Capacity Building: NGO trains Kaduna women on peace

Capacity Building: NGO Trains Kaduna women on peace

http://www.newsportng.com.ng  International Alert, (IA) with funding from United Kingdom Conflict, Security and Stability Fund, (CSSF) has trained 30 women on peace building in Kaduna state.

The two-day workshop held in Kaduna at the weekend had participants from
Jema’a and Chikun LGAs, Kaduna, including Tsafe and Birnin Magaji, Zamfara state.

In his remarks, the Senior Project Officer, IA Sunday Jimoh Momoh, said the program is to equip women to be peace ambassadors in their respective communities.

Sunday noted that the project also aimed at supporting stabilisation, local justice and Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) prevention through broadening inclusion, accountability and managing tensions to reduce violence in Zamfara and Kaduna states.

He further stressed that the capacity-building workshop which was on conflict, gender sensitivity and advocacy, is designed for members of the Women Peace Network (WOPEN) who were selected from four Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the project’s intervention, while lamenting that the conflict and violence have impacted on peace, stability, access to justice and socio-economic development of the states and other parts of the NorthWest/East.

The Network comprises women in leadership, women from different ethnic and religious groups and also women from the Police, and NSCDC, among others.

Speaking with Journalists shortly after the event, the Communication Officer Global Peace Development, (GPD) Jemila Yakubu said that the program was also to encourage sustainable networks and platforms for vulnerable groups to demand justice and promote accountability, provide skills and knowledge for women and other vulnerable groups towards
integration in decision-making processes.

Jemila explained that they are even working with sexual and assault referral centers in the view to bring the women together and not just women alone but also focusing on the male gender too because “when we only focus on one, we are not going to have good results so this capacity building for our women is to go back to the community and do a step down training for our participants and other Community members.” She said.

In the same vein, the Secretary, Women for Peace Network, (WOPEN) Hadiza Umar, said “I really learned a lot of things because I could recall back to our community the various degrees of conflict on the ground of religion, causing disunity amongst our religious leaders.

“Now I know the best approach to use and see how we can bring these stakeholders together. I will share what I have learnt with fellow women so we can sit down and discuss best modalities to foster peaceful coexistence among residents of our dear community.”

Another participant, a police officer from Sabon-Tasha divisional headquarters, Constance Didia from Sabon-Tasha police, said, “as a participant in this workshop, my take home is to create awareness among the men. Because when you talk about SGBV, everybody will always focus on the female. So by the reason of this workshop today, we will go back home and tell the men that they have the right to speak out. They do not have to die in silence.

“Violence related to men is a criminal offence so you treat it with equity the same way you treat the female. Learning is a process so there are many knowledge we have added to the one I knew at the course of discharging my duties.” She added.