KIND visits to (CCD ). Center for Citizens with Disabilities in Lagos for partnership in respect of its ongoing project on ending Violence, Marginalization, and Discrimination against Women and persons with Disabilities in Nigeria.
Kudirat Initiative For Democracy
Project Alert Partner with KIND to organize a program tagged Gender-Based Violence and women with disabilities.
Date: 18th & 19th of October 2017
The program was focused basically on creating awareness amongst CSOs on issues on Gender-Based Violence and how it affects Women with Disabilities; Networks and links mainstream CSOs organizers and Disabilities organization so that they work together to achieve their goals.
Mrs. Josephine of Project alert affirmed that NGOs cannot solve the problem of the masses alone but need to collaborate with other NGOs because each has its area of specialization. Also, she mentioned people /organizations that are to tackle VAW with disabilities which are: Religious leaders, Traditional Leaders, the CSOs and Lagos state office of the Disabilities Affairs(LASODA) since the programme would be carried out in Lagos State
Mr. Alejo Adegboyega the Deputy General Manager of LASODA commended the organizers for her roles in promoting actions of GBV against women with disabilities (WWDs) in Lagos State. LASODA was established by Lagos disability law in July 2011 to seek redress for PWDs and protect them against any form of violence or discrimination they may face in their communities. LASODA is to work to achieve the following:
All NGOs that work with VAWG are advised to register their organizations with LASODA…. Registration requirements are as follows;
Mr. Alejo Adegboyega advised all partners and participants to go to LASODA website for more information and check the disabilities bill law passed in 2011 in Lagos state. A suggestion raised was that each organization should send at least one of their staff for sign language training organized by LASODA for proper implementation of programmes with PWDs.
Mr. David Anyaele the Executive Director of Centre for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) gave a statistical analysis saying that people with disabilities is 2.32% in Nigeria and 60% of this figure is between 18 years and above. The sex distribution of PWDs; Male 52.5% while Female is 47.5%. In his presentation, he made it clear that World Bank and WHO report in 2011 stated that more than 1 billion persons in the world are living with disabilities. He said some part of the world believes that PWDs are SPECIAL PEOPLE, which is not true because we have the equal right since we are all SPECIAL. Some of the PWDs were not born with any form of disability; it may be Through an Accident, Illness and much more.
The Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) was launched by the United States government as a signature effort to invest in the next generation of African leaders know more. As part of the field component of their training to learn in the practical term the skill required for the development of civil leadership spirit across the African continent, they visited the KIND office on October 19, 2017.
On behalf of Dr. Hafsat Abiola-Costello, the Founder & President of KIND and KIND members, we say thank you to the YALI group for their visit.
Kudirat Initiative for Democracy is set to execute a project titled ENDING VIOLENCE, MARGINALIZATION, AND DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN AND PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES IN NIGERIA. Through this project, we hope to promote actions to tackle the policy deprivations, as well as social and institutional barriers faced by people with disabilities and to mitigate the social exclusions, abuses, exploitation, and violence against women in Nigeria, which is sponsored by VOICE NIGERIA.
Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (KIND) is a Not-for-Profit organization with the vision of an Africa where women, youths and disabled people can fully participate in the continent’s social, economic and political development.
This project seeks to promote actions to tackle the policy deprivations as well as social and institutional barriers faced by PWDs and to mitigate the social exclusions, abuses, exploitation, and violence against women in Nigeria. Specifically, it seeks to promote a rights-based approach to tackling disability issues in Nigeria; influence policymakers to extend social protection to PWDs; strengthen the capacity of stakeholders (NGOs) to engage in lobby and advocacy for increased social inclusion and political participation of PWDs and women who are often marginalized and discriminated against. The project will be implemented in two out of the six geopolitical zones of the country namely; Northcentral (FCT) and Southwest (Lagos State) for a period of two years. Methodologically, the project will employ the social model of disability to strengthen the capacities of DPOs and supporting NGOs to enable them more effectively than ever before discharge their lobby and advocacy functions to ensure more social inclusion and improved access to disability services by the PWDs. In the same vein, the project places emphasis on activities that will amplify the voice of marginalized women and support NGOs to tackle the issues of restricted access to productive resources as well as sexual abuses, exploitation, and violence. The project is targeted at people living with disability and women facing exploitation, sexual abuses and violence and restricted access to finance. It will support Disabled People’s Organizations (DPOs), representatives of PWDs, NGOs working to promote women political participation, women political aspirants and women farmers’ groups facing restricted access to finance. In achieving its objectives it will partner with stakeholders in public and private sectors including government officials, community and opinion leaders, formal financial institutions and the mass media.
This project is targeted at women and persons with disabilities. The latter group constitutes about 11% of the population and constitutes one of the poorest, socially excluded and marginalized groups in Nigeria. Women are subjected to sexual and physical abuses and violence and face discrimination and marginalization in terms of access to productive resources (land, finance) and participation in decision making. Smallholder agriculture which is the main source of livelihood for women is characterized by unequal access to key resources. Access to land is severely curtailed by the way it is inherited, owned and passed on by men to their male descendants in most patrilineal ethnic groups, especially in southern Nigeria. Although women represent between 60 and 79 percent of Nigeria’s rural labour force, men are five times more likely to own land than women. There are regional differences: women in the South are more likely to own and access land than women in the North. In general, land ownership is very low among women, a factor that limits their ability to exploit a land-based livelihood strategy. This affects their ability to access finance, for example, and often delays investment decisions or reduces the earning potential of agriculture. Moreover, women’s access to formal finance is highly restricted. Women are more likely to rely on family and friends for finance, partly because they lack collateral and also because they are more likely than men to be deterred from applying for formal loans by the complexity of the application process. Evidence suggests that the variation in opportunity between men and women in terms of access to finance is more prominent in urban areas and in respect of marketing activities compared to farming activities in rural areas (Olomola, 2013). This project is designed to tackle the discrimination against women in terms of access to these resources from the demand and supply sides through strengthening the capacity of the formal financial institutions on the one hand to enable them have better understanding of the need for agribusiness financing by women and how to design innovative approaches to extend finance for their operations; while on the other hand enhancing the capacity of the women to have better understanding of financial management and application of loans. This sort of holistic approach is a desirable change of strategic in promoting better access to finance by women for agribusiness purposes.
The broad goal of this project is to promote actions to tackle the policy deprivations as well as social and institutional barriers faced by PWDs and to mitigate the social exclusions, abuses, and violence against women in Nigeria. The specific objectives are to
1) Influence policymakers to extend social protection to PWDs through inclusionary education (IE) and social assistance in the form of conditional cash transfer (CCT).
2) Influence relevant financial institution and strengthen women groups for better access to agribusiness finance for women in agriculture.
3) Influence relevant organizations and strengthen the capacity of women political aspirants to advance women’s participation in politics.
4) Influence policy and strengthen relevant organization to migrate abuse and violence against PWDs.
5) Influence policy actions to promote zero-tolerance attitude to abuse and violence against women and girls (VAWG) with emphasis on rape and luring of young girls into prostitution.
The project will be in full support of the following groups:
(i) Women political aspirants and NGOs working to promote women political participation
(ii) Women Agribusiness Groups working to promote access to finance (amplify their voice against discrimination and marginalization)
(iii) Sexually abused women. The scope of sexual abuse in this project is narrowed down to rape and under-aged girls lured into prostitution.
(iv) Women who are vulnerable to violence (domestic violence or otherwise) Violence refers to the intentional use of force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either result in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm (Oxfam, 2012) Maldevelopment or deprivation.
(v) Disabled People’s Organizations (DPOs)(strengthen their lobby and advocacy capacities).
(vi) Representatives of PWDs.
This project is important for Nigeria because of the severe social exclusion faced by persons with disabilities (PWDs) which has subjected them to chronic poverty over the years. It is particularly important because actions to reduce social exclusion are confounded by the absence of nationally operational disability discrimination legislation and lack of social protection for PWDs. The concern of policy makers has always been expressed through policies which more often than not have not been effectively implemented. About four decades ago, the national policy on education provided for the integration of children with disabilities into the mainstream of public schools in line with the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights which guarantees a child’s universal rights to education. Following the adoption and ratification of the African Charter and Human Rights, Nigeria adapted key international protocols regarding the welfare of (PWDs) into Nigerian law through the enactment of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act No. 2 of 1983 (Chapter 10 LFRN, 1990). In response to global initiatives and further to Nigeria’s ratification of other conventions including the UN Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for PWDs 1993, and Declaration of the Rights of the Disabled, 1995; the federal government enacted the Nigerian with Disability Decree of 1993 to be the first legislation aimed at catering for the needs PWDs. The decree soon fizzled out in the aftermath of the inception of democratic governance in 1999. Although sections of the constitution address issues concerning rights of the Nigerian child including prohibition of discrimination; such prohibition was not specifically based on disability.
Following the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989 and enactment of the Child’s Rights Act of 2003, Nigeria demonstrated further concern about the care for children with disabilities in its 2004 National Policy on Education. The policy emphasized inclusive education opportunities and made it an integral part of the Universal Basic Education (UBE) of 2004. The policy provided for free access to education at all levels for children with special needs through inclusive integration of special class and units into the regular public classes under the UBE programme. However, evidence suggests that it has been difficult to achieve the desired level of inclusion of PWDs due to lack of funds, shortage of specialists in special needs education and lack of data on potential students with disabilities. A move from policy approach to legislative action started in 2009 and culminated in legislative work on Nigeria’s Disability Bill. The Bill seeks to ensure and promote the full realization of all human rights and fundamental freedom of all PWDs without discrimination of any sort in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD). To date, however, work on the Bill has not been finalized. Tagged the Discrimination Against Persons with Disability Bill, it failed to get Presidential assent twice after its passage in the 6th and 7th (2011 and 2015) National Assembly. Early in the life of the 8th Assembly (July 13, 2016), it was passed by the Senate following its passage by the House of Representatives. As at February 2017, it is yet to receive Presidential assent. At the subnational level, legislation to protect the rights of PWDs has also been a matter of concern. By June 2011, Lagos State enacted the Special People Law, making it the very first state in the country to demonstrate adherence to the CRPD and other normative standards through legislation. To date (2017) there are altogether only four (Bauchi, Ekiti, Plateau, and Lagos) out of the 36 states in Nigeria that have passed the law to protect the rights and dignity of PWDs in the country. Thus, the widespread policy recognition of disability issues as issues to be addressed through charity and welfare approaches continue unabated. This systematic misperception which has tended to widen the supply-demand gap of disability services; and the proposed project should play a significant role in changing such misperception and contribute to the entrenchment of a rights-based approach to tackling the issue of marginalization and discrimination against PWDs and women in Nigeria. Moreover, the discrimination and violence against women (VAW) in Nigeria is spreading widely across the country. Currently, only 12 of the 360 members of the House of Representatives are women while only 3 of the 109 members of Senate are women. The discrimination transcends political exclusion. Women are also discriminated against in terms of access to finance and land and are faced with physical violence and sexual abuse in and out of their homes. If Nigeria is to fully realize its development potentials there is need to reverse this trend so that women can contribute their own quota. This project is particularly timely within the context of the concerted efforts being made in the country to douse the wave of insurgency, kidnapping and other deviant behaviors. It will contribute to the efforts aimed at stemming the tide of violent and criminal tendencies among the youths on account of the harsh economic condition in the country. Currently, the economy is in recession with inflation rising from 9.6% in December 2015 to 18.55% in December 2016 and 18.72% in January 2017. The youth unemployment rate rose from 14.46% in the last quarter of 2015 to 16.39% in the first quarter of 2016. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) women population in the labor force continued to be more affected by the country’s unemployment crisis compared to their male counterparts. This situation is apt to escalate the poverty rate among the PWDs and women who already are facing the pangs of marginalization and discrimination. Thus, this project that seeks to promote women’s access to productive resources (finance and land) and the inclusion of PWDs in social protection programmes of the government at this juncture is highly desirable.
The problem of discrimination against women in terms of access to land and finance, for example, is borne out of research. evidence-based on research suggests that Land access is severely curtailed by the way land is inherited, owned and passed on by men to their male descendants in most patrilineal ethnic groups, especially in Southern Nigeria. Data from the NBS Core Welfare Indicators survey of 2006 show the variations in ownership pattern across the country and the gender disparities (Table 2).
Table 2: Distribution of Land Ownership by Gender (%)
Sector | Land Ownership | |
Female | Male | |
Total | 7.2 | 38.1 |
Rural | 8.5 | 46.1 |
Rural poor | 10.1 | 49.5 |
Urban | 4.5 | 22.4 |
Urban poor | 5.9 | 28 |
Zone | ||
North-West | 4.7 | 50.1 |
North-East | 4 | 52.2 |
North-Central | 7.9 | 41.2 |
South-West | 5.9 | 22.5 |
South-East | 10.6 | 38.1 |
South-South | 10.9 | 28.3 |
Source: NBS Core Welfare Indicator Survey, 2006
There are differences in land ownership across the geopolitical zones. Women in the South are more likely to own and access land than women in the North. The North-East displays the largest disparity: here, only 4% of women own land, a rate 13 times lower than that of men. Land ownership in urban areas shows a similar pattern; men are five times more likely to own land than women. Evidence also suggests that the variation in opportunity between men and women in terms of access to finance is more prominent in urban areas and in respect of marketing activities compared to farming activities in rural areas. As shown in Table 3, women have better access to finance than men in the rural areas whereas, in the urban areas, men’s access to formal finance is more than double that of women. Both in the rural and urban areas, men’s access to grants for farming and trading activities is much higher than that of women.
Table 3: Access to Various Sources of Credit in Nigeria
Rural (Agriculture) | (Urban) Trade | |||
Male | Female | Male | Female | |
All Loan Facilities | 38.3 | 38.5 | 54.1 | 45.9 |
Bank Loan | 37.6 | 33.8 | 79.8 | 20.2 |
Microcredit | 42.6 | 44.4 | 71.2 | 28.6 |
Grants | 53.3 | 25.8 | 84.2 | 15.8 |
Esusu | 37.0 | 38.1 | 43.6 | 56.4 |
Cooperatives | 40.5 | 42.1 | 64.4 | 35.6 |
Source: NBS: Core Welfare Indicator Questionnaire Survey for Nigeria, 2006
Moreover, according to the World Bank report on the “Investment Climate in Nigeria” (World Bank, 2009) that capital rather than productivity narrows the range of activities in which women engage. The report shows that a majority of women (76%) rely mostly on internal funds and retained earnings, and that only about 1% obtain capital from the formal financial sector. The report corroborates work which suggests that formal financial institutions, especially banks, have not supported women entrepreneurs as much as they could have (Halkias et al., 2011). The project will support the reduction of marginalization of the target groups by (i) influencing policy to free the PWDs (physically challenged children) from the shackle of exclusion from regular schools. This will achieved through advocacy campaigns and the provision of training to teachers on inclusionary education; (ii) developing the capacity of Disabled People’s Organizations (DPOs) (through training) to amplify their voices in demanding for disability services on the basis of rights; (iii) strengthening the capacity of Women NGOs and women political aspirants (through training) to have voice to claim their rights to aspire to political offices and to stand for election rather than being marginalized to cheer leaders in the political system and (iv) reducing marginalization and discrimination against women in accessing agribusiness finance by training women farming groups to better manage finance and lending institutions serving them to better design and manage lending programmes for women.
KIND’s WORK IN 2016
In partnership with the UK Department for International Development (DFID) through Voices for Change KIND was able to improve the Leadership, Decision making and Life-Skills competencies of adolescent boys and girls between the ages of 16 – 25 in University of Lagos (UNILAG) and Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH). We employed the use of interactive virtual and physical platforms, referred to as ‘safe spaces’ in the school training. Over 450 young people have benefitted from the leadership development programme in both schools and we are still in the process of training more.
PICTURE OF THE TRAINED STUDENTS –
Students on the programme’s impact
Buki Temitope, one trained female student said ‘The training has helped me to develop my leadership skills and made me more assertive’ Oyewunmi Waliu, one of the trained boys said ‘The training made me understand the true meaning of Gender and gender equality and also know how to convince my colleagues not to practice violence against women’
Junior Kudra in Schools is a leadership development programme which KIND offers in some secondary schools in Lagos State. The Kudra Girls going through the training are between 10 to 16 years of age. KIND develops their capacities in the areas of Leadership skills, Financial Management, Emotional Intelligence, and Advocacy. After the training, the girls form Kudra clubs so as to deepen their understanding of the concepts they were taught, practice what they have learned, work together to create more awareness of girls’ rights in their community, and foster the sustainability of the programme.
350 pupils have benefitted from this programme since it began in 2006. Besides this training programme, during the year we secured a fund from UNICEF to document the features of the Junior Kudra Programme. Our goal in documenting Junior Kudra is to create a model for other organizations that may want to replicate and thereby expand its benefits to other children.
Recommendation from UN Secretariat:
The Junior Kudra Girls Education Initiative is “a unique community network approach that is very organic … The program is not just about putting in money and getting something out of it, but about the wholesome “non-linear” approach that builds something for the community”
From the Program Consultant:
“Junior Kudra program has a very innovative approach, which is what drew me to your organization a few years ago. It is like none other I have seen. I am glad the program will get more international visibility through the United Nations Girls Education Initiative (UNGEI) funding. I strongly believe the program will flourish under your excellent leadership”
KIND was one of the 7 organizations out of an applicant pool of 200 that secured a grant from the Japanese Government to construct a 6 Classroom block with 4 toilets for Imoro Community Nursery/Primary School in Sagamu Local Government Area (LGA) of Ogun State. The grant also provided for 158 sets of chairs and desks for the students, and 7 tables and 8 chairs for the teachers. The LGA was the only one out of the 20 in the state that elected a woman to chair its Government Council, hence our selection of the school to communicate the message ‘everyone wins when women are given an opportunity to serve in public office!’
PICTURE OF THE CLASSROOMS AND COMMENTS
Recommendation from Japanese Officer in charge of the Project
’The Japanese Government would like to work with your Organization in 2016 because this project turned out to be one of the best of the type funded for the year’.
This is a European Union (EU) sponsored project. KIND partnered with VSO International Nigeria to carry out the project in Kano State. The Objective of this initiative is to strengthen local child rights focused based civil society organizations and promote the effective civil society and community action as an effective force in fostering an enabling environment for the passage of the Child Rights Act in the state.
In 2015, we equipped 40 students and 32 teachers in 16 schools from 6 Local Government Areas in Kano State and Kano State-based CSOs on the basic requirements of child rights.
This project was funded by John Fetzer Institute Inc. The project was designed to highlight often ignored examples of forgiveness and reconciliation as a counter-narrative to the news about intra and inter-communal crisis, religious and ethnic unrest, as well as crisis from political instability and insecurity that inundate Nigerians daily. The goal of this project is to recognize, learn from and contribute to the process of community and individual peacebuilding initiatives by people working within communities in the six geopolitical zones of the country. Through nominations, we identified individuals who are exemplars in promoting love and forgiveness and offered them a platform for an exchange of ideas and opportunities, and avenues for interaction between them (the practitioners) and the general public towards a broader application of their examples. Our conviction lies in the transformative impact that love and forgiveness can have on conflict situations raging between individuals, communities in the nation.
This is a coalition which was founded following the kidnap of over 200 girls from the Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State on April 14th, 2014 by members of the Boko Haram sect. Following the kidnap of these schoolgirls, the management of KIND carried out a fact-finding mission in Borno State to ascertain firsthand the state of affairs, especially as it affects women and girls. This fact-finding mission gave our team the ability to discuss with local women who have lost their homes and loved ones, and who has suffered atrocities from both the militant sect and the military.
Following this visit to Borno State, KIND initiated a process to provide relief materials and support for displaced persons in the state and the entire North-East region. By partnering with an organization on the ground in Borno State, we have been able to rehabilitate six (6) of the Chibok girls that escaped from the sect, especially by providing first-class medical attention to these girls in partnering hospitals in Lagos such as St. Nicholas Hospital and Lagoon Hospital; facilitating travel for another six (6) who were sponsored to the USA to further their education, and are still rehabilitating more women and girls in the region.
During the year, Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (KIND) provided office space for The Point Newspaper, a publication working to provide a trusted news source in Nigeria so as to empower citizens with the information they need to engage effectively with their leaders to ensure good governance. A mainstream weekly, The Point journalists focus on investigative pieces that highlight women and girls’ rights problems requiring government action. See http://www.thepointng.com/kids-take-over-sex-trade/ for a publication concerning issues affecting the girls.
Below is an extract from the publication:
“Prostitution in Lagos has lately gone bizarre with the initiation of kids between the ages of 12 and 15 into the illicit trade. ADELEKE ADESANYA, who went round some Lagos brothels, reports…That prostitution is rampant in Lagos State may not be new to many people. The sad twist to this ignoble trade is the open involvement of kids, whose ages range between 12 and 14 years, in the world’s ‘oldest profession.’
http://www.thepointng.com/kids-take-over-sex-trade/
According to findings by The Point, these young girls, who should be in school, have been initiated into the sex cult by a cartel of older prostitutes. The older women usually deceive illiterate parents back in some remote villages that they want to help take the children to Lagos to learn various trades or further their education.
Upon arriving Lagos, however, the girls find themselves as co-workers with elderly prostitutes inside small or moderate rooms in Lagos brothels. They thus become the source of income to the aging prostitutes, who, for age factors and other sundry reasons, might have been experiencing low ‘patronage’.
Investigations conducted by our correspondent in some selected hotels and brothels in Lagos and its suburbs revealed that most of these girls were either brought by their hosts from villages or picked up at motor parks for the sex-hawking business. In some cases, some of the girls were lured into the business either by relatives or friends.”
30 BY 19 (formerly 30 by 15) Campaign to secure favorable rules for women’s political participation. Through the campaign, KIND works with partners to build the capacity of women political aspirants while advocating for political parties and government institutions to include women’s issues in their agenda for action. The campaign also trains and provides mentoring opportunities for young women interested in political participation. 30 by 15 was launched in 2006 and has since worked with 250 women in Lagos, Bornu and Cross River States. In 2015, with support from Movies that Matters, we started mentoring a group of 30 young girls from higher institutions in Lagos. These ladies were paired with established politicians to mentor them so that they will be able to contest the 2017 local government elections.
PICTURES:
Contact Details
Address
42/46, Moshood Abiola Crescent,
Off Toyin Street,
Ikeja, Lagos,
Nigeria.
Email Address: kindnigeria@yahoo.com,
INSTAGRAM: @Kindnigeria
TWITTER: @kind_nigeria
FACEBOOK fan page: @Kind Nigeria