New Kano project targets gender-based violence against women in agriculture - Punch Newspapers

The Kano State Government, in collaboration with the African Enterprise Challenge Fund and the Development Research and Projects Centre, has launched a project aimed at preventing and responding to Gender-Based Violence against women within the agricultural value chain. The project, tagged ‘Project Launch and Inception Meeting on Mainstreaming GBV Prevention and Response into the Agricultural Value Chain in Kano State,’ was launched on Tuesday as stakeholders met to strengthen measures for preventing violence and protecting women involved in agriculture. The Commissioner for Women Affairs, Children and Persons with Special Needs, Amina Sani, who launched the project on behalf of the state government, urged community leaders to stop treating GBV as a matter that should be concealed or stigmatised. Sani said silence surrounding GBV made it difficult for authorities and relevant organisations to identify victims, provide assistance, and ensure that survivors received adequate protection and support. “My call is especially to our elders who are living within the community: they should please stop regarding this as something to be stigmatised. “Whenever this happens, they should voice it out for people to know what is happening so that we can identify the victims, know what to do for them, empower them, take care of them, and know the number of GBV survivors and GBV victims in Kano State,” she said. The commissioner said the state government was already implementing programmes aimed at improving the economic well-being of women, noting that 5,200 women were supported monthly with N50,000 each to start or expand their businesses under the Women Economic Empowerment Programme. She said the government was also working with development partners to support women in agriculture, skills acquisition and other trades, adding that economic empowerment remained an important part of efforts to improve the lives of women and their families. A picture from the event. Credit: Hussaini Ibrahm. Sani disclosed that her ministry recently intervened in the case of a woman who was allegedly burnt with hot water and subsequently divorced by her husband, saying the government had taken steps to protect her rights and support her treatment. “Just last week, we received a report about a woman who had been burnt. The report was immediately brought to me from the Tsanyawa area. I promptly took some members of my staff and went to Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital, where we visited the woman,” she said. She added that, with the consent of State Governor, Abba Yusuf, the ministry took responsibility for pursuing the woman’s rights and ensuring that she received the necessary support until her recovery. The commissioner said the ministry had GBV desk officers as well as Women Development Officers across the 44 Local Government Areas of the state, who receive reports of violence and other forms of abuse involving women, children and persons with special needs. The Technical Adviser on the dRPC project, Nafisa Ado, said the intervention would engage stakeholders in selected communities, including traditional leaders, community members and other beneficiaries of AECF-funded initiatives. “The project would reach 16,000 individuals, while the organisers would strengthen the capacity of 285 traditional leaders and engage 460 gender champions to raise awareness about violence against women, including younger and older women and children,” she said. She said the intervention would cover communities including Rano, Bebeji and Dawakin Kudu, among others, to strengthen community-based responses to GBV and improve awareness of the dangers of violence against women. The programme was attended by groups of women involved in the agricultural value chain, who participated in discussions on preventing and responding to GBV, and strengthening support for women within their communities. Hussaini Ibrahim

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