By: Monday Danladi, Bauchi
Women for Women International in collaboration with Attah Sisters Helping Hand (ASHH) Foundation has organised a Two – Day Capacity building Workshop to commemorate the 2025 International Women’s Day with the theme: Accelerate Action.
The workshop which was attended by various CSOs, NGOs, Government agencies and the Media, provided a platform for stakeholders to connect, exchange ideas, and explore opportunities for collaboration in tackling GBV in Bauchi State in line with the objectives of the 2025 IWD.
Speaking during the opening ceremony, Executive Director of ASHH Foundation, Comfort Ene Attah recommitted the Foundation to always advocate and promote Women’s and Girls’ Issues in order to have a serene society.
She stressed that the aim is to drive the necessary change in the economic and social development of Women and girls in the state so that they will not feel sidelined.
Comfort Attah described the theme for 2025 IWD as timely, highlighting the role every individual must play in accelerating action to end discrimination against women’s rights and achieve the desired change in gender equity.
She emphasised the crucial contributions of women to political, economic, and social development, stressing that their rights must not be undermined, but, be protected and supported.
She commended Women for Women International for its support in advancing the cause of women’s and girls’ rights through the effective collaboration and partnership.
According to her, “Women have been faced with a lot of challenges which we cannot ignore, we are resilient, we believe that we can overcome those challenges. A lot of setbacks women have experienced in time past but we believe that we resilience, we will be able to overcome.”
“With time, things we fall in place, that is what we are working towards with a lot of fantastic women who are in the position of authority who are doing so well. In the developmental world, you see a lot of women and in Bauchi State, we are doing very well, we are in the forefront of the NGOs and CSOs, participating actively and so well,” She added.
The ASHH Foundation ED added that,”Women are becoming Executive Directors of CSOs and NGOs, this is a very big one. We also have our EDs platform and a female right now is the Chairperson. You can see those changes are taking place and I believe that by putting ourselves up there, support ourselves, we will be able to overcome those barriers.”
In her presentation, Bauchi State Coordinator of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Yachit Dala, emphasised the need to pay attention to issues surrounding women’s rights, dignity, and discrimination.
She called on communities to take the lead in ensuring protection and justice for survivors of Gender Based Violence (GBV) stressing that, there is a need for people to understand that women are entitled to the basic rights that everybody is entitled to.
According to her, “Like the declaration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and fundamental rights as enshrined in our Constitution, to educate the participants that women are also entitled to all these rights and a need to also carve out specific rights, specific to women and their specific needs because of the vulnerability of women.”
She stressed that there is the need to set in motion, mechanism to ensure that the Women are protected and made to be safe, not stigmatized and given equal responsibility and opportunity to strive to achieve their potentials.
According to her, “This can be achieved through reorientation on the cultural bias that exist and accelerate action as the theme suggests by ensuring that those laws and policies are properly implemented while specific programmes were carved out for the good of the women.”
All the participants who spoke stressed the need for giving the woman a push to get up the ladder and help her to remain there as she exhibits the divine potentials deposited in her, through which she can be recognized.
