The Defence and Police Officers’ Wives Association, DEPOWA, on Friday urged the Federal Government to factor the “unique role’’ women play into the nation’s defence policy.
The association said that this became necessary because of the traumatic conditions they go through following their husbands’ prolonged posting and deployment, especially during conflict period.
The call is part of the 18-point recommendations in a communiqué issued by DEOWA at the end of its two-day conference in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the theme of the conference was “The role of Defence and Police Officers’ Wives in National Defence, Peace and Way Forward’’.
The communiqué observed that military family lifestyle and national defence, peace and security in the country was “grossly understudied’’.
It appealed to the government to encourage the development of military family and child care systems, respectively and called for adequate funding of the nation’s defence programmes.
The communiqué also called on the Ministry of Defence, Defence Headquarters and other military establishments to take advantage of ICT in keeping families of deployed troops abreast of developments in the frontline.
The association said it would henceforth make a paradigm shift from philanthropist to “a more issued-based organization, where issues relating to military wives would be looked into and channeled to appropriate quarters.
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