By Uriel Ihotu
As the world marks World Environment Day 2025, Nigeria’s Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, has issued a clarion call for Nigerian women to take center stage in the global fight against plastic pollution.
In a statement released by her Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Jonathan Eze, the Minister underscored the disproportionate impact of environmental degradation on women particularly rural farmers and urban caregivers and called for collective female-led action to #BeatPlasticPollution.
“World Environment Day is not just another date on the calendar,” she said. “It is a rallying cry to defend the only home we share our Earth.”
Hajiya Sulaiman-Ibrahim described plastic pollution as a silent crisis that is “choking the planet” and contaminating water, food, and even the air we breathe.
“The damage is no longer distant or abstract,” she warned. “It’s personal. It’s in our kitchens, our markets, our homes and even in our bodies.”
She emphasized the urgent need for grassroots action, stating that women must shift from being passive victims of environmental harm to proactive agents of change. From climate-induced floods to polluted water sources and degraded farmland, the consequences of environmental neglect are already being felt, especially by vulnerable communities.
As part of the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda, the Minister revealed ongoing collaboration between the Ministry of Women Affairs and other critical sectors including Environment, Health, Education, and Water Resources to embed women in the heart of sustainable policymaking.
“Beating plastic pollution isn’t someone else’s job. It’s our shared duty,” she declared. “I urge women across all spheres from boardrooms to marketplaces, from mosques to churches, from classrooms to traditional councils to rise and lead this charge.”
She outlined four key actions for Nigerian women to champion:
Reject single-use plastics
Promote and adopt eco-friendly alternatives
Educate families and communities on sustainable practices
Lead advocacy and policy influence within their spheres
“Let us be the women who turn the tide,” she concluded. “Let this be the year Nigerian women take their rightful place on the frontlines of environmental justice. Because when we protect the Earth, we protect our health, our children, and our future.”
World Environment Day 2025 centers on the global theme #BeatPlasticPollution, reflecting growing momentum in Nigeria to adopt sustainable, gender-responsive solutions to the climate crisis
