From Maryam Ahmadu-Suka, Kaduna
The Gender Awareness Trust (GAT) has strengthened the leadership and grassroot advocacy of 30 women in a bid to address Gender Based Violence (GBV) amount cultural and religious institutions.
Speaking at a two-day Leadership and Empowerment training for 30 Women in Faith and Cultural Institutions drawn from Kaduna and Katsina states organised by GAT with funding support from Women Aid Collective (WACOL), the Executive Director, GAT, Dr. Lydia Umar said the training is aimed at strengthening women’s leadership and advocacy capacities within churches, cultural institutions, and community structures in Television Community, Kaduna South LGA and Zonkwa Community, Zangon Kataf LGA of Kaduna state.
According to her, “The training is also expected to enhance women’s leadership skills and self-confidence, strengthen public speaking and advocacy capacities among women leaders as well as equip women with mediation and dialogue skills for peaceful community engagement.”
Giving a background of the training, she said, “Women play vital roles within churches, cultural institutions, and communities across Kaduna and Katsina states, however, their participation in leadership, advocacy, and decision-making remains limited due to structural barriers, social norms, and limited access to leadership development opportunities.
“Strengthening women’s leadership capacities is essential for promoting inclusive governance, peaceful community engagement, and effective advocacy within faith- and culture-based spaces.”
In response, she noted that, “GAT proposes Leadership and Empowerment Training workshops aimed at equipping women with practical leadership, public speaking, mediation, and advocacy skills to enable them to assume more active and visible leadership roles within their communities.”
Participants at the two-day state-level Leadership and Empowerment Trainings were drawn from churches and cultural groups, with 15 women selected from each Local Government Area (LGA).
The training focused on leadership development, public speaking, mediation, and advocacy using participatory and practical learning approaches.
