GADA Empowers Cross River Women With Comprehensive Training To Enhance Political Participation And Advance Gender Equality

Gender And Development Action (GADA), recently conducted a transformative training session aimed at fostering increased political participation among women in Cross River State.

The comprehensive two-day capacity-building workshop for female politicians held in Akpabuyo and Odukpani Local Government Areas of Cross River State, was organized by GADA in commemoration of this year's 'International Women's Day' under the Women’s Voice and Leadership (WVL) project in Nigeria with the theme ‘Breaking Barriers: Advancing Women’s Representation in Leadership’.

The objective of the project is to dismantle obstacles hindering gender equality while bolstering the empowerment of women and girls across Nigeria. The training served as a vital component to further consolidate the gains of the project, with the aim to broaden avenues for women's involvement in decision-making processes, particularly at the grassroots level.

Nnenna Ugbor, Acting Program Manager at GADA, underscored the significance of the WVL Nigeria project, a five-year endeavor supported by ActionAid Nigeria and funded by Global Affairs Canada. She emphasized GADA's longstanding commitment to promoting women's political engagement through various initiatives, including advocacy campaigns, capacity-building endeavors, and support for aspiring women leaders.

Ugbor highlighted the imperative of overcoming these hurdles, emphasizing that enhanced women's political participation not only fosters gender equality but also cultivates more inclusive and effective governance structures within the state.

The training curriculum included a spectrum of essential topics, including effective communication, public speaking, media engagement, strategic decision-making, policy advocacy, and leveraging legal frameworks to advance women's political representation. Participants also delved into the significance of forging alliances across party lines, nurturing supportive networks, and identifying collective goals to promote inclusive governance and sustainable development.

During the sessions, participants engaged in robust discussions addressing the prevailing political landscape for women in Cross River State, and its discouraging status in leadership despite being home to various political parties and vibrant political activities with strong grassroots mobilization and influential political figures.

At the end of the training, the women emerged equipped with renewed determination and a clear roadmap for championing their collective and individual goals for future efforts to promote inclusive governance and sustainable development in the state.