2010

November 25 - December 10, 2010

'16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence' campaign

BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights marked this year’s 16 days of Activism with a variety of activities amongst which was a paper presentation drawing from the overall global theme and presented by Priscilla Adefioye, a BAOBAB intern. The paper titled ‘Protecting Women and Girls in Conflict zones’ was apt considering the trend of abuses by law enforcement agents and their lack of response in the face of abuse of women by both state and non-state actors. The paper highlighted different forms of violations of women’s human rights in conflict zones including and during communal clashes. In the past two years Nigeria has been under severe threat following severe clashes in Jos state; Northern Nigeria where lives and properties have been destroyed, leading to rape, physical and psychological torture of women and girls. The presentation therefore called on both civil societies and government institutions to take concrete steps to end gender specific violence, while condemning increased militancy and aggression of law enforcement agents in the country.

BAOBAB printed and strategically placed a banner in front of its offices, creating awareness on the need to end all forms of violence against women. Catherine Adewojo, a programme Personnel with BAOBAB, presented a seminar on "16 Days: What it is" The seminar discussed the origin of 16 Days and highlighted the important dates during the event. Participants were encouraged to take personal action at encouraging a world without violence for women and girls. BAOBAB staff, Volunteer outreach team members, Men Against Violence Against Women Network members and partners had a Sticker campaign and an advocacy visit to the Area “H” police station at Ogudu, Ojota – Lagos. During the sticker campaign Information Education and Communication (IEC) materials were distributed to the general public. The beneficiaries were engaged in discussions on the rights of women. This was followed by a paper presentation by Priscilla as already mentioned.

From 2nd to 4th December BAOBAB as the African hub of Women's Learning Partnership, organized a leadership training for young boys between the ages of 13 to 17. The overall objective of the training was to cultivate leadership skills among boys so that they can work cooperatively for positive change to their peers in school and respective communities. Specific objectives include: (a) share the principles of horizontal leadership, and (b) deconstruct and redefine gender role as embedded in various agents of socialization. The pre-training survey revealed that at least 90% of the participants believed that they were more important than girls. After the training, they embraced the importance of gender equality and equity. They planned to share the gains of the training with their peers in school and community. To mark the end of 16 Days event, on 10th December, the Human Rights Day, BAOBAB launched the report of the International Fact-Finding Mission carried out by Observatory, Front Line, OMCT/International Federation for Human rights (FIDH).

The reports highlighted different challenges faced by human rights defenders in doing their work and called on the various stakeholders, especially the Nigerian government, to guarantee at all time, the physical and psychological integrity of human right defenders, amongst others.

December 2nd- 4th, 2010

Leadership Training for Young Boys – Teen Ages (13 - 17)

It is no mouth saying that adolescents’ need to be accepted and recognized by peers can affect feelings of security, perceptions of importance, and independent decision-making (Silber, 1961). It now behooves on adults to channel peer influence in positive ways and to utilize the powerful effects that young people can have on one another by encouraging activities in schools that promote student leadership, team building, and community service. In this regard, BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights (BAOBAB) committed towards ensuring that young people are gender aware and gender sensitive, as well as embrace the principles of horizontal and participatory leadership, thus its partnership with the Women’s Learning Partnership for Rights, Development and Peace (WLP), recently conducted a Leadership Training for Young Boys – Teen Ages (13 - 17) from December 2nd- 4th, 2010 in Lagos State, Nigeria.

The objectives of the training include to:

• Share the principles of horizontal, consensus-building and participatory leadership and learning approach among young people.
• Deconstruct and redefine gender roles as embedded in various agents of socialization – particularly educational institutions.
• Cultivate leadership skills among boys so that they can work cooperatively for positive change with theirs peers in schools and respective communities.
• Build the self-esteem and confidence of these young boys to take up leadership challenges even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds in this 21st century.
• To analyse young boys to their highest personal and community potential.

There were 25 Participants selected randomly from various Junior and Senior Secondary schools in Lagos State, Nigeria. The training was highly practical and participatory with intermittent group work, plenary presentations, rendition of poems, slogans and music by participants.

Highlights of the sessions

• The pre-training survey revealed that at least about 90% of the participants believed that they were more important than girls, but this notion changed towards the end of the training as virtually all the participants embraced the principles of gender equality.
• The training sessions explored the definition of a leader –within the context of horizontal and gender sensitive leadership
• Participants shared personal stories of how they had demonstrated leadership in different aspect of their lives.
• Using a scenario of a sinking ship with diverse people in it, the boys discussed how to be creative in problem solving.
• Participants learned the basic components of effective communication working with a practical exercise of a pedestrian bridge construction.

Outcomes of the Training

• A comparative analysis of the pre-training survey and the post training evaluation revealed that the core objectives of the training were met.
• Participants embraced the importance of promoting gender equality and gender equity.

• Participants each had a plan of action –and some of the plans included –sharing the gains of the training with their peers in school and community.
• They planned to form a Face book network and solidarity movement.
• They presented BAOBAB with their personally created art works, as well as a brief write-up showing their appreciation of the training.

November 8th -10th, 2010

Leadership Training for the Non Academic Staff of the University of Jos, Plateau State

BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights organized a 3- day Leadership Training for the Non Academic Staff of the University of Jos, Plateau State from November 8th -10th, 2010. This is in continuation of the five-year partnership between BAOBAB and the University in the areas of capacity building, and exchange academic research. In attendance as participants were twenty-one women working in various administrative departments of the institution including - Engineering, Bursary, Architecture and others.

The objectives of the meeting were to promote a gender sensitive culture within the non academic sector; share the principles of horizontal, consensus-building and participatory leadership and learning approaches in academic institutions as well as empower women and men within the non academic sector to have a shared vision that will transform the leadership agenda towards achieving social justice and gender equality. The training was also aimed at enabling participants to identify and develop strategies towards promoting women’s visibility and involvement in strategic decision making positions within the non academic sector, and their respective communities and finally to build the self-esteem and confidence of participants to take up leadership challenges even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.

During the sessions on “developing the self for leadership” and “ Basic Gender Analysis” participants shared personal stories that proved that they had been challenged by discriminatory cultural practices and gender stereotypes, and that embracing horizontal and gender sensitive leadership principles was the best strategy towards surmounting these challenges. Sharing the real life case studies of women from different parts of the global south who have demonstrated extraordinary leadership as provided in the training manual Leading to Choices: A leadership training handbook for women,” participants were inspired to assert and identify themselves as leaders.

The immediate outcome of the training was that, participants, formulated a clear vision statement “that women are empowered and free from all forms of injustice” accompanied by specific time-bound action plans towards actualizing the vision. Taking a clue from the discussion on the use of modern information and communication technology (ICT) to advance strategic networking and solidarity partnerships across diverse communities, participants promised to engage more with ICT, while those who were yet to have email accounts promised to open yahoo accounts after the training. One major area of interest that the participants sought to change in their plan of action was to address the predominant problem of drug addiction among the youth in a number of communities in Plateau State. They also planned to intervene in the exploitation of women agricultural workers by ‘middle men’ who purchased the produce of the women farmers at a ridiculously low price.

From the post training evaluation –participants seemed quite empowered by the conversations they had engaged in –particularly the highly participatory and experiential method of training. One of the participants enthused –“I have been attending trainings but this one is really different, and I feel very much part of the discussion, not like a particular training that we had that one of the facilitators was almost scolding the participants!” Some of the participants expressed their appreciation to BAOBAB for recognizing the importance of training non-academic staff, because there seems to be more concentration on the academic staff by most development partners forgetting that non academic personnel also require training.

BAOBAB looks forward to maintaining partnership with the beneficiaries in particular, and continuing partnership with the University in general.

July 21st - 27th, 2010

Political Education Capacity Building For Women And Female Undergraduates

Beijing conference in 1985 called for 30 percent women representation in government and policy making position. According to the 2006 Nigeria’s census report, women constitute 48.78% of the national population, but this numerical strength has never found a corresponding expression in the representation of Nigerian women in politics, decision making process and leadership positions due to the rooted patriarch system of government, negative societal attitude toward women participation in politics, poverty, customs and disregards for gender equality.

BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights (BAOBAB) envisions a society where women’s human rights become an integral part of everyday life and thinks that this can only be achieved with active inclusion and participation of women in all spheres of development for their own good and the good of the society. In view of this, with support from United Nations development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and in partnership with Kudirat Initiative for democracy (KIND), BAOBAB organized a political education, capacity building workshop for young women from various institute in Abia State 21st – 23rd July, 2010 and female politician aspirants in Abia State 24th -26th July 2010. The training was based on the following premises:

• Society would gain politically, economically and culturally if women and men worked together as equal partners.
• Good leadership is inclusive, participatory and does not leave out any party of the community. It teaches men and women to be partners, not to fight against each other.
• Horizontal leadership should be encouraged, as it creates the conditions for the equal treatment of men and women as opposed to vertical leadership.
• Good leadership serves both women and men in the society
• True leadership leads to greater choice for everyone.

Participants at the workshop include the media, Abia State government officials, 30 young female under graduates from various institutes and 30 female political aspirants. The facilitators include a team of BAOBAB’s staff in the person of Ngozi Nwosu-Juba and Joy Ngwakwe, Tope from KIND and an observer from WLP – UK in the person of Valentine Moghadam. The objectives of the workshop were to empower women to embrace the principals of horizontal, participatory and truly democratic leadership; Enable participants to identify and develop communication skills, leadership skills and advocacy skills among others; Identify seemingly insurmountable challenges to women’s leadership and explore ways of overcoming these challenges; Exchange ideas and experiences based on success stares of women and build on these experiences for further actions; Share facilitative techniques to enable participants multiply the gains of the training with other women in their respective constituents, in order to further enhance participation at leadership levels in different sphere of social interaction and decision-making.

Mrs. Dorothy Ogbonwa, Director of the state’s Ministry of Women’s Affairs represented the wife of Abia State Governor at the workshop. She expressed her delight and cited the aptness of training with the 2011 election in view, to sensitizing and empower more women to participate in politics. She encouraged the young female undergraduate to embrace the initiative, as it is paramount to optimizing the chances of having more women in policy making positions.

The workshop examined the barriers to women’s political participation and strategies to encourage ethnic political leadership. Notable issues were raised at the workshop and take home challenge/suggestion from participants can be viewed by clicking here

July 21st - 22nd, 2010

National Discussion on Women’s Human Rights and Religion

"I am a seeker of truth. I have not found the truth. I don’t want anyone to tell me the truth because this is the beginning of fundamentalism. I am a seeker of truth"

"The constitutional scheme of human rights in Nigeria is gender neutral, in other words it is gender blind"

"I am fighting because I am a woman and I want to be accepted as a woman. Many men get scared of equality because they believe the women will come and take their place, but that is not the case. I am not fighting to become a man I am fighting to be respected as that women I am"

These above quotes, echoes the concerns in the heart of Nigerian women. Nigeria as a country has experienced a surge of various forms of fundamentalisms (religious, political and cultural) which have threatened the economy and the development of the country. The outcomes of these fundamentalism movements tend to strike women hardest. Examples are the recent incessant unrest in the Niger-Delta, Boko Haram “Western Education is Bad” in Borno State, Jos crisis 2010 between settlers and indigenes and the March, 2010 slaughter of innocent children in Plateau State (Jos crisis).

These informed the theme: Fundamentalisms: Economic and Development Implications from a Gender Perspective for BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights’ 7th Annual National Discussion on Women’s Human Rights and Religion took place July 21st-22nd, 2010 in Gracious Hotel, Abuja, Nigeria. The objectives of the National Discussion were; To create an open space for discussions regarding of women’s human rights and religion in order to correct the impression that women’s human rights cannot be discussed in relation to religious interpretations and justice; To promote and protect the human rights of women under religious laws, practices and implementations; To create awareness of the different forms of fundamentalisms and their negative impact on women and children; To sustain partnership with the media in the struggle of the advancement of women’s human rights; and To secure the commitment of stakeholders in the promotion and protection of women’s human rights in their various spheres. The participants consisted of Law Makers, Media Personnel, Academia, Religious Leaders, Traditional Leaders, Founders, Government Agencies and NGOs/CBOs. Of a total of 24 participants 18 were women and 6 were men. These figures indicate that more women than men recognize this topic as a critical issue. The discussion was based upon 6 different paper presentations followed by general comments and reflections.

The concept of fundamentalism has been given different meaning in different contexts during different periods of time. The discussion indicated that women’s rights have been oppressed greatly during all forms of fundamentalism at all times. The paper presentation brought the following issues:

• The Constitutional Rights of Women in Nigeria: This was considered as ‘primary’ in expanding the scope of women’s human rights who tend to be the greatest victims of fundamentalist groups. The Nigerian Constitutional scheme of human rights is gender neutral (gender blind). Although, specific chapters of the constitution have been domesticated, human rights have not been fully articulated and it is therefore needed to implement gender mainstreaming at all levels of women’s human rights promotion.

• Ethnic and Religious Conflicts in Nigeria: A Gender Perspective: Here it was noted that women are often the ones that bear the brunt of theses conflicts. They constitute the largest number of internally displaced persons and form the largest percentage of refugees. Some of the solutions highlighted were the importance of education and involving more women decision making policies

• Gender in Sustainable Human Development and Conflict Management for Peace and Security in Nigeria: It was stated that neither ethnicity nor religion per se is a source of conflict except where either one is politicized or manipulated for selfish gains or due to intolerance by the disputants. However, it was concluded that it is vital to empower the vulnerable groups in society in order to have a successful socio-economic development. The problems areas highlighted here were the difficulties in reaching women and children in rural areas, in order to enlighten and educate them about their human rights. It was reiterated that more focus should be placed on women survivors during and after these conflict situations.

• Implications of Religious Fundamentalism on Gender Equality, Education and Development in Northern Nigeria: It was acknowledged that due to the Nigerian patriarchal structure, religion and most cultural practices denies women access to the same opportunities as men with the consequence of women becoming economically dependants. It was also argued that the exclusion of women in policy formation will result in a great lack of their rights in the policy outcomes. It was concluded that the only way to challenge a movement is to challenge it with another movement. So the movement of fundamentalism should be challenged by the movement of justice, but the change has to start at an individual level.

• African Union Protocol: It was also highlighted how Nigerian NGOs can work with the African union. At the African Union webpage a lot of valuable information can be found about how Nigerian NGOs could work with the directory of the African Union www.africa-union.org.

In conclusion it was stated that the different forms of fundamentalism discussed not only repress gender equality but also development. In other words, it is not just a women’s issue, it is an issue that affects everyone.

June 9th - 12th 2010

The Nigerian National Leadership Institute and Training of Trainers.

In the bid to build the self-esteem and confidence of women to take up leadership challenges in Nigeria, BAOBAB for Women's Human Rights, as the African hub of Women’s Learning Partnership for Peace and Development, WLP, USA, conducted a four-day Nigerian National Leadership Institute and Training of Trainers for leaders and senior personnel of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and Community Based Organisations (CBOs). The training which took place from 9th to 12th June 2010 at Vines Hotel, Abuja witnessed twenty two young, vibrant women who were inducted into the horizontal, consensus-building and gender sensitive leadership after the training. The BAOBAB team consisted of Sindi Medar-Gould, Catherine Adewojo, Mufuliat Fijabi and Joy Ngwakwe facilitated the sessions.

Overview of the Training

The formal opening of the event enjoyed media coverage and was graced by the representative of the Hon. Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Josephine Anenih in the person of Mrs Rose N. Nwannunu, Director of Women Affairs within the ministry. In her speech, the minister appreciated BAOBAB and WLP for putting together such programme to advance women’s leadership in Nigeria. She also promised to continue partnering with BAOBAB and other organisations with similar objectives. The Minister noted that Nigeria in its 50th year of independence should have had more women occupying both elective and appointive position. Though all hope is not lost, Nigerian women are striving to attain affirmation action and will not stop until 35% of public office is occupied by women. The Minister encouraged participants to tackle challenges militating against women’s leadership in Nigeria, noting that with our collective resolve, women and the nation will benefit immensely.

The four day training was participatory, participants made good and valuable contributions during discussions. The modules consisted of: Power, Gender and Leadership, Personal Stories about Leadership challenges, crisis and Achievements, Communicating Effectively with other, Interactive Learning, Facilitating Learning, Developing and effective advocacy plan among others.

The session on Power, Gender and Leadership, exposed participants to the dynamics of power, the differences between gender and sex and the qualities of a good leader. As women occupying leadership position, listening skill, assertiveness and transparency were mentioned as key qualities that should not be lacking in women as leaders.

Some participants shared stories of leadership experiences and support network that assisted them carry out their leadership expectations. One participant said that when she missed being nominated for an award; she started reading books to improve her leadership skills and she was able to employ those qualities she read, her performance increased and she was awarded the best sectional head in her organisation. Someone else shared that as the leader in her CBO, she was able to identify the need in her community, through her initiated programmes, some women were encouraged to go for HIV testing and are now receiving treatment.

In conclusion, participants appreciated BAOBAB for giving them the opportunity to learn about leadership. The principles of transformative leadership was said to be relatively new to them and they pledged to practice it in their organisations and familes. BAOBAB’s team was described as wonderful and full of energy. Someone said – "BAOBAB training is always an avenue for innovative learning and ideas. I want to commend the organisation… to keep this up"

June 7 – 10, 2010

Strategic E-Campaigning Training for Women Activists

Violence against women and other forms of violation of women’s human rights are rooted in unequal power relations between men and women in almost all aspects of life. It is also a recognizable fact that Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) play an important role in the development and promotion of women’s human rights as ICT-enabled tools such as blogs, twitter, online petitions, e-newsletter, mobile phone, facebook, bulk SMS, digital storytelling, you-tube, flickers etc and services offer new terrain to combat acts of violence against women and expand women’s human rights advocacy.

Obviously, there are important connections between the human rights of women, women’s empowerment and ICT which therefore prompt the need to build knowledge, instill and familiarize women with technology and most importantly, change the attitude about women’s relationship with technology. It is also pertinent to constantly motivate women and girls to explore applications and tools, using ICT as a tool to end women’s human rights violations, including violence against women, as well as to fill the gender gaps in ICT use and its efficiency as it relates to women’s human rights work.

In light of the above mentioned, BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights, Lagos, Nigeria & Association for Progressive Communications (APC), South Africa with support from Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) conducted an e-campaigning training from 7th – 9th June, 2010 in Lagos, Nigeria with nineteen (19) participants from Niger, Dakar, Nigeria, The Gambia, Sudan, South Africa, London and Canada in attendance. The meeting was developed for the main purpose of harnessing ICT for the empowerment of women and girls and for collective mobilisation and advocacy purpose in the cause of women’s human rights advancement. It also met the urgent need for women capable of promoting women’s rights and activating the role of African women in the economic, political and cultural domains.

The outcomes of the meeting included:
• Participants’ understanding of why and how information and communication technologies can be appropriated by women’s rights and human rights group during advocacy work.
• Participants’ ability to develop an advocacy/communication strategy for the promotion of their work at various levels.
• Visible and practical knowledge on how to use effective advocacy/communication strategizing processes and frameworks for campaign works.
• Practical knowledge on using online tools, social networking and mobile tools for advocacy and campaigns.
• Practical understanding and use of online privacy and security issues.

May 27, 2010

Awareness Campaign on the Gender Based Violence  (GBV) Bill at Ikorodu Hall, Ikorodu Local Government, Lagos State

In collaboration with Legislative Advocacy Coalition on Violence Against Women (LACVAW), BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights organized a one day awareness campaign on the existence and need to pass into law the Gender Based Violence (GBV) Bill at the National Assembly. In attendance were leaders, NGOs, representatives from the Office of the Public Defenders, (OPD) Lagos State and media personnel.

The awareness campaign focused an overview and the importance of the GBV bill and the role of the participants in mobilizing support for the passing of the bill into law. The discussion centered on the different sessions of the bill such as rape, domestic violence, sexual harassment etc. and how if passed into law, will protect the rights of both men and women in the society.

During the intervention period participants shared experiences on the various forms of violence they have witnessed and at different times experienced in their lifetimes. Most of them specifically stated that the lack of sufficient laws in place to protect them from such violence or through which to seek redress and get justice as the need arises, possess a great challenge. The participants also expressed dissatisfaction with increased discrimination and oppression of women under the cover of religion and culture. According to them oftentimes women are denied their rights on the grounds that it is the culture or that is what the religion says depending on whose interpretation is been applied at the time.

Participants collectively agreed that the GBV bill takes care of issues affecting the violation of the rights of women. They indicated their commitment to supporting the bill; by creating awareness on the GBV bill via mobilizing others and making presentations to other members of their different communities (which include representatives of their constituency at the National Assembly both at the lower and upper Houses) to support the implementation of the GBV bill.

May 18th - 20th, 2010

Leadership Training for Teenage Girls (13-17 years) in Adamawa State.

BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights, in collaboration with its volunteer outreach team in Adamawa State, organized a leadership training with young teenage girls from diverse secondary schools in Adamawa State, North East Nigeria. As the Africa hub of the Women’s Learning Partnership for Rights, Development and Peace (WLP), BAOBAB shares the partnership’s strategy to empower young girls and boys in the area of horizontal, participatory, consensus building and gender sensitive leadership. BAOBAB also believes that creating learning partnerships with young people is a great strategy towards transforming leadership in Nigeria –as these young ones are the future policy makers! Early and/or forced marriage has been a major challenge in Adamawa, thus informing the choice of the state for the pilot leadership training of young teenagers in Nigeria.

The leadership training was facilitated by a BAOBAB team of Linda Aina, Yomi Oyeleke, and Chibogu Obinwa, with support from Turai of the BAOBAB Adamawa volunteer outreach team. The team, using the draft WLP leadership training manual for teenage girls and boys, engaged the twenty four (24) participants from thirteen (13) different schools in a highly participatory, practical and constructive conversation on various aspects of leadership - creating my own vision, communication, forming a shared vision, building alliances and creativity in problem solving. The manual looks at leadership differently, with the concept of inviting leadership in a smooth and sustained way while achieving the following objectives: understanding the meaning of leadership and how they can become leaders and help others to become leaders as well, be more conscious about themselves and more aware of their abilities, be more aware of and attached to their communities and see their role in initiating positive change in their communities however small. Another objective was to recognize and appreciate opportunities that may come in the form of challenges as well as develop practical plan for self empowerment and helping others.

The training was a success and created a forum for further networking amongst the participants –most of whom are occupying leadership positions in their respective schools. It was really evident that investing in the young girls was indeed a strategic way of enhancing sustainable development. As observed by the facilitators, the enthusiasm of participants was awesome and highly motivating. Their ability to shape their thoughts into constructive slogans was also very impressive and each promised to take the training a notch further by sharing with their peers in school, forming social learning clubs, and organizing a group discussion on what they had learned. All the participants believed that they were leaders –and this affirmation differed somewhat from the initial response received through the pre-training survey, where about 50% or more did not see themselves as leaders, because of being female. It was also observed that the girls who appeared somewhat shy at the inception of the training showed a better disposition afterwards, as they interacted and mingled freely with other participants and made constructive contributions to the sessions.

April 22, 2010

NGO sensitization workshop on the use and distribution of female condom.

Introduction and Background

Further to a research conducted by BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights between March and April 2008 to determine acceptability of the female condom in Nigeria, BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights organized an NGO sensitization workshop on April 22, 2010.  The workshop was organized in collaboration with NOVIB and Society for Family Health (SFH) and sought to accomplish the following: 

1. Increase the number of NGOs equipped to train others as well as advocate for the use of female condom.
2. Encourage positive discussion around the female condom
3. Increase access of female condom to a large population in Lagos State
4. Collectively combat negative impression of the female condom emanating from cultural bias and finally
5. Showcase the female condom as another tool for achieving women’s empowerment, especially as regards their sexual and reproductive health and rights.

In the course of the workshop, information received from the participants revealed that virtually all the participants knew very little or absolutely nothing about the female condom.  This shows that information regarding the female condom has been very poor despite its initial introduction more than 15 years ago.  Two papers were presented:

1.       “Female Condom as a Tool for Achieving Women’s Empowerment and their Reproductive Health and Rights: Making the Connection” by Ngozi Nwosu-Juba: She established the relationship between women’s sexuality, reproductive health and human rights, reiterating the Beijing Platform of Action definition of sexual and reproductive health and rights:   “certain human rights recognized in national and international legal and human rights documents and other consensus documents, including the basic rights of all couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children and to have the information, education and means to do so; the right to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health; the right to make decision concerning reproduction free of discrimination, coercion and violence”.

2.       “The introduction of the Female Condom: Cultural Barriers and How to Address them” by Mufuliat Fijabi: She reiterated that religion and culture design our lives and in most cases determine our perception about life. A few Cultural tools are used to hinder women’s reproductive rights include myths, taboos and fairytales. An example of taboo- “In Delta State it is a taboo for an uncircumcised pregnant woman to give birth because of the belief that her baby would die if the baby’s head touch her clitoris in the course of delivery”, so at eight month in her pregnancy, she is circumcised. It is also a taboo for a woman to ask for sex from a man and the cultural belief that “a woman’s body belongs to her husband”.
 
It is against this backdrop that advocating for the use of female condom is/will certainly face challenges posed by cultural.

The highlight of the program titled, Lets See How it Works aimed to train the participants on how to use the female condom. Many of the participants admitted that they had waited for the last session - a number of them were curious to see how the female condom looks like. 

At the end of the session, participants communicated their interest in replicating the training. In line with the program objectives, participants were requested to list the kind of activity they plan to carry-out as a result of their participation in the workshop. To view this click here.

April 15 -18, 2010

Gender and Leadership Training with Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)

In most, if not all communities across Nigeria, men are perceived as dominant and women as subordinate. Women often do not hold positions of leadership in the community, at work, in politics and in academic institutions. In the view of this, BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights, the Africa hub of the Women’s Learning Partnership for Rights, Development and Peace (WLP), in collaboration with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), organized a “Gender and Leadership Training” with female members of ASUU. The training was held in Abuja, April 15-18, with 27 participants. A BAOBAB team of Sindi Medar-Gould, Chibogu Obinwa, Anne Adidu and Joy Ngwakwe facilitated the discussion, while Asabe Audu and Linda Aina rapportuered during the sessions. BAOBAB recognised the strategic role of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in initiating and sustaining positive change within the academia, and thus its interest to partner with the female members of the Union towards strengthening women’s participation in leadership both within and outside the academia.

The main objectives of the training included to: Promote a gender sensitive culture within the Academia, share the principles of horizontal, consensus-building and participatory leadership and learning approach in academic institutions, empower women and men within academia to have a shared vision that will transform the leadership agenda towards achieving social justice and gender equality. The training also aimed at enabling participants to identify and develop strategies towards promoting women’s visibility and involvement in strategic decision making positions within the academia, families, and their communities, as well as build the self-esteem and confidence of participants to take up leadership challenges even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.

As always, BAOBAB engaged the participants in a conversation style of communication throughout the training. In one of the discussion sessions on visioning, participants were awed at how important it was to formulate a personal vision and also to share the vision with others. They jointly came up with a group vision “That all Nigerian Females become educated, empowered, and occupy leadership positions in an atmosphere free of injustice.” In line with this vision, participants strategized, on how best to mobilize for action towards positive change in the academia. Taking a clue from one of the exercises in the LTC manual, on how women in Palestine mobilized for action, participants worked with a hypothetical scenario of upcoming elections to the Office of the ASUU President (a position never occupied by a woman in the history of ASUU)

At the end of the training, participants felt really energized as leaders and were ready to take on new challenges in their respective academic constituencies and elsewhere. They pledged to share the principles of horizontal leadership amongst their colleagues and also to mentor younger women on campus. In sharing their feelings, one of the participants and the Chair of the Gender Committee of ASUU enthused “You are a formidable, competent, creative, innovative, skilled and unbeatable team. I am personally indebted to you” Other participants shared their feelings also and expressed the fact that the methodology of the discussion stimulated the effective information sharing process and that they comfortably identify as leaders. Specifically, one of the participants said “…this is to express my profound appreciation for your support towards empowering female academics via your transformational and motivational leadership. You and the formidable BAOBAB team have really transformed us and our outlook. We are now better equipped to excel and mentor other female academics effectively.”

March 25-26, 2010

Capacity Building Training for AJWS Grantees

BAOBAB for Women's Human Rights organised the second capacity building training for American Jewish World Service (AJWS) grantees which took place from March 25 - 26, 2010 at the Lagos Travel Inn. The three grantees: Womankind Nigeria, Hotoro Women's development association (HOWDA) and Family health Development Initiatives (FAHEDI) were each represented by two delegates.

This training was aimed at organisational development. Strength Weakness Opportunity Treat (SWOT) analysis was used in assessing each grantee. During the discussion, one of the challenges mentioned was the issue of getting funds. it was suggested that they could collaborate with other Community Based Organisations (CBOs) that have expertise they lack, thereby learn and benefit from such partnership. One weakness highlighted and discussed was the lack of commitment of volunteers before accepting them into their organisations. Terms of agreement should be drawn and volunteers should be encouraged to adhere to the agreement. Grantees were also encouraged to motivate their volunteers by sharing information that is beneficiary to volunteers.

Update on each grantee:
FAHEDI reported that through their intervention activities, twenty women and youths were trained on financial management and vocational skill acquisition programme. Twelve out of twenty women were given seed fund to start small business. One of the beneficiaries of the programme, a former street boy, is now making shoes for sale and has returned to school.

Womankind Nigeria reported that they have been able to acquire a bigger office space for use and that through their testing, counseling and referral programme, more women are now able to assess medical assistance from the government.

HOWDA reported that five women were discovered to be HIV positive through their testing and counseling programme and these women are now receive medical attention. They plan to set up a relaxation centre which is free of stigmatisation, where the community can have easy access to undergo counseling.

March 19-20, 2010

A 2nd part National Training of Trainers (TOT) Institute in Togo with WILDAF

In November 2008, BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights as the Africa hub of the partnership with the Women’s Learning Partnership for Rights, Development and Peace (WLP), in collaboration with the Women in Law and Development in Africa (WILDAF) Togo, organized a Training of Trainers (TOT) leadership institute for twenty five women leaders and senior level personnel of Non Governmental Organisations and Community Based Organisations (CBOs) in Lome, Togo . The Institute was based on the following premise that the society would gain politically, economically and culturally if men and women worked together as equal partners, as well as on the premise that horizontal leadership, as opposed to vertical leadership creates the conditions for the equal treatment of men and women. This training was conducted, using the WLP Leadership Multi-media Curriculum.  Participants engaged interactively on discussions around Gender, Power and Leadership, Communication, effective advocacy and interactive learning.

A second part meeting (evaluation) of the National Training of Trainers (TOT) Leadership Institute was held in Lome, Togo between 19th and 21st March 2010. BAOBAB in partnership with WLP and in collaboration with WILDAF organized this evaluation workshop. The aim was to evaluate the progress made by the beneficiaries of the 2008 Leadership Institute in their personal lives and in their respective constituencies. Participants at the meeting consisted of 19 of the original 25 participants that directly benefited from the Institute. BAOBAB team members - Chibogu Obinwa, Mufuliat Fijabi and Titi Iyke-Ogunna in collaboration with WILDAF, Togo in the person of Claire Qunum, facilitated the evaluation process.  The objectives of the evaluation Institute were - Create space for beneficiaries to examine the impact of their post-institute action plans in their respective constituencies, share experiences of best practiced, and identify challenges faced in the course of post-institute step-down activities, and to come up with a mini strategic plan for further activities.

(To view comments on how the institute has impacted the lives of participants. Click here)

As part of the evaluation process, participants mentioned the need to train more women at the grassroots, traditional leaders and relevant policy makers in communities, on women’s human rights issues and also to share the advantages of the principles of horizontal leadership. Participants also mentioned that the 2-year strategic action plan produced during the evaluation process would help in keeping them focused and more strategic in their intervention activities.

March 8th, 2010

International Women’s Day

BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights in collaboration with Surulere Local Government Area, Surulere, Lagos State marked the International Women’s Day on March 8th 2010 at the Surulere Local Government Hall, Surulere, Lagos State.

The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day was Equal Rights, Equal Opportunity: Progress for All. In attendance were about one hundred women comprising of market women, political women and the media. The aim of the March 8th program was to give visibility to women’s achievement and to strategize on consolidating the gains.

Three presentations were made at the program. These were: “An Overview of Surulere Local Government”, “Women’s Participation in Development” and “Development in Surulere Local Government: The Role of Women”. These presentations generated discussions on issues on violence against women and women in politics.

BAOBAB prepared and presented a press statement to the media calling on the Federal Government of Nigeria to put in place necessary measures to alleviate the difficulties faced by women. They also demanded for the domestication of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. The domestication will serve as the bases for which women and girls in Nigeria can seek adequate protection from. BAOBAB also asked for equal opportunities for women in all spheres of lives in Nigeria.

The participants at the program were organized and vibrant women who were always willing to express themselves positively at the program. They were also willing to go back to their respective domain to put into practice what they had learnt from the programme.

The outcome of the program was that there was increased level of awareness on how to go about seeking for justice when their rights are violated and the need for more women in development programmes in Nigeria. 

March 1st, 2010

A One Day Sensitisation workshop / sticker campaign rally on the African Union (AU) protocol for Raising Her Voice project organised by BAOBAB in collaboration with WRAPA

BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights in collaboration with Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternatives (WRAPA) organised a one day Sensitisation workshop/sticker campaign rally on the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) on the Rights of Women in Africa, for the Raising Her Voice Project on March 1, 2010. The Raising Her Voice Project is a partnership involving BAOBAB and 13 other partners.  The overall goal of the project is to promote the participation of women in governance in Nigeria and this partnership aims to do that through advocating for the domestication and implementation of the Protocol to the ACHPR. The participants at the workshop were members of the media, staff members and BAOBAB’s Lagos volunteer outreach team. The workshop was part of the organisation’s capacity building initiatives to enlighten the public about the content of the AU protocol in order to equip them with knowledge and advocacy skills needed for them to raise their voice in the face of violation of women’s rights.

Basically the ACHPR is a treaty that covers the protection of Human Rights of the African People but made no provision to specific rights of women such as her sexual and reproductive health rights, her rights to education, owning her own property etc. This brought about the creation of the AU protocol - a 32 articles document (which is an addendum to the ACHPR) by the African Union head of states and Governments in 2003 at Maputo, Mozambique. The AU protocol made provision for the rights development of women and the girl child in Africa.

Some notable comments by participants were:

• The patriarchal  nature of most African countries has contributed to the delay in the domestication of the AU protocol

• Governments in Africa easily sign these rectified treaties but have limited political will to implement them.

• Some law makers are not adequately informed about the AU protocol, So Civil Society Organisations should strategize ways to encourage and sensitize law makers to know and implement these laws.

• And also a heated debate on if there is a provision in the AU protocol that specify the mutilation of the face of a person (tribal mark) on the bases of culture?

The workshop ended with a sticker (each sticker highlights issues relating to the AU protocol) campaign rally at “Binukonu” market Ogudu, Ojota -Lagos to educate and sensitise the market men and women on the rights of women and girls as provided in the AU protocol such as reproductive health rights of women, education of the girl child etc. The rally was engaging and enlightening for various people. It generated various comments for and against the AU protocols, Women were glad to know that they have the right to raise their voice and some elderly women composed songs emphasising the need to educate the girl child. For the men, some were vehemently opposed to having equal rights with women.

February 4th , 2010

African Women's Health and Rights Day

BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights joined women all over Africa to celebrate the African Women’s Health and Rights Day on Thursday, February 4th 2010. The theme of this year’s celebration is Our Body: Our Being: Our Rights! As part of activities to mark the day, BAOBAB had a sticker campaign as well as a sensitization rally at the Ojota bus stop and market environs. The aim of this rally was to educate and sensitise traders on the need to be aware that they have a right to their sexual and reproductive health. Members of the media (5) as well as BAOBAB staff took part in this rally.
Issues addressed at the rally include; the need for women to plan their families and avoid frequent pregnancies and deliveries, rape, issues of Maternal Mortality- women need good health care and medical guidance during pregnancy and delivery, the importance of good nutrition during pregnancy i.e. the need to disregard taboos that prevent women from eating certain foods, the dangers and consequences of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) and the consequences of early girl child marriage e.g. Vesco-Vagina Fistula (VVF)

While discussing some of these issues, quite a number of women said that they were already practicing family planning and were trying to limit the number of children they had for health and financial reasons, while some women said it was their partners who determined the number of children they had. Women were told to take a more active roles in issues regarding their health and lives in general.
The issue of rape brought about a lot of arguments with the men. They stated that women got raped because they were ‘indecently dressed’ but members of  BAOBAB present asked if babies as young as 3 months old could also be indecently dressed as cases of infant rape were on the rise. The need to respect a woman’s wishes as well as her body was emphasized.

The rally was very engaging and enlightening and various people in the area commended BAOBAB for raising these issues as they were true realities in the society

January 27th - 31st, 2010

Outreach National Planning Meeting

BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights organized the 2010 edition of her annual national planning meeting for Outreach Teams in 14 States in Nigeria between January 27th and 31st at Ni’imah Guest Place Hotel, Kano. BAOBAB’s Kano Outreach Team hosted the meeting which was attended by at least two members of each of the Outreach Teams except Plateau State team which could not attend or send representatives due to the recent crisis in the state.

This year’s planning meeting focused on ‘Identifying Tools for Consolidating Outreach Work in Outreach States”. At the meeting, all the teams and BAOBAB were able to identify relevant issues and factors for sustaining and consolidating Outreach work in the different states using the SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats) Analysis Tool.  During the planning meeting,  Outreach Teams also gave report of their various intervention activities in the states which included the following: Implementation of workshops on gender sensitization, Dissemination workshops on outcomes of focus group discussions on reductions of early and/or forced marriages, meeting on the rights of women and religion, sensitization of selected lecturers in some institutions of higher learning on gender issues, debates on rights of boys and girls without discrimination, amongst others

All the teams also worked on and presented their plan of action for 2010 which BAOBAB will review and work with each of the teams in the course of the year. Some of the issues the teams plan to tackle in the coming year are:

1. Responding to violations of women’ s human rights
2. Advocacy for the girl –child education
3. Paralegal case handling
4. Gender training
5. Information dissemination amongst others

The meeting was very successful as there were collective contributions from the Outreach teams and BAOBAB on skills and strategies needed to enhance outreach work, capacity building mechanisms and ways to increase the visibility of each team in their various states.

January 14th, 2010

On January 14, 2010 BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights organized an HIV and AIDS counseling and training workshop for members of staff and their dependants. This meeting which was held at its Conference room was its strategy of ensuring that staff members have adequate information about HIV and AIDS and to enable them to voluntarily undergo testing and have capacity to educate their dependents and friends on HIV and AIDS related matters.

The major objective of the training was to provide the necessary information to enable staff and their dependants go for voluntary counseling and testing to determine their status, and empower them on how to stay uninfected.

The training was conducted by an expert from BAOBAB’s sister organization; Society for Family Health.

BAOBAB was one of the first organizations in Nigeria to develop an HIV and AIDS work place policy document which has since formed part of its manual of procedure. The document which has since been approved by board of the organization and currently being implemented, states the rights of persons living with HIV and AIDS and their responsibilities. It also stipulates the duty/ies of the organization towards promoting and protecting the rights of persons living with or affected by HIV and AIDS.

The training was highly commended by staff who confirmed that their capacities have been built immensely.