Director-General, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Mr Osita Aboloma, says women as “engines of small and medium businesses’’, are key to standardisation in the country.
Aboloma said this recently in Abuja at the 5th African Day of Standardisation with “The Role of  Standardisation in Facilitating Human Rights with Particular Focus on the Rights of Women’’ as theme.
He said the role of standards in the promotion of women rights could be viewed from the context of the influence of standards on economic growth, productivity and elimination of poverty.
Aboloma said the world had become a global village and that standards played major role in ensuring product acceptability and breaking of barriers to trade.
He said there was need to inculcate in women the culture of standardisation as a way to drive the reform of the present administration in the country.
“Standards being consensus in nature is not discriminatory and so creates a level-playing ground for all and sundry.
“Women’s active participation in this process should be further encouraged. This process encourages freedom of speech, interpersonal relationships, and in fact, the right to unlimited performance in one’s endeavours.
“Human rights generally involve the right to food, shelter and clothing, among others.
“Our own business is to ensure provision of quality and safe foods, buildings that do not collapse, killing people, clothing that do not cause skin irritations, among others.
“Our watchword is quality and we will be unrelenting in this drive,’’ he said.
Aboloma said that SON would soon commence certification of services offered by Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSMEs), including barbing, tailoring, masonry, cobbling, events management, automobile maintenance and repairs services, car washing and carpentry.
He said that the aim of the certification was to improve the quality of services rendered by practitioners to satisfy the needs of consumers, create orderliness and enhance competitiveness that would promote continual improvement.