of wedlock too early, it becomes her crime,” she said, highlighting the shame, judgement and emotional strain many girls endure.
“There is stigmatization and isolation that goes with it. It is a chain reaction and you find a lot of things going wrong—and sometimes we even have to hide the child from the community,” she added.
Also speaking, Adejoh Ibrahim, Artistic Director at MESBA and an actor, said production would soon begin for a new film titled “Fractured Dreams,” aimed at highlighting solutions to critical social issues affecting women and girls.
Miss Joy Giwa, Head Girl of Cherry Field College, Jikwoyi, identified poor parental guidance, peer pressure, rape, technology exposure, social media influence and inadequate sex education as major contributors to teenage pregnancy.
Similarly, Miss Aruwa Habibat-Ojone of the Naval Officers’ Wives Association School called for stronger reproductive health awareness, improved parental guidance and better healthcare access as essential steps to reducing unwanted pregnancies among teenagers.
During a panel session on “Unwanted Pregnancies: Impact on the Family Unit and Society,” discussants emphasized the need for improved access to education, sustained women’s empowerment and effective policy implementation to address persistent societal challenges affecting women and families.
