BAOBAB Holds Political Participation Training in Abia State, Nigeria

Political Participation Training Abia, Nigeria

According to Nigeria's 2006 census, women are nearly half the country's population (48.78 percent) — a percentage that is not at all reflected in women's representation in government and decision-making positions.

But that could change, and soon. As part of its commitment to increasing women's role in all of public life, BAOBAB held a July 21-27 training session in Abia for a group of politically enthusiastic and ambitious young women.

Participants included members of the media, Abia state government officials, 30 young women undergraduates and 30 women political aspirants.

Dorothy Ogbonna, Director of Abia State Ministry of Women's Affairs, attended and voiced enthusiasm for the program's timeliness in light of Nigeria's 2011 election. She encouraged the young women to embrace the initiative as "paramount" to optimizing women's chances to assume policy-making positions.

The session examined barriers to women's political participation in Nigeria and strategies to encourage more diverse leadership, including working together across gender, religious and cultural divides. The young women worked to develop a spirit of institutional cooperation in support of democracy and human rights and learned techniques for building the capacity of civil society organizations.

The training embraced alternative, horizontal models of leadership based on communication rather than power. A one-day mentoring discussion connected experienced politicians with younger women who might benefit from their wisdom to avoid making old mistakes as their public involvement increases over time.

Participants departed with a new understanding of the importance of sharing information and strategic communications: catchy slogans with strong leadership messages can really work to change minds. They vowed to leverage the new information technology to its full potential – and to stay in touch with one another – in reaching their goals.