Hadiza's Blog

  First on the Left: GSAI Programme Officer Grace Udie at the AMAC office during an advocacy visit in Abuja. The Gender Strategy Advancement International (GSAI) team paid a courtesy visit to the Executive Chairman of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Hon. Christopher Zakka Maikalangu, who was represented by the Honorable Speaker, Dr. Matthew Danjuma Yare (PhD), at the AMAC office. During the visit, GSAI’s Program Lead, representing the Executive Director, highlighted the critical role AMAC and its representatives play in addressing key issues identified in GSAI’s investigative research. This research forms part of the Gender, The Agenda collaborative media project, which is supported by the Wole Soyinka Center for Investigative Journalism and the MacArthur Foundation. One of the primary concerns discussed was the quality and accessibility of education for women and girls in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with particular emphasis on the Waru community. The findings...

GSAI Programme Officer Grace Udie with Some Members of the National Association of Women Journalist at an advocacy visit in Abuja   The Gender Strategy Advancement International team paid an advocacy visit to the National Association of Women Journalists, an organization established to increase women’s access and leadership in the media, and also committed to promoting, protecting, and enhancing the wellbeing of women in Nigeria through effective storytelling. The Vice President of the association Mrs. Chizoba Ogbeche commended the effort of Gender Strategy Advancement International and her partners, Wole Soyinka Center For Investigative Journalism and MacArthur Foundation in amplifying women’s voices through investigative storytelling under the Gender The Agenda collaborative media project. The Executive Director GSAI, represented by the programs Officer, centered the discussion on the outcome of the baseline research on women’s political participation, report on gender budget d...

  Second from right: GSAI Programme Officer Grace Udie with Ministry of Education staff after an advocacy visit in Abuja .   The Gender Strategy Advancement International (GSAI) team, led by the Programs Officer representing our Executive Director, conducted an advocacy visit to the Federal Ministry of Education. The purpose of the visit was to discuss critical issues affecting girls' education and women's political participation in Nigeria. The purpose of the advocacy visit was to share outcomes from her baseline report on women's political participation in Nigeria and the report on gender budget dynamics and findings from the investigative report on "Young Girls Dropping Out of School and Early Child Marriage." This report highlighted the challenges faced by young girls in accessing education and the socio-cultural factors contributing to school dropouts and early marriage in the FCT. These reports under the "Gender the Agenda" project, supported by ...

                Bank Manager Suggests Comrade Agbo Visit Another Branch In a troubling incident at Stanbic IBTC’s Area 3, Garki Branch, Abuja, a wheelchair user, Comrade Chris Agbo, was allegedly subjected to blatant discrimination by the bank’s staff on September 18, 2024. The incident unfolded between 11:45 a.m. and 2:15 p.m., highlighting ongoing accessibility challenges faced by persons with disabilities in Nigeria, despite the existence of laws meant to protect their rights. Comrade Agbo who is a journalist and disability rights advocate had initially planned to visit the nearby NNPC filling station for fuel but decided to stop at the bank first to activate his ATM card. Unable to access the bank’s facilities due to a lack of ramps, he sent his aide inside to request assistance. However, she was informed that the bank’s Comrade Chris Agbo was not working. Left with no other option, Agbo asked his aide to request a withdrawal slip so ...

Ms. Beatrice Eyong, UN Women Representative in Nigeria The UN Women in Nigeria has signed a Memorandum of Understanding  with several media organizations in Abuja to advance gender equality and women's empowerment.  On September 8, media executives from the southern part of the country signed a similar undertaking in Lagos. Ms. Beatrice Eyong, the UN Women representative in Nigeria, noted that the meeting presents an opportunity to examine and explore opportunities where the media could make impact in addressing challenges faced by women and girls. She pointed out  that the MoU would provide a framework for collaboration and collaboration to strengthen partnership in escalating media advocacy to promote women's economic empowerment, prevention of violence against women and girls and increasing women's representation and leadership along humanitarian, development and peace nexus. "Media is a tool that has been used over time in educating the society and accelerati...

Women’s underrepresentation in decision-making remains as a stark reality, according to  UN       Women’s global data on Women Political Leaders 2024 . The underrepresentation of Nigerian women in governance and politics has been a longstanding issue in political discourse. Currently, women occupy only a small fraction of the seats in Nigeria’s National Assembly, with 3 out of 109 senators and 15 out of 360 members of the House of Representatives being female while, there are five appointed women ministers out of 45. Since gaining independence in 1960, Nigeria is yet to have a female president. On the 9th of July the House of Representatives advanced a bill to its second reading, aiming to create 74 seats for women in the National Assembly. The bill, sponsored by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu and 12 others, proposes amendments to Sections 48, 49, 71, and 117 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to establish “Special seat reserved exclusively for women in the Se...

  UN Women in Nigeria, in collaboration with partners, continues to advocate for gender equality, increased political participation of women, and their empowerment . Photo: UN WOMEN The Women’s Political Participation Working Group and UN Women have called for a gender-inclusive constitution to foster national development and enhance women’s participation in politics. The group made the call in Abuja, during the Coordination and Strategy Meeting on Action Reforms to Increase Women’s Political Representation in the ongoing constitution review process. Professor Joy Ezeilo, an activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, presented a paper on Constitution Review and Gender Bills, urging the 10th assembly to implement the 35 percent affirmative action, as seen in other countries and in accordance with international standards, to promote equity, fairness, and justice. She highlighted the historical exclusion of women in constitution-making in Nigeria and stressed the need for women’s repres...