By Rabiu Ishaq Muhammad
Member Representing Kirfi Constituency in the State Assembly Honourable Habibu Umar has presented a motion calling on the state government to extend maternity pay leave from 3 months to six months and to provide designated nursing rooms to promote breastfeeding.
He made the call during plenary presided by Speaker Abubakar Yakubu Sulaiman.
Presenting the motion, the lawmaker said health and well-being of mothers and children are fundamental to national development and societal progress.
Barrister Habibu Umar noted that, the current statutory maternity leave of 3 months is insufficient to enable working mothers to exclusively breastfeed, recover from child birth amd and adequately nurture their newborns.
According to him, scientific research and global best practices indicated that extended maternity leave contributes to improved maternal health, enhance child development and long term economic benefits by reducing healthcare costs as well as improving workforce productivity.
The lawmaker further stated that, several nations have successfully implemented six months paid maternity leave policies, leading to healthier children, reduce infant mortality rates and increased job satisfaction and productivity among working mothers.
To achieved this, he appealed to the state government through the ministry of health and women affairs to work in collaboration with the public and private sector employers to facilitate the seamless implementation of this policy.
Barrister Habibu recommended that employers be encouraged to provide supportive workplace policies such as flexible work schedules, on-site childcare and designated nursing rooms to promote breastfeeding and work life balance.
Debating on the motion, some members of the state assembly commended the mover of the motion for his concern to the flight of women especially in mothers who are most vulnerable.
Seconding the motion, the member representing Burra constituency Ibrahim Tanko recommended the need to consider men folk in that direction.
In his ruling, the speaker of the assembly, Abubakar Y. Sulaiman directed the clerk of the house to convene the lawmaker’s message in writing to the executive arm of government.
