Events

Teyei’s Couture on Tuesday, March 8th, 2022, hosted her second episode of the Teyei’s Couture webinar series.

The webinar, themed Fashion, Women Empowerment and Nation Building.

Our goal for the one-hour webinar was to bring bright minds together to engage in a conversation on the place of African fashion in addressing gender inequalities and women empowerment in relation to nation-building

The webinar fostered discussion that was moderated by Ijeoma Thomas-Odia a Journalist | The Guardian (Nigeria), and Speakers:

• Dr. Fatima Waziri-Azi, DG | National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons – (NAPTIP)
• Itoro Bassey, Writer | Producer – ARISE News
• Faith Teyei Afan, Fashion Designer | Founder – Teyei’s Couture

BACKGROUND

“When we empower women, we empower communities, nations and entire human family.” by – (Ban Ki-Moon).

With data provided by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on the Unemployment and Underemployment Report (Q4 2020), the unemployment rate during the reference period, Q4, 2020 was 33.3%, an increase from the 27.1% recorded in Q2, 2020. The underemployment rate declined from 28.6% in Q2, 2020 to 22.8%.

According to labor force report, also provided by NBS, out the 33.3%, Female unemployment rate as of Q4 2020 increased to 35.2% from 31.6% recorded in Q2 2020. According to the report, a total of 61.63 million women were in the working population (15 – 64 years of age) as of Q4 2020 accounting for 50.5% of the total working population. However, only 30.15 million of these women were willing and able to work i.e labor force, which represents about 43.3% of the total labor force in the period under review.

Another report also gotten from NBS on Statistical Report on women and men in Nigeria of 2020, the percentage of female trafficked for forced labor was 43.48 per cent in 2016 but increased significantly to 78.53 per cent in 2017 and dropped to 70 per cent in 2018 and decreased to 9.23 percent in 2019. In 2016, all victims trafficked for prostitution were females (100 per cent), however, it was 97.94, 97.58 and 99.59 per cent in 2017, 2018 and 2019 respectively.

In line with the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) work that constituents focuses primarily on three areas: linking training to current labor market needs as well as anticipating and building competencies for the jobs of the future; building quality apprenticeship systems and incorporating core skills into training for young people; and expanding access to employment-related training in rural communities in order to improve livelihoods, reduce poverty, and equip women and men to work in the formal economy.

It is therefore very essential that individuals, organizations and even government key into these to ensure that the goal of the Global labor market to archive 600 million new jobs that are needed over next 15 years to maintain current employment rates.

Teyei’s Couture is no exception to these as it is part of her core mandate which is to provide women with the right skill force to promote decent work to alleviate poverty and also provide quality education to reduce inequality and total dependent on men or family members or even government.

Women’s drive for income are often ploughed back to the household, largely for food and for meeting educational expenses of their children, subsidizing the daily household expenses and meeting other social obligations. Efforts to increase women’s participation in fashion and other skill jobs on a large scale is impeded by their lack of capacity and skills, inadequate financial and access to the right information for learning, as well as lack of ownership.

Women also face a number of challenges in accessing and completing quality education and training, and more so in transitioning to decent employment. They are more likely to be in vulnerable employment, such as informal employment and especially unpaid family work that leads Gender Based Violence (GBV). Household, community and care responsibilities often limit their chances of accessing education and the right training, or of participating in the labor force. Consequently, educational disadvantages accumulate throughout women’s lives. Occupational segregation remains a predominant feature of training and labor markets, limiting women’s choices and confining them to lower-paid and lower-status jobs than men.

Skills development such as that provided by Teyei’s Couture offers a means of broadening occupational choices, but higher shares of women in training occupations do not automatically translate into higher shares of female employment in the field of fashion. While there is evidence of global progress in women’s access to education and training, this overall view obscures the wide discrepancies that exist across and within countries. Efforts to encourage women to participate in education, training and productive employment therefore need to be:

• properly targeted to the specific contexts and groups;
• well designed to overcome the range of existing barriers and allow for flexibility in their response to meeting different needs, and;
• effectively positioned to address questions of status and challenge social perceptions.

To address the above mentioned issues, and the fact that Many people underestimate the economic impact of the fashion sector. ‘Its potential to create jobs along the value chain, add value to raw materials, develop ingenuity and bridge geographical boundaries are limitless,’ it was therefore essential of Teyei’s Couture to organize a webinar in regards to this as it is part of her core mandate and also invite subject matter experts to discuss and conscientise the public.

Please submit your questions or comments via email “info@teyeiscouture.com”

Teyei’s Couture on Saturday, December 11^th 2021, hosted her first episode of the Teyei’s Couture webinar series.

The webinar, themed Fashion as a Way of Communication, expatiated on the different purpose each dressing stands for, enabled the audience understood that fashion is also a language and not just a style, gave women more ways to express themselves through dressing, triggered a change of mindset in the way people viewed fashion.

The webinar fostered discussion that was be moderated by Linda Wairegi a Lifestyle Contributor of Nairobi Fashion Hub, and Speakers:

• Hazel EKI Osunde, Designer | Owner – EKI Silk
• Faith Teyei Afan, Fashion Designer | Founder – Teyei’s Couture
• Hava Amaka Rosenfeld, Lawyer | Journalist & Author of ‘Fashion as a Means of Communication’

“Fashion is a language that one wears as a way of communicating and sending connotative messages to those around because of its unique ability not only to convey aesthetic beauty but also the value and personal brand of its wearer. Whatever you choose, you choose it because it carries connotation with it that appeal to the message you are sending” (Fennec Fawn, 2019).

Fashion is also an international language and a global business; it is the layer that revels our life and the way we communicate.

Clothing has been a major distinguish mark that set us apart from other animal; it is something that makes us humans. Our clothes are the most universal and intimate to us. Our body is a key instrument of communication. Like the mouth we speak with, our dressing is also a way communicating our values and traditional beliefs. Just like the saying “you are addressed by the way you are dressed”, the way you dress automatically speaks volume about you at formal and informal events.

Fashion itself is another language. Since a dress communicates a man’s values, won’t you rather choose the smart look? Clothes are worn for different purposes such as for modesty, body protection and for comfort. It also allows people to express different aspects of their selves and also reveals our character. It is therefore imperative that much attention is given to the way we dress so that we can be addressed respectfully in our occasions.

Please submit your questions or comments via email “info@teyeiscouture.com“