A Non-Governmental Organisation, Bridge Connect Africa Initiative(BCAI), has trained 50 survivors of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and women at risk in Kano State on recognising and responding to various forms of GBV.
The participants all women, were selected across seven local government area of the state – Dawakin Tofa, Bichi, Garko, Rimini Gado, Dawakin Kudu, Minjibir and Kumbotso LGA.
The two-days training had the theme: “Promoting Women’s Economic Growth Against Violence through Sustainable Practices in Kano”.
Speaking at the event, Ms Makkiyya Suleiman, the project team lead, said the programme was organised to empower women and their businesses through a sustainable model to enable them thrive economically.
“The programme is part of a nine-months project under BCAI’s “Women Against Violence Empowerment through Sustainability (WAVES)’ model program”.
“The WAVES model is a model that is being developed to work at the intersection of gender based violence, women economic empowerment advocacy as well as entrepreneurship.
“This is the second phase and it’s carried out in support from the French Embassy to Nigeria through the French Embassy Funds”. she said
Suleiman noted that the participants were trained on GBV survivor pathways, communication and boundary setting, community advocacy, and legal guidance to enable them take action against GBV and become champions in their localities.
According to her, the programme would also empower participants through entrepreneurship skills such as climate-smart agriculture and business development, and create business opportunity fora to enable them thrive economically.
She reiterated BCAI’s commitment to empowering 100,000 women in Kano State by 2030 to reduce the cases of GBV in the state.
“The training brought experts from various field which included police officers, public health specialists, and lawyers who made different presentations on issues related to GBV to broadened their scope and how to access support” She said.