Politics
An NGO, Women for Women International (WfWI) has advocated for synergy between relevant government agencies and women decision-makers, to eliminate challenges faced by rural women.
Mrs Bukola Onyishi, the organisation’s Country Director, made the appeal on Tuesday in Abuja, at a one-day high-level meeting with Women National Decision Makers in Abuja.
The programme was organised by Women Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA), also a Non-Governmental Organisation.
Onyishi said gender-sensitive organisations like the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and other Related Matters (NAPTIP), Women Affairs Ministry and National Council for Women Societies of Nigeria (NCWSN) should work together in the interest of grassroots women.
According to her, there is a communication gap between what is happening to women at the national level and grassroots that required the collaboration of gender-sensitive organisations, to address such challenges.
“We have to come together, there is a communication gap, need to build synergy and for us to come together to have an impact on rural women.
“Good things may be happening at the national level, but the reverse is the case at the grassroots, we need to take a trip down to the local levels to find out things for ourselves.
“Women decision-makers cannot cover all the communities in Nigeria, we are limited by time and resources, there is little that we can do,” Onyishi said.
According to her, when women at the grassroots are educated, they will be able to put the education into proper use.
Mrs Anisah Ari, the Director of Programme and Administration (WRAPA) said the programme was to amplify the work of selected grassroots women to have confidence in themselves.
She said that the programme was geared towards making the change agents to have direct interface with the various legislators representing their constituencies to be able to see to the plight of the rural women.
According to Ari, COVID-19 pandemic has brought so many impacts on the rural women, particularly the violation of their fundamental human rights, saying that there is a need to make their voices heard.
She said that WRAPA was working on existing policies that guide women to identify gaps, especially those that do not address the plight of women in a crisis situation and to advise the government to find solutions to them.
The representative of NCWSN Dr Christine Ibeh, urged women to rise up to societal needs through active involvement in politics.
Ibeh who represented NCWSN President, Mrs Laraba Shoda stated that women need to be represented in the leadership of the country since they understand the need of the society, stressing that violence against women must stop.
Mrs Nankyes Andrew, a rural change agent, Pankshin Local Government Area of Plateau State, thanked WfWI for giving rural women the needed training to advocate for their rights.
“The organisation has done a lot in the area of training and how to defend the rights of women, they have been able to impact on us on how to change the narrative in the local setting, especially communicating with community leaders,” Andrew said. (NAN)
– Nov. 10, 2020 @ 17:25 GMT |
Tags: NGO wants synergy between relevant groups to address women plights
