‘Cultural practices responsible for illiteracy among women’

Daily Trust: What has your experience been like advocating for women’s rights, empowerment and equality? Bukola Adeola Onyishi: It has been an interesting experience considering the fact that most of the women are ignorant of their rights. Our target audience is the marginalized women in our society, who mostly are uneducated and have little or […]

Daily Trust: What has your experience been like advocating for women’s rights, empowerment and equality?

Bukola Adeola Onyishi: It has been an interesting experience considering the fact that most of the women are ignorant of their rights. Our target audience is the marginalized women in our society, who mostly are uneducated and have little or no knowledge of the existence of any form of right. Women, no matter how ignorant, are teachable and ready to learn and adapt. And so, we teach them. Our programme entails 12 months training for all enrollees. 

During the first three months, women learn the rudiments of earning and saving money; the next three months is dedicated to health and wellbeing, where it is established that health is a human right; and by the third quarter, they are trained on influencing decisions – this session exposes them to vast fundamental human rights discussions. In the last quarter, they learn the importance of networking and connecting to network for support.

DT: What women programmes are you executing in the country generally?

Onyishi: Our work in Nigeria started in Enugu State in November 2000 and we worked with over 40,000 women in 13 local government areas of of the State before the organization exited the state in December 2016. The Plateau State office commenced operations in 2003 and to date; we have served over 30,000 women and still counting. We recently extended our intervention programmes to Bauchi State where 100 women have been enrolled.

Our programme participants enjoy a lifetime opportunity of getting informal education for 12 months, as 80 per cent of the women are illiterates because the culture does not support investing in women’s education. Women for Women International, Nigeria provides several training under our curriculum. We have the Social Empowerment where women are trained on how to earn and save money, wellness, decision-making and the importance of networking. A monthly training stipend is also provided for women as a vital support for participation. 

There is also the economic empowerment where women are taught numeracy skills, business skills and a vocational skill of choice. Generally, women increase the ability to earn an income with the acquired skills. The ripple effect of the 12 months training is so profound as we have stronger women, families and communities.

Considering the state of many rural communities and the enormous intervention required, we partner with other organizations like Planned Parenthood Federation of Nigeria (PPFN), International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Medical Women Association of Nigeria, Doctors from Jos University Teaching Hospital and other NGOs.

DT: To what extent has cultural and religious setting impeded women’s advancement in the country?

Onyishi: To the East, West, North and South of Nigeria, diverse ethnic groups and multiple cultures abound. While these define us as a people, I believe that some cultures ought to have been long abolished, particularly those that add no value to life. Why should a woman be denied a farmland that is the source of the family’s livelihood when she is widowed? With the economic strain in the country, how many family members can take on additional responsibilities of caring for a widow and her children?

Women do not inherit land or landed properties; they are not allowed to speak in the presence of men or elders; they are sometimes treated as commodities instead of human beings. These and many more are cultural measures women are subjected to daily.

Nigeria comprises multiple ethnic groups and cultures and most of them are not women friendly. By being women friendly, I mean a purposeful cultural outlook that will pursue women empowerment and rights.

DT: Since your programmes basically concentrate on women, are there no areas involving the men, considering the fact that women programmes are believed to be more effective when the men are involved?

Onyishi: Spouses of our participants and community leaders also undergo our three months Men’s Engagement Programme Training, which seeks to engage men as active allies who support women’s rights and women empowerment.

Our mission statement emphasizes that the woman who undergoes our training utilizes the knowledge, skills and resources acquired to create sustainable change for herself, her family, and community. At this point, it is important to note that men are also part of the family and community. We came to the realization early in 2001 that some desired changes cannot be achieved without the support of men. Imagine the predicament of a woman that is now knowledgeable about HIV and family planning being unable to share the information with her spouse because, according to the culture, she knows nothing. Until the man is exposed to the same information, the woman cannot practice the newly acquired knowledge. 

DT: It is believed in some quarters that women were the ones who relegated themselves to the background. How true is that?

Onyishi: It is not true that women relegated themselves to the background. A woman’s challenge unfortunately begins from birth when some families receive the news of the birth of a girl-child as an evil omen. At an early age, she is taught that in her role as a wife, her main obligation is to please her husband and thereafter, she is ‘handed out’ as a bride with no formal education sometimes; that is the reality of majority of the women we serve. If they know better, they will certainly take informed decisions as humans and not necessarily as a male or female. 

Moreover, the level of our knowledge, wisdom and understanding determines the steps and decisions we take regardless of gender. In most cases, in the rural communities, parents prefer to send their sons to school rather than their daughters. 

DT: What are the specific challenges facing Nigerian women, and how can they be tackled?

Onyishi: I speak on behalf of thousands of women in rural communities across Nigeria. Violence against women is a fundamental challenge and must stop. Educational attainment is also a challenge and must be made accessible to all irrespective of gender. Women should have access to capital for business and land; upon which the patriarchal system must be de-emphasized.

DT: There are varied peculiarities and distinctions between the rural and urban women. How can these gaps be bridged in order to have a common course for the women folk?

Onyishi: We need to ensure that education is accessible to all and by all. We should also check some of the early marriages, as they are sometimes detrimental to the health and wellbeing of the girl-child as well as her psychological development.

The government should develop our rural communities with proper infrastructure to aid economic and social development. They should provide water, electricity, good road networks, equip and renovate existing schools, create platforms where voices of grassroots women can be connected to that of the urban women to build their confidence and self-value.   

DT: What success stories have you recorded so far?

Onyishi: Our statistics confirm that our intervention programmes recorded successes in many areas. In earning an income and savings, women reported average personal earnings of $1.17 per day at graduation, compared to $0.43 at enrollment. Women were actively involved in developing health and well-being as more than 72 per cent of participants reported practising family planning at graduation, compared to less than 38 per cent at enrollment. On influencing decisions in the home and community, 100 per cent of women reported participating in household financial decisions at graduation, compared to 95 percent at enrollment. In creating and connecting to networks for support and advocacy, more than 68 per cent of participants reported sharing information about their rights with other women at graduation, compared to 2 per cent at enrollment.

DT: What is your advice to men on women empowerment, equality and right?

Onyishi: The men would be better economically, psychologically and emotionally when the women around them (wife, sister, aunt, daughter) are educated, empowered economically and well informed. The home and community will definitely reflect it, while the burden men carry, in some cases, will be shared. When you educate a woman, it is said, you have educated the whole family, society and the nation.