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DECEMBER
Strategic Planning Meeting
The Annual Strategic Planning
Meeting of BAOBAB for Women’s Human
Rights for 2005 took place at Hotel
Aledjo Cotonou, Benin Republic from
December 14-21 2005. The theme of
the strategic planning meeting was
“Valuing Ourselves and the Work we
do: Strategies for Sustainability.
The theme was chosen to reflect the
preparation for the Celebration of
BAOBAB’s Tenth Anniversary to be
marked in the coming year. All
members of staff including two
Outreach Team Coordinators were
present. It was a time to reflect on
the work carried out in 2005 – to
evaluate what was done well and
identify possible areas that could
be improved upon.
Activities for 2006 were planned,
and the team also took time to
unwind from the busy schedules of
the just ended year with the hope
that everybody would leave the
retreat more refreshed and happier
than they came. Above all they would
rededicate to the vision and
principles of BAOBAB.
There were sessions on personality
development, identifying the power
within, fundraising strategies,
review of administrative procedure,
managing conflict in a work
environment and enhancing our
relationships with NGOs, CBOs and
the Government Sector. These
sessions were educative, enriching
and crucial to sustain BAOBAB.
BAOBAB personnel and the Vicky Adidu,
coordinator of Kaduna Outreach
facilitated the sessions.
The
Outreach team Coordinators
represented gained new ideas and
strategies. It is hoped that these
strategies will be adopted for
effectiveness of their work. The two
members from Kaduna and Kogi State
outreach teams gave more insights on
the impact of their work in the
communities.
NOVEMBER
National Discussion on Sharia and
Women’s Human Rights in Nigeria
Series Two
Background
BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights
(BAOBAB) since inception in 1996 has
been working on issues of rights of
women and religion from the
background of the Women and Laws
Research, which was carried out
earlier on. There were a number of
emerging issues on the development,
promotion and protection of the
human rights of women, which led to
intervention activities carried out
in different States in Nigeria
through the outreach teams. The
intervention is on going especially
in the areas of women’s access to
justice, development of the rights
of women living under Muslim Laws -
on issues of custody, divorce,
maintenance as well as other right
based issues like women’s sexuality
and women’s role in development.
With the expansion of the Sharia
Legal system in 1999, more issues of
women‘s human rights emerged
requiring proper understanding and
or clarifications especially on what
the rights of women are under the
new dispensation.
BAOBAB started a series of two-day
National Discussions on Sharia and
Women’s Human Rights, the first of
its kind in Nigeria, in June 2004.
Resource persons are invited from
within and outside the country to
present papers. Participants are
selected from diverse backgrounds,
specifically from the Judiciary,
Academia, National Human Rights
Commission, Embassies, Funding
Agencies, Outreach teams, Religious
groups, Human Rights Activist, etc.
The main objectives of the series
are:
·
To follow up on earlier programs
organized by BAOBAB and the issues
emerging there from.
·
To create the necessary atmosphere
for discourse on women’s human
rights and Sharia Implementation
·
To further the discussion on Sharia
and women’s human rights
·
To correct the impression that
women’s human rights cannot be
discussed in relation to Sharia
implementation and practice in
particular and religion in general
·
To promote the protection of women’s
human rights under Sharia
implementation
BAOBAB hopes that the understanding
created at these discussions will be
the beginning of other conversations
aimed at advancing the promotion,
protection and development of
women’s human rights in Nigeria as
well as being a positive reference
point for other countries. The
meeting is schedule to take in Abuja
from 16th to 17th
November 2005.
There are two broad themes for this
year’s discussions with sub-themes
under each broad theme as follows
1)
Between Legal Principles and
Legal Reality: The Impact on the
Human Rights of Women.
A. The Judiciary in Divorce
Cases: Legal Principles and or
Reality
B. Empirical review of
Cases. (This is to be backed up by
reference)
2) The Rights of Women in
Marriages: theory and Practice. This
should be an Empirical Review of the
Situation of Women in Marriage.
A. Increasing rate of
Domestic Violence in Muslim
Marriages
B. The Role of Institution
in Reducing the Occurrence of
Violence Against Women in Muslim
Communities
SEPTEMBER
Human Rights Training Workshop
Maidugiri, Borno State.
BAOBAB organised a 5-day training
workshop for Judicial personnel and
Police officers from Borno and Yobe
states in the North Eastern part of
Nigeria with support from the
British High Commision. The workshop
took place in Maiduguri between
September 6 and 10, 2005. There were
twenty-five participants in
attendance, made up of Sharia court
judges, police officers, Sharia
court registrars and security
personnel. There were facilitators
from BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights
(BAOBAB) and the National Human
Rights Commission (NHRC). Using the
draft – Human Rights Training
from a Gender Perspective: A Manual,
the facilitators engaged the
participants in an in-depth analysis
of human rights issues as they
affect women and national and
international human rights
mechanisms for actualising the
rights of women. The major
components of the training are
gender, human rights and
communication.
The training exposed participants
and facilitators alike to the
constraints to achieving gender
equality and guaranteeing the
enjoyment of the provisions of legal
documents for women’s human rights.
They concluded that discriminatory
practices against women persist
because of such factors as
patriarchy, misinterpretation of
religious texts, corruption,
illiteracy, unemployment and poverty
among others.
The workshop created an avenue for
sharing experiences and networking
amongst the judicial personnel and
the development of a relationship
with BAOBAB. It is anticipated that
the benefits from the workshop will
reflect in the attitude and actions
of beneficiaries within their
communities.
AUGUST
National Consultative Meeting on
Violence Against Women (August
30-31, 2005)
In sustaining her zero tolerance against violence against
women advocacy, BAOBAB for Women’s
Human Rights (BAOBAB) organized a
two-day National Consultative
discussion on Violence against women
and girls. The meeting took place at
Chelsea Hotel, Abuja Nigeria, in
recognition of the strategic
positioning of the Federal Capital
Territory, between the 30th
and 31st of August 2005.
The meeting convened about thirty (30) participants from
various fields of influencing social
change such as the media, human
rights and other development NGOs,
the diplomatic corps, funding
organizations, government officials
and state agents, faith-based
groups, legislators, survivors and
like-minded individuals.
The Consultative meeting had the following objectives:
·
To engage strategically placed
stakeholders in a conversation on
the need to step up action on the
incidence of violence against women
and girls in Nigeria
·
To analyze emerging trends of
violence against women and girls
·
To deliberate on the status of the
violence against women bill
currently at the National Assembly
·
To assess the impact of Regional and
International human rights
instruments in addressing violence
against women in Nigeria
On Day One of the meeting, there were formal presentations
and discussions in the following sub
– thematic areas:
(i)
Multiple Perspectives on Violence
against Women and Girls within
private and Public Spaces: Trends,
Laws and Policies
(ii)
Feminist Advocacy, Women’s Agency
and Violence against Women and Girls
(iii)
Globalization, Shifting Boundaries
of Power Relations and Violence
against Women
The papers presented traced the
incidence of violence against women
and the fact that it transcends all
boundaries in all countries of the
world. It also identified violence
against women and girls as the most
prominent form of abuse of women’s
human rights across the globe. The
phenomenon according to the
presenters affect women in private
and public arenas and has been
linked at different times with other
global concerns, such as
globalization, neo-liberalism,
poverty and issues relating to power
and control. Consequently, violence
against women and girls has, over
the years emerged a critical area of
concern for development
practitioners and women’s human
rights activists.
The papers further identified the
fact that Women and girls remain the
main victims of gender violence in
Nigeria, largely because Nigeria is
a patriarchal society. As a result,
atrocities are committed against
women and girls under the guise of
religion and culture. Hierarchical
gender roles, attributes and
responsibilities, also ensure that
women have lower status and less
power in society than men. This is
exacerbated by women’s lack of means
to sustain themselves owing to their
low level or total lack of
education, which ultimately results
in their dependent and subordinate
status within the family. The last
paper presented stated the need for
defining a comprehensive framework
to end violence against women. It
also identified the need for a
redefining of strategies and
harmonizing them, need to launch new
ideas and continue to build
capacities aimed towards ending
violence against women.
Day Two featured interactive workshop sessions on issues
arising from the presentations of
the previous day and strategies for
the way forward. A communiqué was
produced at the end of the meeting.
JULY
Bridge
Building West Africa
BAOBAB is organizing the Bridge building meeting for West
Africa. It will take place in Ghana
from June 26- July 1, 2005.
Participants will be drawn from
different countries in West Africa.
The objectives of this training are
To build amongst women:
·
knowledge of religious-legal
arguments for women’s rights in
Muslim laws vis-à-vis restrictive
and conservative interpretations
and/or those on Arab, Hausa or other
customs which restrict women
·
knowledge of the empirical
variations in Muslim laws in Muslim
societies today
·
an awareness of the struggles of
Muslim women for the rights, since
the beginning of the Muslim era and
throughout the Muslim world (i.e.
women fighting for their is neither
new nor western, nor is it
anti-Islam)
·
awareness of the ways in which
conservative religious and political
establishments have (abused religion
against women’s rights in many
religion
2. To build bridges between women of
Muslim and non-Muslim backgrounds so
as to recognize the importance of
developing a mutually respectful
position that women’s rights need to
be protected, developed, fought for
whether in under statutory, common
law, religious and customary laws.
3. To work on a mutual strategy, in
light of the current political
context in Nigeria, for defending
and promoting women’s rights in the
systems
This is the second meeting to be
held in West Africa, (The first took
place in the Gambia in 2004)
Post Beijing +10/CEDAW Coalition
Meeting
On June 22, 2005, there will be a Post-Beijing +10 review
meeting with like minded women’s
human rights organizations
especially those that participated
during the Beijing + 10 review
process as well as members of the
NGO CEDAW coalition. The main aim of
the meeting will be to discuss a
follow-up to the outcome of the
Beijing + 10 review process and
discuss possibilities of dialoguing
with the Nigerian government to
ensure that the outcome of Beijing +
10 is incorporated in the agenda of
the Millennium Summit scheduled for
September at the United Nations
Headquarters in New York. The
meeting will also be a forum to
discuss the progress of the
domestication of CEDAW in Nigeria
and other advocacy steps to be
followed.
JUNE
Africa Pre–OBM meeting
BAOBAB is coordinating the Africa Pre- OBM meeting
organized by the international
solidarity network of Women Living
Under Muslim laws (WLUML). This
meeting is scheduled to take place
in Mali from June 13-17, 2005.
There are two parts to the meeting –
the first will be a two – day
meeting for twenty (20) active
networkers to discuss the
constituencies of WLUML networkers
in Africa, their needs as well as
their roles/ responsibilities. This
is aimed at developing strategies to
strengthen the network in Africa.
Leadership Training for Professional
Women
From May 2nd to 6th, 2005,
leadership trainings will be held
for professional women in Benin and
Ilorin. Sponsored by the Canadian
International Development Agency
(CIDA), beneficiaries are
professional women –politicians,
corporates, NGO executives,
academics and media professionals.
Between May 17th and 21st 2005, a
leadership training workshop will be
conducted for women at the
grassroots in the Hausa language.
A collaborative project of the Women’s Learning Partnership
for Rights, Development and Peace –
USA (www.learningpartnership.org
) and its partners Association
Democratique des Femmes du Maroc –
Morocco, BAOBAB for Women’s Human
Rights – Nigeria and Women’s Affairs
Technical Committee, Palestine (www.pal-watc.org),
the leadership training programme is
based on the following premises:
·
In most communities, men are seen as
dominant and women as inferior.
Society would gain politically,
economically and culturally if the
genders were evened out.
·
Good leadership serves both men and
women in society.
·
Good leadership is inclusive,
participatory and does not leave out
any part of the community. It
teaches men and women to be
partners, not to fight against each
other.
·
Leadership is horizontal.
Horizontal leadership, as opposed to
vertical leadership creates the
conditions for the equal treatment
of men and women.
·
True leadership leads to greater
choices for everyone.
The second meeting will be attended
by networkers and potential
networkers as well as our
allies (individuals and
organisations)
within the region to analyse
Democracy and Diversity,
Globalization and NEPAD, Conflict
Resolution and Peace Building from a
gender perspective. There will be
short paper presentations /panel
discussions. We are anticipating
that sixty participants will attend
this part of the meeting.
MAY
Bridge Building Meeting on Rights of
Women and Religion
BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights recently organized a
six-day meeting for a cross section
of participants from the academia,
NGOs, Media, Religious Groups and
the Civil Service on the rights of
Women and Religion.
The six-day meeting which had the Muslim Group for the
first three days and the Christian
Group for the following three days
was held at the Federal Palace
Hotel, Victoria Island Lagos.
Between May 9th and 14th
2005 was organized to build the
bridges of understanding on the
rights of women across different
religious and cultural backgrounds.
Amongst other topics, Gender, Thoughts and Belief systems
were discussed extensively relating
it to how stereotypes resulting from
it could impact on the
interpretations of religious texts,
which in turn impacts on the
promotion, and protection of the
rights of women. There was also
extensive analysis of how oral
traditions as transmitted from one
generation to another contribute to
gender stereotypes and the negation
of the rights of women. The
discussion also addressed some of
the factors responsible for the
misconception and misrepresentation
of women especially when their human
rights are discussed from religious
background.
Politics, Religion and Reasoning was examined in the
context of a particular set of
people or groups in the society that
resist change, claim they have the
right answers and try to set
parameters for people to follow.
Amidst all, such groups in their
politics of people believe in the
subordination of women.
Several issues of rights of women were discussed ranging
from protection from violence both
at home and in the public, access to
non-discriminatory education; right
to work, right to inheritance, etc.
It was observed at this meeting that
some religious texts are interpreted
based on several other cultural
beliefs which most times negate the
rights of women and present the
woman as a second class citizen. In
general, the group noted that under
the guise of religion women’s rights
are greatly violated. It was
therefore emphasized that more of
progressive and positive
interpretations of religious texts
should be embarked upon especially
by religious leaders to ensure the
protection of the rights of women
and to disabuse people’s mind from
the misconception that women’s
rights cannot be discussed against
the background of religion.
The discussions were generally enriching as several
quotations were identified from the
Bible and the Quran of continued
advocacy on the need for the
protection of the human right of
women.
Later this year, a stage 2 of the meeting will be organized
with selected members of both the
Christian and Muslim groups
examining issues of women’s human
rights in the Muslim and Christian
religious system, respectively.
Ife leadership training for professional women
21-25 March 2005.
Introduction
The leadership training workshop for professional women
held in at the Conference centre of
the Obafemi Awolowo Unviversity
Ile-Ife. It was a four day training
with 21 participants in attendance.
Participants were drawn from
different works of life like medical
doctors, nurses, accountants,
engineers, bankers, lecturers etc.
Bunmi, Kehinde, Bukola and Oby
facilitated the training.
The Workshop
Bunmi and Kehinde welcomed the participant to the workshop.
Brief introductions of BAOBAB and
Linkages were done by Oby and
Kehinde respectively.
Participants and facilitators introduced themselves by
saying their names, what they do,
something about them that people do
not know about, a nice thing that
happened to you last week and an
adjective that starts with the first
letter of your name.
Participants’ expectations were: to know more about their
rights as women, Learn tips on
leadership, Skills enhancement, Make
new friends, Share experiences,
Learning new facilitation techniques
and experiences
Challenges were Timing, Official work, Extension of work
hours, Disappointing patients,
anything new, resources, Family
responsibilities.
One of the participants facilitated the Ground rules which
were bidding on all participants.
What is gender?
Participants brainstormed on what gender is and the
difference between gender and sex
Gender is masculinity, feminity,
neutrality, what men do to women, it
is culturally based, not universal
not enduring and it changes. While
sex is biological difference, making
love, universal, no difference in
sex organs, sex is enduring
Stereotyping is some form or pattern that is imposed on us
and we accept as normal e.g. cooking
greetings, men are strong, women are
emotional, and men should visit the
mechanic
Girls are expected to be in the kitchen while boys watch
television; dolls are for girls
while toy guns and patrol cars are
for boys.
Importance of understanding gender role
Believing in the role, atmosphere, individual
understanding, consciousness of
stereotyping, let there be exchange
of roles, both gender should play
multiple roles, prevention of
exposing ones self.
The participants shared there personal experiences of
gender roles of what men and women
should do. Bunmi suggested that they
look at what is healthy for them and
not just what society wants.
A participant explained that our culture treats the women
as a slave a second class citizen
and inferior to the man. Another
participant said that although some
aspects of our culture are good
but other aspects that derogate
women should be stopped. Another
participant said that women should
stop saying and believing that women
are their worst enemies. Bunmi
added that it is important for
spouses to see each other as
partners and women should be able to
contribute to the finances of the
home while the men also do part of
the housekeeping. She made
participants understand that they
should not generalize e.g. (women
are their worst enemies but to know
that it has to do with the
individual.
It was agreed that a leader is accepting , hardworking,
self-sufficient, caring, supportive,
encouraging, listening, delegating,
sharing, takes control, firm,
patient, intelligent, knowledgeable,
team worker, Inspiring, informs,
confident, communicative,
,analytical, perceptive, creative,
convincing, empowering, Objective,
accepting, sensitive, Orderly,
mindful, lovely, motivating,
sensible, adventurous, accountable,
diligent, decisive, friendly,
tactful, resourceful, open, kind,
assertive, sacrificial, helpful,
active, visionary, proactive,
forgiving, impartial, disciplined,
strategic, alert, persistent,
painstaking, efficient, determined,
terrific, optimistic, smart,
initiating, observant, appreciative,
flexible, trusting, thoughtful,
humorous, respectful, outgoing,
discerning, considerate, Brave,
confidential, selfless, transparent
and courageous.
During the session on What is my vision the participant
said that the Bangladesh women
believed in gender stereotyping and
held on to it that was why they said
that the money should be given to
their husbands. Another
participant’s intervention was that
some women were independent and they
would jump at the opportunity of
establishing something for
themselves. Bunmi added that we had
empowerment before colonialism
unlike popular belief that women
empowerment came with colonialism.
There was more discussion on stereotyping of women.
Participants pointed out that that
when you are a married the Mrs. is
always added to one’s name to show
that she is married unlike the man
for instance if a man is a doctor he
would be addressed as Dr. X but if a
woman is in a doctor she would be
addressed as Dr. (Mrs). which is not
necessary.
Our vision shouldn’t change but can be enlarged.
Participants shared their visions
where the concurrent words were
noted and a group vision was formed.
The vision statement is A healthy
informed self-sufficient society
with equal opportunities for all
regardless of diversity in any form.
On communication, the participants shared personal
experiences on who they thought is
an effective communicator and gave
reasons why they thought so.
The similarities drawn from their reasons are as follows;
Effective communicators are
objective, observant, analytical,
bold, work with facts and are
persuasive. After reading Marian
Wright Edelman’s speech participants
agreed that she is an effective
communication because she used
facts, is objective, innovating and
compelling and with the use of
statistics it gives a clearer
picture of the situation.
By doing role plays, participants understood that in
passing a message across one has to
be diplomatic, careful with choice
of words, patient, considerate and
impartial.
Bunmi pointed out during the session on how do we serve
diverse interests that no matter how
diverse we are, if we have a common
goal and vision we should work
together too achieve it. Our
diversity should not prevent us from
doing so. Participants shared
experiences on diverse interest for
e.g. cultural and religious
differences. Diversity is permanent
and we do not have control over it
for instance race, gender, religion,
opinion, etc. A leader should accept
people’s diversity and not tolerate
it.
There were discussions on the two types of leadership the
horizontal and vertical leadership.
Advantages of horizontal leadership
are commitment, creativity,
sustainability, faster achievement
of goals, happy people, and
everybody’s vision is accommodated
into the larger vision, better and
healthier work environment and team
work. It encourages sharing of
responsibilities and gives everyone
a sense of belonging. The possible
disadvantage is that it takes time.
Advantages of Vertical leadership are that it is seemingly
faster but the disadvantages are the
opposite of horizontal leadership.
A participant shared an experience of a vertical mode of
leadership in her work place where
she got a query because she uses
participatory learning in her class.
She was advised to combine both her
own methods and the departments own
so as to reach a compromise and
everybody is happy. A participant
wanted to know if this kind of
workshop was run for men. Bunmi
responded by saying that women are
the priority since men get
opportunities more often, besides
the men would try to dominate the
workshop.
It is agreed on the importance of not talking down on
people rather speaking to them like
human beings; that way you would
achieve more results.
How will we empower each other?
Empowerment means equipping, bringing out the best in each
other, acquiring skills, equipping
to help you utilize your potentials,
the power of an individual and
bringing out hidden abilities.
Pairing with each other and telling each other what they
particularly liked about them and
what they could improve on
enlightened the participants on the
effectiveness of such practice. They
liked the exercise, the positive
feedbacks made they feel good, it
encouraged to be better. It is
helpful for a leader to acknowledge
the positive aspect of someone
before advising on what to improve
on. Such mode of communication is
useful in bringing out the best in
people.
Unity is important in mobilizing for action. It is
necessary to carry people along in
whatever one is doing. Once you have
a goal or vision that everybody
aggress with it is easy to mobilize
for action.
Issues discussed
Participants agreed that women were well equipped to take
up leadership roles because they do
that at home. A popular saying goes
“a man has his will, a woman has her
way”. Women are caring; they play
multiple roles in taking care of the
home. It is important to see our
husbands as partners and could ask
them to help with the chores. How
the person responds depends on the
mode of communication. It is
important to discuss issues and
differences to be able to reach a
consensus. The role of married women
identified as wifely duties
generated another steaming
discussion. The participants wanted
to clarify the issue of wifely
duties. Sex came up as wifely
duties. Some participants said that
as married women they were obligated
to sleep with their husbands. Even
though it is supposed to be
lovemaking, it has turned to sex
because sometimes women when they
are tired or do not feel like it.
Women do all the housework, take
care of the kids until very late at
night which leaves them very tired
when going to bed yet they are still
expected to respond to their
husband’s sexual advances in that
tired state. Men however, come back
from work eat and relax till they
are ready to sleep. Women should
initiate love making and should not
leave it only for the men to do
since both parties are to derive
pleasure from it. Sexuality should
be discussed by couples as to have a
better sexual relationship as
partners. A participant shared the
story of a friend who is unhappy in
her marriage where she does all the
house chores and the husband does
not help. Worst still he sleeps with
her only when he wants to make
babies.
Women should not do the house chores alone. They could ask
their husbands to help out with the
effective mode of communication. If
all the qualities of a leader are
applied in our everyday life things
will change around us even in our
homes.
Women’s political participation in
Nigeria
Participants gave their opinion on women’s participation in
Nigeria politics. They agreed that
women were not adequately
represented in decision making e.g.
the national confab presently going
on. A participant was of the
opinion that grass root women needed
to be educated. Bunmi intervention
was that what women need are
sensitization and empowerment and
not education because it is wrong to
assume that women can not deliberate
on issues affecting them due to lack
of education. It is important for
women to talk about issues that
affect them because nobody will do
it for them. Women can make a
difference in our own little ways.
Women are discouraged from
participating in politics as it is
believe to be a dirty game. It is
necessary for women to support each
other, appreciate each other,
emphasize more on the positive sides
and strengths and vote for women.
Participants said that women have
proven to be more accountable than
men. It is important for leaders to
be tactful, sensible, open and
listen to others.
Participants pointed out that the media portray the women
badly in the papers. They generalize
a lot where it concerns women.
The next session on how do we define a successful
organization highlighted on sexual
harassment in the work place.
Participants shared experiences on
sexual harassment in higher
institution as well as in the home.
It is important that women talk when
they are sexually harassed and not
keep quiet. As leaders it is
imperative to make impact in our
environment.
Report of Human Rights Defenders
consultative Workshop Convened by
BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights on
behalf of International Service for
Human Rights.
March 21 -22, 2005
The workshop had 21 participants
drawn from the NGO sector and
represented women’s and other human
rights organizations.
The Executive Director of BAOBAB for
Women’s Human Rights hereinafter
referred to as BAOBAB welcomed
participants to the workshop and
said she hopes it had given
participants an opportunity to
network. Musa Gassama a
representative of International
Service of Human Rights hereinafter
referred to ISHR introduced
participants to the activities of
ISHR which includes providing
training for NGOs, information on
what happens at the UN, every year
they produce report on outcome of
meetings at the UN and come up with
documents which are given to NGOs
during workshops. They also work to
promote the rights of human rights
defenders, for which they are
partnering with BAOBAB. At the
African level, they promote the
adoption of resolutions for
defenders of human rights, and the
creation of the special rapporteur
on human rights defenders. They
facilitate the participation of
NGOs; they therefore want to see
what they can do with NGOs; on the
way forward.
The participants were asked to introduce their organization
and the rights they defend. The
organizations represented were
BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights,
CIRRDOC, Community Life Project,
Center for Rights in Development,
League of Democratic Lawyers,
National Human Rights Commission,
WRAPA, Women in Focus, Agape Birth
Rights, Development Initiatives,
Alliances for Africa, work for the
protection of the human rights of
women.
The following were the objectives of the workshop:
-
To Raise awareness among defenders
on the planned visit of the United
Nations Special Rapporteur on Human
Rights Development
-
To facilitate discussions on
preparation and effective
participation of defenders
(a)
identifying issues and priorities
for the civil society
(b)
develop a strategy of communication
with the DR on HRD
(c)
Developing coordination among
defenders
(d)
Develop a follow-up strategy
(e)
Developing plans and action on
publicity of the visit (media
coverage)
There were sessions were on different topics, they are
definition of human rights
defenders, Minimum Standards that
must be taken into cognizance by
human rights defenders, The concept
of Protection which includes
Neutralizing the Messenger and
Eliminating the Messenger.
Protection Strategies i.e. National,
Local and International
Regional: The African Regional on Peoples and Human Rights,
European Union
UN declarations
Use of Networks
One of the facilitators (Julie) spoke about what is
obtainable in the UN Declaration on
Human Rights Defenders they are that
the rights should be:
Legitimate and should conform to International standards
A case in Chile was cited where a human rights activist
documented all cases of human rights
abuses though he never won any of
the cases but the documentation has
come in handy in the prosecution of
the abuser.
A participant said she had experienced all the abuses
spoken about and therefore seeks to
know how she can work to protect
herself. Her organization works for
the protection of women in the Niger
Delta. She spoke about restrictions
from going to monitor oil spillage
in the Niger Delta. Julie a
facilitator responded by saying that
she should collaborate with other
organizations to improve her
situation.
There was a discussion on problems faced by human rights
defenders in Nigeria:
Musa a facilitator stated that the people to target in
defending human rights defenders is
the government, and there own duty
is to see that the UN representative
makes a presentation to the
government. A participant discussed
the reluctance of the countries to
speak against US policies and that
this is a problem. Sindi also spoke
about the politics of exclusion,
which makes it difficult to make an
input. The international community
also has a duty to research on who
is sent to the UN. Another
participant stated that Nigeria does
not have coalitions as seen in the
representation at the meetings, as
against countries such as South
Africa. Another participant stated
that this would be an opportunity to
work together to ensure that work
goes on, and inability to receive
funds from corporate organizations
due to tax. Julie a facilitator
cited the example of Irish
government who pays for the NGO
representatives to present their
report at the UN. A participant
stated that we should work more on
coalitions; another participant
stated that the problem we face is
the lack of access to information,
especially on laws and policies.
Another participant stressed need
for information. Another participant
spoke about registration
difficulties, research for names,
etc., Other issues are difficulty of
human rights defenders to go on with
cases, issues of beaurocracy in a
democratic governance, difficulty in
accepting women in politics, use of
police to stop peaceful
demonstration. Musa a facilitator
asked if people voted from the civil
society have lived up to
expectation, participants responded
that the people from the civil
society are still insignificant. A
participant stated that Nigerians
are giving democracy a chance so as
not to go back to military rule,
another problem is the fact that the
government is the perpetrator, which
has led to break down of law and
order, pointing of guns at head,
your opinion is sought on certain
issues, and they give you assurance
that you are not to be exposed, but
the reverse is the case, use of
civil society by the government,
especially during riots, threats by
government officials, phone calls,
etc.
Duties of The Special rapporteur:
while in Nigeria she will receive
reports on human rights violations,
so as to carry out an analysis of
the trends, what specific trends
there are, information on individual
cases. On the individual cases there
are two types; one is urgent appeal,
i.e. threats against the human
rights defenders. The
second case is that of allegation
letters, this is a case of when
allegations have already taken
place, and ask government to
responds. Although it might not
produce an immediate result but at
least the government is aware that
the international community is
aware. The procedure is normally
confidential.
Based on the information received by the special
rapporteur, she is able to analyze
the trends in violations. She
participates in conferences,
consultations, campaigns, and this
helps her to understand all that
defenders go through and the trends.
An example of the issues of sexual
harassment as reported in Brazil,
within the civil society. Other
function of the rapporteur is
gaining information for instance
visit prisons, and other groups. She
showed some cases of the abuses
women face in different parts of the
world. She urged participants to
begin to think about a review
methodology or what next. She
further stated that the essence of
the meeting was for us to work to
ensure that civil society become
part of the agenda setting.
The group work was to identify the violations or thematic
issues defenders face in defending
the rights of human rights.
Group One dealt with the Unfriendly environment Nigerian
Human Rights Defenders operate in
which include difficulty in
registration of organization with
the corporate affairs office and
cost of doing so, Laws affecting
assembly: Public order act: This act
makes it difficult for individuals
to hold peaceful protests. Official
secret act: This act makes it
difficult to get data or results of
research from government
parastatals.
Access and means of Expression: Cost of advert and
televisions, impunity of security
agents. Non-condusive formation of
NGO by government called GONGO,
(Government NGO) and also situation
when government disobeys laws, there
are also no local funders for NGO
work. Denial of visa to foreign
partners, non-domestication of
international treaties and documents
that the government is signatory to.
Others include absence of human rights education,
ineffective and corrupt judiciary
and the legislature.
Social perception of Human Rights Defenders:
Cultural inhibitions against women Human Rights Defenders
include hostility and name calling,
men are called lazy and supporters
of women.
Economic situation of Human Rights Defenders:
No pension scheme, continuity of tenure and strict funding
rules.
Actors that affect Human Rights
Defenders
Government and its agents, The police and other security
agents like SSS, Cultural practices
and religious fundamentalisms,
Judiciary and Politicians
Group 2:
Types of risk and risks faced by defenders
Threat to life, Culture limiting women’s participation,
Limited access to information,
Violation of laws with impunity starting from the federal
government. This makes our job
difficult, Lack of acceptance of
women’s rights as human rights even
within the human rights community,
overt government sponsored
opposition, Language
Difficulty in registration of human rights NGOs, Character
assassination and impuning our
reputation and Lack of financial
sustainability
Risks
Arrests/extra judicial killings,
Disappearance, Internal
displacement, Loss of livelihood
Internal and external restriction of movement, High level
of insecurity and Frivolous
prosecution
Impact on the human right defenders
Lack of commitment of young activists and quality of
defenders is diminishing
Julie, a participant started the day with the background
information and how to prepare to
meet with the special rapporteur.
She informed participants that her
travel and document will be prepared
by her assistance and while she is
here she will be working mostly with
the UNDP office here in Nigeria. If
NGOs send her a background document
then this would help her prepare the
issues that she will be presented
with in Nigeria. She therefore
stated that the following issues
should be communicated to her:
Difficulties we earlier enumerated on freedom of
expression, assembly and access to
information, issues on public order
acts and official statute acts and
how they affect NGOs. We should make
the presentation precise, and clear
to assist her. Other areas include
issues of registration of NGOs, and
a brief discussion on how this
affects us, the cost implication of
registration and how this stops us
from carrying out our work. Other
issues are thematic issues as it
affects human rights work in
Nigeria. We should also decide the
contents of the agenda and places
she might visit.
Participants stated the need to agree on the point person
for the project so that reports will
be collated and sent to ISHR to
forward on NGO behalf. BAOBAB was
identified as the secretariat. It
was stated that the difficulty of
registering organizations such as
representatives of lesbian and
homosexuals could be cited as
difficulty presently faced. They
were urged to involve other NGOs
that are not represented to ensure a
more representation of NGOs.
She also stated that while the rapporteur is in Nigeria,
she will hold meetings with
representatives of the UN, and then
a press conference on the last day,
to give a feedback of what her
assessment has been. She will be
meeting with the head of state and
ministers, enforcement agencies,
minister for defense, authorities of
the judiciary, parliamentary
representatives, human rights
institutions in Nigeria, regional
and local court judges, trade
unions, journalists, gay and lesbian
groups, to ensure that their voices
are heard, E.U. representatives,
etc.
She urged NGOs to try to formulate recommendations to
assist her in preparing her report.
The follow up depends on
participants and stated that the
International Service for Human
Rights will be willing to sponsor
any collaboration as they come from
participants. Participants spoke
about forming committees, and this
was rejected. Another participant
form Niger Delta volunteered to
chair the group. It was finally
agreed that groups should go back to
their state, meet with other human
rights activist, and come up with
documents on human rights defenders
challenges, this should be sent to
BAOBAB offices for final
presentation to the organizers. The
executive Director of BAOBAB said
the deadline of April 2, 2005 when
the document is required in Geneva
must be adhered to.
The facilitators noted that since the inception of
democracy in Nigeria reports
normally sent to the African
Commission on violations of Human
rights issues in Nigeria are on the
decline. A participant stated that
the decline in reports is caused by
lack of funds to invite the chair to
visit countries, and the fact that
individuals are not aware of the
existence of this office. It was
stated that the African Union has
been advised to channel more funds
towards issues of human rights.
Julie gave a few tips on the European Union Guidelines for
protecting human rights defenders.
She therefore stated that they would
like to hear how we engage EU in
protecting the rights of human
rights defenders in Nigeria. It was
suggested that the NGOs represented
should write a joint proposal to the
European Union for work in the area
of defending human rights defenders.
Africa Regional Roaming Institute for Women’s Leadership and
Training of Trainers
Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria
February 21- 25 2005
The Institute consisted of
twenty-five participants in all from
eight African countries. Hafsat
Abiola (Nigeria), member, W.L.P.
Board of Directors, standing in for
Mahnaz Afhami, the Executive
Director of WLP declared the
workshop open. In the note read on
behalf of Mahnaz, Hafsat recounted
other countries where the Institute
was replicated. These are
Afghanistan, Morocco and Jordan. One
is being planned to hold in Asia.
She added that the institute
envisages the development of a kind
of leadership that is horizontal and
not based on hierarchy; based on
consensus and dialogue rather than
command with the aim of creating
shared vision based on mutual
understanding and respect.
It seeks to create a gender-sensitive society in the area
of women’s human rights and other
issues as they affect women despite
their diversities. It also seeks to
encourage women to realize and
utilize the leadership qualities in
them.
The goal of the institute was to enhance the capacity of
participants to become better
trainers and advocates and ensure
full participation of women at all
level in society using a methodology
of skill building, information and
experience sharing.
At the beginning of the Institute everyone was hopeful that
all the objectives would be met with
minimal obstacles which could be
posed by time constraints and
language barrier on the path of a
couple of participants that speak
very little English.
The objective of the first session, Power, Gender and
Leadership was to discuss power and
analyze the connection between power
and gender. There was a brainstorm
on what the terms are and is and
what they are not.
Leadership is
Gender inclusive, Participatory,
Innovative, Listening, Responsible, Order/ empowering
Leadership is not
dictatorial, indecisive,
cohesive, Abusive /
Authoritative
Negative use: leads to abuse of power and Deaf
The methodology used throughout the
workshop was participatory. Roles
were sometimes swapped. Participants
were called upon to, facilitate,
write on the flip chart board or
call on other participants to make
contributions.
Dramatization and role-play were used extensively as the
participants broke into groups to
take on roles, which they later
presented to the larger group amidst
rib cracking laughter. The session
on transforming leadership couldn’t
have been done better. The
objectives of the session were to
criticize hierarchical leadership
strategies and consider the
principles on which a learning
society could transform hierarchical
leadership into horizontal and
participatory leadership. Group
one’s presentation was based on
discrimination against women in the
workplace, while group two presented
on communicating with members of the
society. Group three presented a
scenario on the unequal
representation of women in politics.
Participants shared personal stories in the session titled
‘Leadership challenges, crisis and
achievements’. The
session afforded the
participant the opportunity to share
their personal experiences in the
course of leadership.
After the narrations the stories were analyzed and the
strategies employed were listed. The
common themes in them were as
follows:
Being sacrificial lambs; the quality
moving to action; the quality of
producing results; The quality of
not talking or taking rash action
when provoked; Having the clear
vision of what the organisation is
about and sticking to it;
Information sharing and
dissemination; Being cautious;
Lobbying; High self esteem
Common themes were Change threatens
people, Pull her down syndrome,
Distrust amongst elitist women
Missing themes were Inclusiveness
(sensitivity) appropriate use of
language
Elements of power were; Leadership
intimidates, Looking for points of
dissention, Formation of cliques.
The objectives of the session on communicating effectively
were:
To analyse the characteristics of an
effective communicator; To
demonstrate the importance of
communication for effective
leadership; To consider how to be
persuasive when motivating educating
and negotiating with others and to
analyse people’s personal stories of
communication.
The passage titled “I care and I am willing to serve”
culled from the leadership Training
Manual “Leading to Choices” was used
as a case study. The story was
discussed and analyzed. This was
followed by group activity in which
participants were asked to
communicate unpleasant situations to
each other in a way that their
audience or listeners would not find
offensive.
The facilitators were creative when it came to sharing the
participants into groups. For
example, instead of the usual
picking of numbers, which was
becoming too monotonous, names of
heroines’ fruits, animals, etc were
used to group the participants. This
made the whole exercise more
interesting and lively. For this
particular group exercise the
participants went into groups of
mango, paw paw and watermelon. One
group was to address a case in which
a colleague who had body odor was to
be communicated to on her condition
and what to do. The other two groups
were to communicate to a group of
women who have refused to have their
children immunized against polio and
influence a minister to get the
government to abrogate a decree
passed by the government, which did
not favour women respectively.
After the presentation the participants critiqued the
performance. In the final analysis
it was agreed that effective
communication involves good
listening skills, good oratory
skills and should be engaging.
Each day of the meeting began with a recap and ended with
wrap up. These help to refresh the
participants’ memories and put them
in the right mood for the day’s
activities. Still on communication,
the participants deliberated on what
it takes for communication to be
persuasive. There was a brainstorm
on this, which had this output:
Persuasive
Not persuasive
Use of
facts
Giving ultimatum/threats
Personalising information
I know
it all attitude
Dialoguing
Aggressive (verbal & non verbal
Seizing strategic opportunities to
convey message Box people
to a corner
Respecting and valuing other
peoples’ opinions
Using questionable facts.
Giving the person the choice to
decide
Awakening the person’s self interest
Always remain in focus
In the course of carrying out their tasks as leaders and
advocates partici | 
