Manuela George-Izunwa became the Commissioner for Women Affairs in the vibrant Amaechi led government

Rivers State government

The Rivers State government consists of elected representatives and appointed officials responsible for the government of Rivers State, Nigeria....

 by the appointment of the Governor of Rivers State

Rivers State

Rivers State is one of the 36 states of Nigeria. Its capital is Port Harcourt. It is bounded on the South by the Atlantic Ocean, to the North by Imo, Abia and Anambra States, to the East by Akwa Ibom State and to the West by Bayelsa and Delta states...

, Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi. She has campaigned for better treatment of widows, economic empowerment of women, prevention of abuse, improvements to health and girl child education.

Background

She studied Law in the Rivers State University of Science and Technology and became a barrister after finishing her Law School at Bwari, Abuja.
She was appointed Commissioner for Women Affairs by the Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi

Rotimi Amaechi

Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi is a Nigerian politician, who became Governor of Rivers State in June 2007. He was previously Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly from 1999 until 2007....

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She is also a pastor alongside her husband, Reverend George Izunwa, in Gateway International Church, Port Harcourt.

Support for widows

In June 2009, speaking to the Rivers State House of Assembly, Izunwa praised the house for enacting gender-friendly laws, and asked them to pass further laws to enable widows return to normal life after the death of their husbands. She lobbied for the passing of a law on widowhood rights.
In April 2010 she noted that over 7,000 women have benefited from the state-run micro-credit scheme for widows.

Economic training and assistance

In November 2009 Izunwa announced that the Women Affairs ministry was about to launch a mass literacy program for adult women, particularly in rural areas, and to train them in skills related to food production, processing and marketing.
That month she applauded an initiative by Shell Nigeria

Shell Nigeria

Shell Nigeria is the colloquial name for Royal Dutch Shell's Nigerian operations carried out through four subsidiaries—primarily through Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited...

 to launch a micro credit programme in which members of the Ijaw Mothers Union would get loans to run businesses.
In March 2010 Izumwa accompanied Dame Judith Amaechi

Judith Amaechi

Dame Judith Amaechi is the wife of Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, Nigeria and head of the Empowerment Support Initiative which campaigns against HIV/AIDS, advocates the rights of the women and children, and promotes gender equity and Girl-Child education.Amaechi was born on 24 December...

, wife of Rivers State governor Rotimi Amaechi, to Israel to inspect farms and discuss training and development of agriculture among women in Rivers State.

Girl Child Education

In May 2010 her Growing into Real Life (G.I.R.L) outreach program in partnership with the Women Affairs ministry began. She hoped that it would be taken to all girl schools in the state to help young women develop individually and to prepare them for leadership roles in society. The G.I.R.L project is to birth the PEARL Club in all schools of the State.
In July 2010 Izunwa said her ministry was partnering with Judith Amaechi's Empowerment Support Initiative to provide training in technical skills for youth in the state in the expectation that the program would help improve the economy and reduce poverty.

Prevention of abuse

In December 2009 Izunwa urged Rivers State Police Commissioner, Mr Suleman Abba, to initiate a zero tolerance policy for violence against women and to stop the practice of granting bail to rape suspects.
That month she organized a seminar to discuss the problem, attended by many influential women in the state, as part of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

Women's activists have marked November 25 as a day to fight violence against women since 1981. On December 17, 1999, the United Nations General Assembly designated 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women...

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In 2010 Izunwa's Ministry organized a 16 day activism program to end violence against women and organized awareness campaigns in market places and local government areas in collaboration with Doctors Without Borders. The ministry holds weekly counseling sessions for victims of abuse.

Health

In March 2010 Izunwa expressed worry over the increasing rate of maternal mortality, which she ascribed to ignorance, poverty and diseases, and called on health care practitioners to assist in ensuring that women knew where and when to get help.
In April 2010 she used a television spot to inform women that there was a mammogram centre at Churchill Health centre, Port Harcourt, and advised women to conduct self breast examination as well as to go for breast cancer screening.