ARDA, UN Women Partner to Promote Women’s Participation in Nigerian Politics
Esther Oluku
A non governmental organisation, ARDA Development Communication Incorporated, in partnership with the United Nations Women has organised a workshop aimed at promoting the participation of women in Nigerian politics.
The training themed “Advance: Women in Political Participation (AWPP) Project”, seeks to engage media professionals to amplify the voices of women and aid their cause in taking up political and leadership roles.
According to the Senior Programme Officer at ARDA, Priscilla Fiberesima, the need to identify the existing challenges which inhibit women’s political participation and career advancement and address them recognizing the crucial role of the media, lies at the core of activating the needed change.
She said: “The Advance: Women in Political Participation (AWPP) Project addresses the challenges that hinder women from taking up political leadership positions in Nigeria to drive interventions that foster gender equality and inclusive governance in Nigeria, as well as amplify women’s voices and enhance their representation in positions of leadership.
“We understand the huge role media plays in shaping perceptions. By partnering with media professionals, we can shift narratives and promote women’s political participation, addressing existing cultural and religious barriers.
“By starting early in getting the media on board this initiative, we hope we would be able to achieve more, be in one voice and together we would be able to change the perception and the narrative of women in the next election and see more women in participating in politics.”
The training traversed such topics as gender awareness, diversity and inclusion, gender based violence, gender inclusivity, the role of social media, gender discrimination and stereotypes and brought to the sought creative pathways to enhance female participation in leadership.
The AWPP project is funded by the Government of Canada through the UN Women, Fiberesima noted, adding that while ARDA is working as a media partner for the project, other sister organisations are working on various aspects of the project to ensure that the more women are empowered to take on positions of leadership in politics and governance.
