Basis for sustainable Gender Action Initiative
The impact of Culturally Justified Violence (CVAW) including religious interpretations on women and girls in the unequal access to opportunities and rights in Nigeria cannot be under estimated. CVAW reiterates patriarchy and paves the way for gender stereotypes which reduces the status of women and contributes to the various trends of violence women and girls experience from time to time in Nigeria. Some of the CVAW include the following: sexual and gender based violence, (SGBV), domestic violence, harmful traditional practices, gender based discrimination and violence. etc.
The level of gender awareness, recognizing that women and men have a role to play in development particularly in democracy and governance in Nigeria is still very poor. This is against the background of the patriarchal belief (the notion of male control) which is prevalent in almost all communities in Nigeria. Although women take part in difficult roles, these roles are not recognized and are not very well appreciated. As a result women’s voices do not count. To create a platform for the recognition of women’s voices, the men need to understand the dynamics of gender mainstreaming to have a gender balanced society. A gender just society, that is, a society that gives equal opportunity to women and men, is the only panacea to a world free of poverty and discrimination which affects development. At the local level the organization works with local community organizations and government to reach out to women and men in the local areas.
The organization exists to contribute to filling the gap that exist in gender and development work in Nigeria particularly at the community level which is yet to be averagely covered in the scheme of development. The organization works from the grassroots, bringing global issues to the local levels and also taking local issues to the desk in global discourses. In this regard, the organization contributes to local and global debates towards the realization of various government commitments in form of regional and international instruments/documents like the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, the sustainable Development Goals.
SGAI operates from two programmatic perspective, the Inclusive Participation Programme, (IPP), which is the umbrella programme for our gender and governance intervention and the Gender Advocacy Programme is the platform for all interventions and our added value to development and ending all forms of sexual and gender-based violence.
Inclusive Participation Programme (IPP)
The Inclusive Participation Programme area of SGAI focuses on inclusion of both men and women in governance. The equal participation of women and men in all aspects of governance is critical to the growth and deepening of any democratic process. The IPP also focuses on the empowerment of women at the grassroot through sensitization and capacity building to improve their knowledge and awareness on basic facts about their human rights as women and as stakeholders in the governance of the communities they live in.
Gender Advocacy Programme (GAP)
The Gender Advocacy programme area of SGAI is focused on partnerships and networking with like-minded organizations on legal reforms, access to justice, prevention and interventions to intensify actions against sexual and gender based violence. It also strives to address gender based discrimination and violence against women and girls.