By Ibrahim Hassan-Wuyo
40 community members have been initiated into the Mixed Observers’ Team (MOT) to check the recurring trend of Gender Based Violence (GBV) brought about by the lingering insecurity in some parts of Kaduna State.
MOT’s have also been established in Borno and Yobe states and are successfully addressing GBV incidences in the localities.
Speaking at the opening of a 3-day capacity building for the MOT in Kaduna, the immediate past commissioner, Kaduna State Ministry of Human Services and Social Development and Executive Director, Global Initiative for Women and Children (GIWAC), Hajiya Hafsat Baba said the project is a pivotal step towards giving the voiceless in the society a voice.
“Marginalized populations within our society often face disproportionate hardships as they are more vulnerable to most of these challenges that we are facing. Take the example of multidimensional poverty measure, which was defined by the World Bank as an index that measures the percentage of households in a country deprived along three dimensions – monetary poverty, education, and basic infrastructure services – to capture a more complete picture of poverty,” she said.
She hoped that the MOT which will consist of selected women, formal and informal security personnel, community leaders, and women’s groups, all united by a shared purpose; to engage with the wider community, collaborate on security referrals for access to justice, and address protection issues for women, especially victims of sexual and gender-based violence, will in no measure, begin to address the numerous challenges brought about by GBV.
The Program Officer, Partners West Africa Nigeria (PWAN), Nkem Okereke said the project aims to advance engagement mechanisms and support structures which are inclusive and gender-sensitive, expanding outreach of access to justice services in Northwest Nigeria to provide better safety and protection for women and other marginalized populations; and improve community policing relations.
The project, she said, was being implemented in Kaduna and Niger states to create a strong Women, Peace, and Security agenda in Nigeria that promotes women’s engagement in peacebuilding.
She stressed that the 3-day training is aimed at strengthening the capacity of the MOT members to recognize, prevent, and respond to situations of sexual and gender-based violence, as well as to advocate for and raise awareness of the security issues facing their local community and other marginalized groups.
The District Head of Kawo, Alhaji Jibrin Magaji stressed that the community has an important role to play in providing victims and survivors of GBV access to justice.
He also spoke on the need for more awareness, support, education and community engagement to address the problem in our society.
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