December 16th - 22nd, 2009

Strategic Planning Meeting

BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights held her annual Strategic Planning Meeting (SPM) December 16 – 22, 2009 at Ibis Hotel Lome, Togo. The theme was “Sustaining BAOBAB’s Five Year’ Strategic Plan: Going into Action”.  SPMs are geared towards assessing and reviewing the organization’s programmes, projects, mission statement, vision and objectives for more efficiency and effectiveness in the coming year.  It’s also an avenue to avail old and new staff the opportunity to review their achievements/challenges in the previous year and identify ways of building their capacity to enhance better productivity in the new year. 

The participants at the meeting consisted of 17 staff members and 2 Outreach team coordinators from Edo & Adamawa State Outreach teams. An organizational development Consultant was the external resource person who facilitated the meeting along side staff members.

The objectives of the SPM were to review BAOBAB’s  existing programmes to fit into the Five year plan, review of the Five year Strategic Plan, ensure staff involvement in the five year plan & identify steps towards implementing the five year plan

In reviewing the Five year strategic plan, the organization focused on implementing the various Strategic Directions which explains ways of moving the organization forward by consolidating and institutionalizing its work for sustainability with an in-depth perspective of BAOBAB’s mission and vision and also with inputs from the diversity of staff member’s expertise.

BAOBAB as an organization has since commenced implementing the ideas generated with regards to its Strategic Direction.

The meeting was a very insightful one for all participants, their capacity in proposal writing among other things were strengthened. It was a memorable experience for the two Outreach team members, who expressed their gratitude in being given the opportunity to better acquaint themselves with BAOBAB’s programmes, learn from the wealth of experiences shared and benefited from the training workshops.

2nd December 2009

16 Days of Activism - Men against Violence against Women

As part of its campaign to mark the 2009 “16 Days against Gender Based Violence” campaign, the BAOBAB team with its network of “Men against Violence against Women ” in the lead, took the advocacy to the streets! While in a particular popular area of Lagos known for its busy commercial bus activities-called ‘Oshodi', the team shared anti-gender based violence messages with the crowd – heightened with the aid of their traditional talking drums! ‘Ohhh' was the almost unsaid expression on their faces as they appreciated the fact that men are now in the fore-front of advocating the end of violence against women. And…guess what? The BAOBAB led network of men ran out of the IEC anti gender-based materials as the demand for them was so overwhelming! However, this ‘minor crisis' of IEC material shortage did not deter the team, who carried on with their verbal messages and talking drums. The team captured some of the comments by the men on the streets:

“I believe women also have rights. Men should give their wives respect and their rights should be given to them”

 “ A sensible man should know that he must take good care of his wife.”

“ There must be love between a man and a woman, love is an accord anchored in man and woman before becoming one as a union. Love is essential. If my wife upsets me, first thing to do is to calm down.  Even the bible says “both of you are helpmates, so one is not a slave for another. I believe my wife is my sister and if she did something wrong, I should be able to correct her not beat her.”

But –someone else thinks differently:

“ No no no no, I don't agree with you people. What if a woman slaps me, I'm talking from experience. No no no, I don't agree with you people... (he started narrating a story)

The team on the street observed that women were highly appreciative of the fact that men were committed to ending violence against women. Then -there was the Drama! The street theatre was very strategic and enabled the public to engage directly in a conversation on issues highlighted –such as sexual harassment of girls by Commercial bus drivers (hmm-that rang a bell with most), as well as domestic violence and other forms of violence. It was also a great opportunity for the BAOBAB team to inform and/or remind the public that, Hei -“We now have a law against Domestic Violence in Lagos State and any perpetrator will be punished!” View the photos of the campaign by clicking here

25 th November 2009

16 Days of Activism - Press Briefing

As part of the activities to mark the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence, BAOBAB for Women's Human Rights hosted twelve (12) journalists from the print and electronic media to a press briefing on the 25 th of November 2009.

The Executive Director of BAOBAB informed the media personnel present that gender based violence has been a cause for concern, not only in Nigeria but across the world which of course can be attributed to the patriarchal notion of control tied to various cultural beliefs that has given rise to the systemic discrimination against women in private and public spheres. She further mentioned that the manifestations of these practices include deeply rooted obnoxious cultural practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM), widowhood rites, and early and/or forced marriages amongst others thereby making Gender Based Violence to be one of the most heinous and prevalent cause of human rights abuses in the world, and is a threat to all women no matter their class or status, and an obstacle to all human efforts for development, peace and gender equality in all societies.

The agenda for the day also had a 30 minutes documentary shown to the journalists on cases of violence against women and BAOBAB's work and intervention to that effect. The documentary showcased true stories and cases of different forms of violence against women in Nigeria. It featured some important highlights of the Mock Tribunal on Violence Against Women BAOBAB did in year 2001 in Abuja.

This medium was used to call on the Federal Government of Nigeria to act as a matter of urgency to domesticate and implement the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) which it signed and ratified without reservation in 1985 as part of Nigerian national laws. She emphasized that having laws that protect women from violence is a strategic step towards reducing the occurrence of Gender Based Violence and according women their rightful place in the development of Nigeria as a great nation.

The choice of the press briefing as part of activities to mark the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence was also to sensitise media personnel on how they report cases of women's human rights. Journalists were implored to report cases of gender based violence and women's human rights issues from a gender perspective as it is evident that their thoughts to a great extent affect the way they report. BAOBAB stands by its belief that there is never any reason to inflict violence against women and adopts a zero tolerance attitude to Gender Based Violence.

16 Days of Activism - Drama presentation held at Apapa high school and Randle seconday school.

BAOBAB for Women's Human Rights marked this year's 16 days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence with several activities amongst which is the drama presentation and sensitization talk at Apapa High School and Randle Secondary School respectively on 25 th November 2009. The programme had in attendance students, teachers and principals from the different schools, a drama troupe and BAOBAB team.

The aim of the programme was to sensitize most importantly, students, on the importance of girl child education, the ills of rape and sexual harassment and the way forward. The drama portrayed different scenes that elaborated why a girl must continue her education to a desired level, the various forms and shape of sexual harassment and the ills of rape. Scenes dramatized also featured a family where the father had preference for his male child and paid less attention to the female child. The father in question totally disagreed with the idea of sending the girl-child to acquire any form of western education irrespective of the fact that he married his wife because she was educated. Rather, “he said the place of the woman with all her qualification will be in the kitchen”. Despite his negligent attitude towards his daughter, it was his son who eventually raped a young girl and was sentenced to seven years imprisonment. The father felt devastated as his “hero” had been sentenced to serve some years in prison and he had nothing to show for his investment as regards his son's education at the end of the drama. Filled with regret, in a monologue, the father advised other parents to take their children's education seriously, to educate their girls and drew the children's attention to the Judge who was female.

The sensitization talk addressed several concerns that came up as a result of the drama presentation. It shed more light on gender discriminations evident in most spheres of life especially in the academic arena and informed of ways and modes of handling various forms of sexual harassment within and outside the students' academic setting.

In conclusion, BAOBAB was able to impact recognizable and accepted knowledge by experience sharing through the drama presentation and sensitization talk to the students. They (students) identified that some gaps needed to be filled for change to occur especially as they are part of the change makers so that they may become effective agents of change.

Nov. 25th – Dec. 10th, 2009

"16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence” campaign.

Over the years, BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights (BAOBAB) joins the rest of the world to organize and take part in activities to mark the “16 days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence” campaign. BAOBAB sees violence against women as an issue that goes beyond race, class, religion and continents. This is a situation that affects not just one woman in her little space but every woman across the world. Our mission is to promote and protect women’s human rights principally via improving knowledge, exercise and development of rights under the customary statutory and religious laws in Nigeria.

The “16 days…” campaign provides the space for BAOBAB to further advocate and sensitize various stakeholders on the negative effects of Gender Based Violence and also to promote the work of women who risk their lives trying to protect the lives of other women.
Our activities and specific areas of focus for this year’s campaign include:
A press briefing on Gender Based Violence: the need for the Media as well as other stakeholders to act and demand a stop to it.

• Street drama/Popular theatre to highlight the ills of Gender based violence at the popular Oshodi Commercial Bus Stop environs in Lagos state, Nigeria.

• A rally with the network of ‘Men Against Violence Against Women (MAVAW)’, and dissemination of anti- Gender Based Violence materials and stickers.

• Street drama/Popular theatre to highlight the ills of Gender Based Violence at 2 schools in the Apapa Local Government Area of Lagos state, Nigeria.

• There will also be various activities organized by four (4) of BAOBAB’s community based volunteer outreach teams (Osun, Taraba, Borno and Zamfara states) in the respective states to mark the campaign.

The choice of these locations in Lagos State (Apapa Local Government Area and Oshodi Bus Stop) is born out of the need to see a change in these areas especially Oshodi in particular, which has a high rate of violence against women due to the social activities that take place there such as petty trading, commercial vehicle activities, and so forth. The choice of Apapa Local Government Area however is based on BAOBAB’s style of reaching a wider coverage as this is an area that is usually over looked in the course of women’s human rights interventions.

We hope to, with these activities, achieve a better public awareness of Gender-Based Violence and more commitment by the general public towards making a change!

November 17, 2009

Evaluation of the Leadership Training and Political Education of women Politicians in Ekiti State.

During the period under review, BAOBAB visited the politicians that benefited in the leadership training and Political Education held in Ekiti State in September 2008, with the support of the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF). The one-day evaluation which was held on the 17th of November 2009 was aimed at assessing how the beneficiaries had applied the training in their lives and political activities in their communities as well as share challenges and strategies for further action. The women, 17 in number, were excited to have us back and they shared their journey so far –especially dealing with the volatile political environment in Ekiti State. They remarked that they were now a lot more strategic in their planning based on the experiences shared during the training that was largely anchored on the WLP leadership curriculum, and that quite a number of them had now decided to vie for political positions in the next elections.

One key phrase that the leaders said stuck with them after the training was that they should ‘Promise less and deliver more,’ and this slogan guided their actions. Another noteworthy development was that they had now started using and exploring alternative ways of mobilizing resources for their political campaigns and activities. This is in view of the fact that –limited funding for women politicians came out strongly as a challenge to women’s political participation.

The participants particularly commended BAOBAB for the style of the training and for building their capacity stating that since the training, all the women met occasionally to strategize on how to move women in the state forward politically irrespective of their political parties which is something that had never happened before despite the fact that they had attended several other capacity building workshops. We look forward to more engagement with this group.

October 15th-18th 2009

Women’s Political Participation Institute in Sierra Leone

In collaboration with the 50/50 group in Sierra Leone, BAOBAB/WLP Africa convened a group of twenty eight (28) women including politicians and aspiring politicians, women’s rights advocates and community leaders to participate in the first national political participation leadership institute in the region. The four-day institute which was held from October 15th-18th 2009, was aimed at empowering women politicians or aspiring women politicians to embrace the principles of horizontal, participatory and truly democratic leadership as well as sharing of ideas and experiences based on success stories of other women politicians. It was also aimed at identifying seemingly insurmountable challenges to women’s political participation, and building on these experiences for further action.

Inspired by the personal/political experiences of women across the global south and elsewhere, as well as their own experiences in Sierra Leone, Participants were further motivated to explore new strategies of closing the gaps in women’s political participation in Sierra Leone. As a major outcome of the institute, the group came up with a collective goal “To have 30% quota of women representation in decision making positions and also enshrined in the constitution.” Participants agreed that this shared goal of the institute would further drive their collective actions

October, 2009

FUTURE FOR GIRLS PROJECT.

BAOBAB currently has fourteen outreach teams in Nigeria, and during the initial research which led to establishment of BAOBAB, education of the girl-child was identified as a gap to be filled  in some states. Future for Girls Project is an initiative of BAOBAB tailored at identifying and supporting girls who are desirious of education in selected States in Nigeria particularly in the North. These girls are from poor backgrounds and their parents cannot afford to foot their education bill. The aim of the project is to ensure that the girl-child is educated to the highest level so as to prevent the girls from been a victim of forced and or early marriage.

Till date this project has been supported by Riita Maurer of Switzerland and BAOBAB. The girls are very happy and deeply appreciate the support with promises to come out in flying colours. Apart from paying their school fees and buying all their school basic needs, BAOBAB visits the girls regularly. The project is currently implemented in three of BAOBAB’s 14 Outreach States. They include Kaduna, Borno and Adamawa. Plans are on the way to expand it in the future to cover other States.  

September 16th - 18th, 2009

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Training for BAOBAB Personnel

BAOBAB organized an ICT training for its personnel between the 16th – 18th September, 2009. The training was a collaborative project of the Women’s Learning Partnership for Rights, Development, and Peace (WLP, USA) and BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights Nigeria. The training was based on the adaptation of the modules and work projects from the WLP’s “Making IT Our Own; An Information & Communication Technology Training of Trainers” Manual. The modules include -Introduction to Computers, Internet & World Wide Web, Email, Word Processing, Spreadsheet and Presentation tools.

The objectives of the training were - empowering members of staff to gain more proficiency in the use of technology to positively impact their respective constituents, as well as enhancing their capacity on how to source information online and widely communicate effectively using available technological tools.

In the course of the training participants were divided into two groups. Each group selected a topic of their interest for a project on an advocacy campaign, which they presented on the last day of the training. They sourced for relevant information on the topic from the internet by applying the various application tools learnt during the training

The workshop Participants indicated that their expectations were met and each felt a step or more empowered in the area of ICT and most importantly they looked forward to applying this new knowledge as women’s human rights activists in all spheres of life.

Views of participants at the ICT workshop.

July 21st - 22nd, 2009

National Discussion on Women’s Human Rights and Religion

BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights organized the 6th National Discussion on Women’s Human Rights and Religion at Sharon Ultimate Hotels, Abuja.

Participants were drawn from diverse professional field like the media, NGOs, academics, religious clerics, traditional rulers and individuals. The National Discussion set out to accomplish the following objectives:

• To devise strategies aimed at enhancing the visibility of the Protocol to ACHPR
• To engage the various stakeholders in identifying priorities and mechanisms suitable for the domestication of the Protocol to ACHPR and further CEDAW advocacy
• To engage the members of the National Assembly through advocacy medium in instituting a legal framework for the empowerment and development of women in Nigeria
• To build an effective women’s human rights network around the Protocol to ACHPR and the CEDAW

The workshop was a success. The participants progressed and interacted well during the various sessions of the training. They had a better understanding of the Protocol to the ‘African Charter on Human and People’s Rights’ on the Rights of Women in Africa. They also recognized the need for the Federal Government of Nigeria to domesticate and implement ACHPR. The Participants pledged to sensitize people in their various constituencies especially women on what they learnt at the training.

May 13th – 15th May, 2009

Bridge Building Meeting on Women’s Rights and Religion (BB20)

BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights organized the Bridge Building meeting on Women’s Rights and Religion (BB20) at Excellence Hotel, Ogba, and Lagos State. Participants were drawn from diverse professional field like the media, NGOs, academics, religious clerics, traditional rulers and individuals. The objectives of the workshop were:

• To open up discussion on the rights of women and religion
• To develop, protect and promote the rights of women in religion
• To document and develop a resource document
• To mobilise local efforts for the protection of women’s human rights
• To bridge the gap on understanding of women’s rights across diverse religious backgrounds and
• To strategise on interventions in individual case of violation of women’s human rights under religious laws.

During the workshop the participants shared their experiences on the violations of Women’s human rights relating to the misinterpretation of religious texts. They had a clearer understanding on gender roles, belief systems, and that cultural practices are sometimes mixed with religion for example the practice of widowhood rites.

The participants were impressed with the workshop because for them it was very informative and educative.  They came up with plans of action to sensitize people in their various constituencies.

BAOBAB saw the participants as a group of vibrant people which the organisation could work with in future programmes

11th of March 2009

International Women’s Day:  IWD (March 8)

BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights in collaboration with the Ikeja Local Government Area organized 2009 International Women’s Day: IWD (March 8)The workshop took place at the Ikeja Local Government Area on the 11th of March 2009. Participants were drawn from various women’s groups within the local government which included Market women’s group, women farmers and the political caucuses in the area.

The objectives of the workshop included:

• To mark the International women’s day
• To sensitize women on the need for gender balance in the political process
• To sensitize women on women’s human rights

The theme for the 2009 IWD was Ending impunity against violence against women and girls. BAOBAB successfully sensitized 100 women in Ikeja LGA on basic gender and women’s human rights issues as well as the strategic importance of women’s participation in democracy and governance.

The women deeply appreciated the sensitization discussion around these issues. They identified the need to train their female children as a major key learning point for them taken from the discussion. This according to them is important to prevent the female children from experiencing the same difficulty they went through. They also called on the government of Nigeria to put in place a gender desk in all the Police stations for easy access to justice for women who experience various forms of violence against women.

The participants identified lack of  funding as one of the major obstacles to women’s participation in politics. The workshop was a successful one as it provided the  space for further networking and exchange of information and experience useful for future strategic plan.

5th – 9th February 2009

Outreach National Planning Meeting

BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights organized the Outreach National Planning Meeting at Chida International Hotel, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria. Participants were drawn from BAOBAB fourteen (14) outreach team states namely Adamawa, Borno, Edo, Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Kwara, Kogi, Lagos, Oyo, Osun, Plateau, Taraba and Zamfara.

The objectives of the meeting were:

• To plan outreach activities and programmes.
• Review proposals for 2009 plan of action both financial and narrative.
• Share experiences, successes and challenges of the previous year
• Update formally the outreach team members on happenings in BAOBAB since the last planning meeting.
• Review reports of outreach activities in 2008
• To build the capacity of the teams to identify ways to sustain outreach activities by tapping into existing contacts and partnering with others.

 In summary, the objectives of the workshop were met. Learning new intervention strategies from outreach team members in the protection and promotion of women’s human rights used in their various states was very encouraging. BAOBAB was informed of the various relevant strategies the outreach team members will use in tapping resources from partnering organisations. The writing skill of the team members was upgraded in terms of proposal report of both financial and narrative.

Outreach team members expressed their gratitude to BAOBAB for strengthening their writing skills.