The Women Information Network (WINET) has called for the strengthening and sustenance of an inclusive and well-coordinated women’s movement capable of advancing gender equality, social justice, and the economic and political empowerment of women in Nigeria.
The Executive Director of WINET, Mrs Miriam Menkiti, made the call in Awka, Anambra State, during a one-day capacity-building training for leaders of women’s rights organisations in the state.
The training, titled “Strengthening Women’s Rights Organisations in Nigeria for Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Prevention,” was supported by the Amandla Institute for Policy and Leadership Advancement.
The initiative is being implemented by Amandla across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, with WINET coordinating activities in the five South-East states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo under the Strengthening Women’s Movements in Nigeria (SWMN) project.
Menkiti said the project was designed to build a stronger, more inclusive and better-coordinated women’s movement capable of effectively advocating gender equality, social justice, and women’s economic and political empowerment.
She said the organisation was working with women’s rights organisations to strengthen their capacity for collective advocacy and action, particularly in preventing gender-based violence.
“Today, we have brought together leaders of Women’s Rights Organisations in Anambra to build their capacity and skills in movement building for Gender-Based Violence Prevention, and learn about Feminism and Intergenerational Leadership,” Menkiti said.
She explained that the participants were also being equipped with skills to work collectively in addressing GBV and other issues affecting women.
According to her, women’s organisations must develop a unified voice capable of drawing the attention of government and society to issues affecting women and ensuring that appropriate action is taken.
Menkiti cited the historic Aba Women’s Riot as an example of the impact that collective action by women could achieve.
She said the women were able to mobilise effectively despite operating at a time when modern communication technologies, including mobile phones, were unavailable.
She argued that the experience demonstrated the potential of collective action when women worked together towards common objectives.
Menkiti also referred to ongoing calls for reserved legislative seats for women, linking the demand to concerns over the low representation of women in positions of political authority.
She said increased opportunities for women in governance would enable them to compete more effectively with men for political positions.
The WINET executive director disclosed that 25 participants took part in the Anambra training.
She said the organisation had already covered Enugu and Ebonyi states and would proceed to Imo and Abia as the project continues across the South-East.
Menkiti expressed appreciation to the Anambra State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs Esther Onyekesi, as well as the Amandla Institute for Policy and Leadership Advancement, for their support for the initiative.
Other resource persons at the training included WINET Programme Manager, Ijeomah Onwuka, and Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Chinelo Dim.
Onwuka facilitated a session on “Feminist Leadership for the 21st Century,” while Dim addressed participants on the “Values of Feminist Leadership.”
The organisers said the training was aimed at strengthening the capacity of women’s rights organisations to collaborate more effectively in preventing gender-based violence and advancing the rights and welfare of women across Nigeria.
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