A non-governmental organisation, Bridge Connect Africa Initiative (BCAI), has trained 50 Kano State survivors of gender-based violence and women at risk in recognising and responding to various forms of GBV.

The participants, all women, were selected from seven Local Government Areas of the state- Dawakin Tofa, Bichi, Garko, Rimingado, Dawakin Kudu, Minjibir, and Kumbtoso.

The two-day training programme had the theme “Promoting Women’s Economic Growth Against Violence through Sustainable Practices in Kano.”

Speaking at the event and project team lead, M. Makkiyya Suleiman, explained that the program was organised “to empower women and their businesses through a sustainable model to enable them thrive economically.’’

She further elaborated on the project’s scope, saying, “The programme is part of a nine-months project under BCAI’s “Women Against Violence Empowerment through Sustainability (WAVES)’’ model programme.

She said, “The WAVES model is a model that is being developed to work at the intersection of gender-based violence, women economic empowerment advocacy as well as entrepreneurship.’’

She noted that the initial phase of the project was carried out five months ago with support by the Canadian government.

Mr Suleiman, detailing the training curriculum, said that the participants were educated on “GBV survivor pathways, communication and boundary setting, community advocacy, and legal guidance” to equip them to take action against GBV and become champions in their localities.

Beyond violence response, she highlighted the programme’s economic empowerment component, which “would also empower participants through entrepreneurship skills such as climate-smart agriculture and business development, and create business opportunities to enable them thrive economically.”

She reiterated BCAI’s ambitious commitment to empowering 100,000 women in Kano State by 2030 to reduce the cases of GBV in the state.

The training featured experts from various fields, including police officers, public health specialists, and lawyers, who delivered presentations on issues related to GBV, broadening the participants’ understanding and knowledge of how to access support.

(NAN)