2004
Nov 25-Dec 10, 2004.
The 16 day Activism against Gender Based Violence.
Introduction
One of BAOBAB s objectives is collaborating with like-minded organizations in mutually agreed campaigns and programmes, such as 16 days of Activism against gender based violence which is an international campaign originating from first women s global leadership institute sponsored by the center for women s global leadership in 1991.
For the past decade BAOBAB has joined the rest of the world in making the 16 days of activism against gender violence through various programmes such as press briefing, media interviews, solidarity treks, popular theatre and thematic workshop etc.
The theme of this year campaign was “for the health of women, for the health of the world; no more violence”.
Some of the activities of this year include:
Press briefing: BAOBAB organised a day press briefing for both print and electronic media on the 25 November 2004. The briefing was followed by a press statement and analytical discussion on issues of violence against women and its link with the health of women.
Student debate: BAOBAB also invited students from selected schools like holy Child College and Queens College to a debate on “sexuality education: a way of addressing sexual abuse.
Popular theatre for the police: BAOBAB held a one day gender awareness raising popular theatre presentation with the Police at police training college in Lagos on December 2, 2004. The drama focused on violent against women issues. This was followed by a general discussion which the duly participated in.
New tactic on human right media workshop: The workshop which was held on the 8 of December had in attendance media representatives and BAOBAB personnel. The workshop was aimed at involving the media in promoting women's human rights through developing new tactics and strategies. The workshop discussion gave rise to the formation of a network of journalists against violence against women.
Popular theatre at strategic commercial garages: BAOBAB also took the campaign to the streets and popular “bus stops” in Lagos by staging drama that highlighted various aspects of violence against women.
Community based outreach activities: activities: BAOBAB's community based outreach teams in different geo-political zones in Nigeria also marked this year campaign- Osun State team organized a media workshop on issues of violence against women and the event was covered by the Osun State Broadcasting Corporation, The Sunday Tribune of December 12 2004, and The Punch of December 9th 2004 (p10). They created awareness on various forms of violence against women and the need to address them. The BAOBAB Kogi State outreach team took their anti gender based violence campaign to the streets. They distributed educational materials on issues of violence against women to members of the public. The participants at the Sexuality Education workshop held by the BAOBAB Kano State outreach team enthused that they had gained a great deal in terms of their sexuality and reproductive rights, and further believed that it would enhance their self esteem and empowerment. TALENT COMPETITION, Oct 28, 2004
Introduction
BAOBAB organized a talent competition, the second of its type and the start of a biennial commitment to promoting women's rights amongst children and young adults.
The proposed project was a children's Talent competition, designed to enable children to exercise and develop their talents, while raising their awareness of the issue of women's rights as human rights. The competition sought to promote young people's appreciation of human rights from a gender perspective. It also encouraged young people to think and talk about rights in general and in particular, recognize women's human rights as basic human rights. The talent competition was designed to facilitate an early process for the shaping of children and young men and women's discourse in manner that we take for granted that women's rights are human rights and promote their ability to recognize violations of women's and girls' rights in their own experiences.
There were three areas to the competition - art, writing and music. Children may make a design for a t-shirt compose or write a poem, essay or short on the theme of women's human rights.
The three age categories are - Children (under 13 years), teenagers (13-19) and young adults (20-30 years of age).
The theme for this year's talent competition is “The Power of Information in Promoting Women Human Rights”.
We widely distributed the handbills and posters for the competition and we received about 200 entries from different parts of the country. Selections were made by a panel of judges and the National prize giving day took place on October 28, 2004.
The Award Ceremony
BAOBAB For Women's Human Rights held her second biennial Talent Competition Award Ceremony on October 28th, 2004 at the Lagoon Restaurant, Victoria Island, Lagos State.
The aim of the award ceremony was to honour winners of BAOBAB's 2004 Talent Competition by presenting gifts to them as part of BAOBAB For Women's Human Rights effort in promoting Women's Human Rights amongst young people. It was to encourage the winners who displayed a variety of skills during the course of the competition.
In attendance were thirty (30) winners who came from different states in Nigeria. Guests invited were top Government functionaries, parents/guardian of winners, students, teachers, media, Non Governmental Organization (NGOs), friends of BAOBAB, Artists and Embassies.
To showcase the work of the winners, there were theatre presentations, musical performance, comedy and recitation of poems.
Some of the gifts presented to the winners were educational materials such as encyclopedia, thesaurus, storybooks, dictionaries, scrabble, empty cassettes, tape recorder, compact disks players, art frame, reading lamps, standing fans, table fans and BAOBAB's publication. Certificates of participation were also given to all the winners. Gifts were also presented to schools that encouraged many of their students to take part in the competition
Some of the comments and words of encouragement included from the invited guests were:
Ø “I am pleased that children as young as six years old understood what women's human rights are with their work of art, essay, and cartoon. As we are talking about information, we should try and spread the word as far as possible and that everybody should try to teach other people what they had learnt from the ceremony because that is the only way information can go round”.
Ø “Thank you BAOBAB for teaching children from early age a lesson that would put them on the right track and for backing it with an award ceremony. Sunshine Nursery and Primary School would be a strong friend of BAOBAB”.
Ø “Thank you BAOBAB for giving us (winners) the opportunity to participate in the competition and for the gifts given to us”.
Ø “BAOBAB is doing a tremendous job in the promotion of women's human rights in a predominantly male-dominated society. Congratulations to all who sent in their entries for the competition and the award ceremony is a major milestone in their lives". It was important to note that this noble event has been facilitated by a woman's organization.
Ø “Congratulations to you all and best of luck”.
Ø “The award ceremony is a demonstration of the fact that Nigeria is greatly blessed with talented and gifted people. It is our duty either as men or women to encourage the winners and to promote talents. The winners should not to see the sky as their limit, but they can actually go beyond and also congratulations to BAOBAB for Women's Human Rights”.
Ø “Humility is the hallmark of generosity” and were also encouraged to see their success today as just a stepping stone to greater successes.
“The sky is your limit, do not see your success today as the end of it, but strive and work hard”. Leadership Training Workshops:
January – September 2004
Between January and September 2004, thirteen (13) leadership training workshops were held in different parts of the country. In collaboration with the Linkages and Sponsored Research office of the Obafemi Awolowo University (www.oauife.edu.ng), BAOBAB for Women's Human Rights facilitated four leadership training workshops for various sectors of the university namely: junior administrative staff, the non-formal sector, academic and senior administrative staff, as well as postgraduate students of the university. The remaining nine (9) workshops were held for activists, undergraduate students, academics, women in the grassroots, public servants, traditional birth attendants, among others, in outreach states in different parts of the country – Borno, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Lagos, Oyo, Plateau and Zamfara. Two (2) of these workshops were conducted in Hausa.
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 training was a new experience for almost all the participants. They were accustomed to the usual lecturer/student forum where the lecturer gives all the answers and the students take notes. At the workshops, participants were encouraged to speak and to share their ideas and experiences. The facilitators created an environment that was conducive to participatory training. As the workshop progressed, participants spoke up more and more and shared very personal experiences.
The majority of the workshop focused on leadership including characteristics of leaders and different types of leadership. Most of the participants never saw the leadership potential within themselves. They shared stories about people in their lives who had inspired them and the qualities those individuals have. Through brainstorming, they created a list of all the qualities of a leader. After this session participants came to realize that they all had various leadership qualities within them, and that it was up to them to take action.
The various sessions about leadership, and the case studies used in the workshop illustrated a form of leadership called horizontal leadership. There was much discussion on the differences between vertical and horizontal leadership styles. Vertical leadership is generally a male-dominated phenomenon, which works using a “top down” approach. Horizontal leadership is inclusive and participatory. Participants at these workshops also distinguished between a boss and a leader
Although participants believed in the many benefits of horizontal leadership, and preferred its principles to those found in vertical leadership, many had difficulty in believing it could work in every case. Some felt that there was not enough authority in horizontal leadership, which could be a problem in Nigeria where some people had to be “beaten with a stick” to make them do the work. After brainstorming about the characteristics of vertical and horizontal leadership, the participants agreed that many characteristics in these types of leadership are similar. There is authority and discipline in horizontal leadership; it is the approach that is different.
A workshop session was devoted to gender, as it is an underlying issue in all of the sessions. It is important to include a gender perspective in the training because women have been discriminated against in so many different ways. Participants shared experiences where they had been discriminated against or left out of decision-making simply because they were women. The group became more sensitized to gender issues and came to realize the importance of working towards eliminating stereotypes of men and women.
A main objective of this workshop is to inspire the participants to get involved in their communities to make them better. Participants shared ideas about issues in their area they would like to address, such as teenage pregnancies; widowhood rites and rights; equal treatment and opportunities for boys and girls; etc. Participants discussed their visions and helped formulate them into vision statements.
A session was held on communication, as one of the important qualities of a leader is the ability to communicate effectively. Different role-plays were used to illustrate communication types. Through these role-plays, the participants could clearly recognize the “rights and wrongs” of good communication. They created a list of important characteristics of good communication. Choice of language and approach were both identified as particularly important in communicating a sensitive issue effectively.
This four /five-day training had a profound effect on most of the participants. Many expressed an increase in their confidence level and the feeling that they could accomplish things they felt they could not before. There was a realization that they could be leaders and make a difference in their communities. Before the workshop, the participants did not see themselves as leaders.
The participants also expressed appreciation for the teaching methodology of the workshop. For most of them it was a completely new experience. They participated, shared their experiences, and took turns to present to the group. They felt this helped build their confidence and made them think more, instead of just listening to a lecturer. Some indicated they would have appreciated more time for group work as they enjoyed sharing ideas.
At the end of the workshop, many participants had plans on ways they wanted to get more involved in their communities to stimulate positive change. The training caused an important attitude shift.
June 28-29, 2004
National Discussion on Sharia and Women's Human Rights in Nigeria
BAOBAB for Women's Human Rights organized this two-day meeting in Abuja with participants from different parts of the country and resource persons from both within and outside the country. The objectives of the National Discussion were as follows:
· To follow up on earlier discussions and programmes on the issue of women's human rights
· To correct the wrong notion that women's human rights cannot be discussed in relation to sharia in particular and religion in general
· To promote and protect the rights of women under the present dispensation of Sharia
· To create the necessary atmosphere for discourse on women's human rights 1st Session: Woman's Human Rights and Sharia Implementation in Nigeria by Mufuliat Fijabi and Aisha Lawal BAOBAB for Women's Human Rights
2nd Session: Islam, Human Rights and Child Marriage by Hameed Agberemi, Centre for the Social Study of Islam in Nigeria
Session 3: Dress Code – The Malaysian Experience by Masjalisa Hamza, Sisters in Islam
Session 4: Hudud and Women's Human Rights Dr Farid Esack University Professor and ERS Chair, Ethics/Religion & Society, Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH.
Session5: Divorce: An Issue for Women in Nigeria by Sherifat Hussein-Abubakar,College of Arabic and Islamic Legal Studies, Ilorin, Kwara State.
Session 6: Child Custody by Fatima Seedat, South Africa
Session 7: An Overview of the Judicial Sector and the Challenges of Sharia Implementation by Justice Abdul Mutalib Ambali, Sharia Court of Appeal, Ilorin, Kwara State.
Seasoned Discussants did a summary of each paper at the end of each presentation. Time was also set aside for discussing some of the issues raised in the presentation. The discussions centered on several issues. The key learning points are as follows:
· That women's human rights should continue to be discussed against the background of Sharia implementation in Nigeria
· That in implementing Sharia there should be guarantee for the protection and promotion of women's human rights
· That women should be involved in the planning and implementation of programmes that affect them
· That a number of women are vulnerable to a lot of injustice resulting from the lack of access to justice and the inexperience of some of the judicial officers especially at the lower courts
· That conservative interpretation of the sources of laws generally affects the attitude of the society to women
· That women and children are a vulnerable group and as such issues relating to them should be treated with the attention it deserves.
· That more of this type of forum should be created for further discussion and strategic planning for the way forward.
The two-day discussion ended with a call on the government to step up action on the promotion and protection of women's human rights under the systems of laws operational in Nigeria
May 13, 2004
BAOBAB organizes one-day workshop for female Journalists
BAOBAB For Women's Human Rights on May 13th 2004 organised a one-day workshop for female journalists on "Reporting Human Rights from a Gender Perspective". The workshop, which took place in BAOBAB's conference room, had twenty-two journalists from different media houses in Lagos in attendance. The objectives of organizing this workshop were: to contribute to the empowerment of women in the media, to improve on the working relationship between BAOBAB and the media and to see how we can assist journalists in writing gender-balanced stories. The one-day workshop focused on understanding human rights and the concept of gender. Some Newspaper articles were identified and examined from a gender perspective with emphasis on the need to pay attention to the use of language in order to avoid discriminatory words. The discussion also recognized the need to write balanced stories that do not appear discriminatory against any sex.
A session was also devoted to a look at some of the international instruments which Nigeria has signed and ratified. This includes the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women. The need to domesticate these instruments was restated.
At the end of the workshop participants expressed their appreciation to BAOBAB for organizing this type of workshop and emphasized the need to organize more, stressing that other NGOs should also organize similar workshops to improve the capacity of journalist. Emphasis was also laid on the importance of making information available to the media on various developments in the area of women's human rights in particular and human rights in general.
May 6-7, 2004 BAOBAB organized a two day evaluation workshop for grass root women. It was aimed at evaluating what they learnt at the leadership training they had attended and how they put their vision into action. The evaluation workshop helped us to know if we should restrategize or not.
March 28-April 4 2004
Overview of BAOBAB National Planning Meeting/Capacity Building Workshops. Lagos, 2004
The forth edition of the annual outreach national planning meeting for volunteer outreach teams of BAOBAB was held in Lagos, March 28-April 2 2004. Representatives of each of BAOBAB's 14 Outreach State teams came together once again in what has traditionally become an annual event for BAOBAB. This year, the main objective of the national planning meeting was to strengthen the capacity of the teams in two main areas (1) Email/Internet training (2) Paralegal Training of Trainers. The main objectives of the paralegal TOT include –(1) To run a training of trainers paralegal workshop to enable the teams train more paralegals in their communities, (2) To build a networking structure amongst all the outreach teams. This year's national planning meeting also provided an opportunity for participants to plan a programme calendar for the year.
The e-mail training took place at ‘Net near U' cyber café in Victoria Island Lagos. Each Outreach team was represented by two of its outreach team members except for Borno state Outreach team which was undergoing transition.
Summary of the Email Training
Before sharing the objectives and the expectations for the email training, participants were reminded that volunteering to work with BAOBAB was highly appreciated. The objectives of the Email Training include – (1) To enhance the capacity of outreach teams in the area of information and communication technology (ICT), (2) To strengthen the communication network between the teams and BAOBAB coordinating office (3) To facilitate transfer of information from global to local through email and the Internet (4) To enable outreach teams share their ICT skills with other women in their respective communities.
In sharing their expectations, many of the participants expected to enhance their computer skills especially those who have had very basic computer knowledge but have not had the opportunity to update the knowledge. Participants also expected to acquire email skills to enable them network effectively with one another as well as BAOBAB coordinating office. They also expect to learn how to browse the internet to keep up with the global world in terms of information exchange, capacity building and electronic solidarity campaigns. The participants believed that the training will be most beneficial if the knowledge is transferred to other women in their communities.
However, participants acknowledged that certain challenges might threaten the gains or expected gains of the email training such as lack of access to email/internet facilities in some of the communities. Another possible challenge was seen from a gender perspective; that of combining the triple role of women including production, reproduction and community work with time for internet browsing. A couple of participants believed that men had more advantage in terms of flexibility of time to enable them visit the cyber cafes due to gender division of labour in the society which places more burden on women. It was highly debated but there was a general consensus that, although there might be gender implications regarding house hold work and time for internet browsing, people should create time for browsing as this will also reflect their level of commitment. The issue of availability of funds was discussed as a possible challenge, but again it was noted that BAOBAB would try within its means to support the teams in terms of internet café bills etc.
Amongst the skills that participants learned were –Basic computer skills including using Microsoft Word, Creating a document and saving/retrieving it, creating an email account, opening a yahoo/hotmail account, attaching files, finding relevant resources in the internet, subscribing to list serves and downloading from the internet. Some of the participants already had basic ICT knowledge.
Evaluating the workshop in line with the objectives and expectations of the workshop and participants, respectively, a cross section of the participants noted that the training has been most useful. This was in terms of basic email/internet skills. Some of the outreach volunteers were greatly motivated by the training. One volunteer specifically said “I feel I can not be detached from the Internet.” Some said they could not wait to get back to their respective States, to practice the ICT skills they had just benefited from. Another volunteer confessed that initially she was “scared” of the internet but that this training has put her at ease. She further enthused that the training has empowered her in the area of computer and internet use.
Participants mentioned that the programme content was good. There was also a suggestion for BAOBAB to produce a training manual that will incorporate detailed steps to basic ICT use as this will facilitate personal follow-up. The participants also mentioned that more time should have been devoted to the training as they needed ample time to practice what they have learned. According to most of the participants, they would utilize what they have learnt from this training by communicating with the BAOBAB coordinating office and other outreach teams; browsing the internet for issues concerning women's human rights, as well as train others in their communities. Everybody agreed that the immediate objectives of the workshop were met and that hopefully, the long term objectives would be met.
Summary of the Paralegal TOT
A few of BAOBAB's outreach teams already work as paralegals in their various communities. However, BAOBAB, having secured more funding for capacity building for outreach teams, felt it was pertinent to run a paralegal Training of Trainers (TOT) workshop to enable outreach volunteer teams co-facilitate paralegal training workshops in their various communities this year. It was also a way of enhancing networking amongst the outreach teams in the area of paralegal work.
The paralegal modules have been focused on information and training relevant to women's concerns, situations and needs as well as men's. It is hoped that beneficiaries of the training will in addition to their work as paralegals, share their experiences with their colleagues and/or community members.
The training modules cover the need, functions and limitations of a paralegal; the forms of law, the court system, enforcers and the application of international human rights instrument in Nigeria. Issues of marriage, divorce, inheritance, child custody etc., under statutory, religious and customary laws were included from a gender perspective.
The paralegal TOT workshop no doubt enabled the participants share various strategies that could work best in their respective communities and context.
The last but not the least important aspect of this year's outreach national planning meeting was that the teams planned their programme calendar of activities for the year.
In general, this year's outreach national planning meeting was a success especially in the area of ICT and Paralegal TOT capacity building. At least, the outreach teams have joined the rest of the world in internet use. Once again BAOBAB says Kudos! To these women and men of varied professions who have voluntarily committed themselves towards achieving BAOBAB's vision.
March 10, 2004
To mark this year's March 8th International Women's Day, BAOBAB for Women's Human Rights and the British Council invited legislators in Lagos State to a one-day workshop on “Domesticating the Principles of CEDAW in Lagos State.”
The main aim of the workshop was to formulate a framework for the domestication of the principles of the Convention on the Elimination of forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in Nigeria. It was also aimed at working with the Media to create awareness on the importance of CEDAW as a tool for social change in the society.
February 4, 2004
On 4th February 2004 BAOBAB for Women's Human Rights joined women all over the world to celebrate African Women's Health and Rights Day, in commemoration of the 10th Anniversary of International Conference on Population and Development. The theme of the year's celebration is “I Celebrate Protest Demand – A decade of celebrating progress and reclaiming rights” The day's celebration was jointly hosted by BAOBAB for Women's Human's Rights and Amanitare (African partnership for the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of women and girls – an initiative of RAINBO). Representatives of the media, policy making agencies, educators NGOs and health practitioners, were invited to a workshop to discuss the progress made so far and to deliberate on other issues requiring attention to ensure that by year 2015, the mandate for the programme of action would have been met. The goal of the workshop was to enhance the awareness of the public, health care providers and policy makers on women and their rights to sexual and reproductive health. |
