A nongovernmental organization, Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (KIND) has held its annual women empowerment training for female staff and students of the University of Jos. The training tagged “Kudra: Young Women’s Leadership Programme” was held between Monday, April 12 and Friday, April16, 2010 at the ASUU Secretariat, Permanent Site. Topics discussed during the programme included the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and Human Rights, Process of Self Discovery and Transformational Leadership, Sexuality and Reproductive Health Rights, among others.
They were designed to equip women for internal competence needed to lead in today’s world. The young women were also taught to channel negative emotions into productive means, to think outside the box and that womanhood is a priceless privilege, of which every woman should be proud of.
Sharing her experience, Odi Ogori Uche, a 100 level Theatre Arts student said, “I have learned during this training to be proactive, rather than being reactive, to be a better woman, to know my rights as a woman, to manage my emotions, as well as to empower myself as a woman”.
Mrs. Chinenye Bakare a programme officer for KIND said that the NGO was committed to the programme because they had noticed that women’s participation in public life is below acceptable level and they wanted to remove those barriers.
She also expressed appreciation for the way the student participants conducted themselves. In her words, all week long, participants were “wonderful, interactive, committed and dedicated”, adding that she was looking forward to coming to Jos again.
For Mrs Gladys Chinyere Nnaji, one of the facilitators and a self-proclaimed feminist, challenged participants to go and fan the flame that KIND had lit during the programme.
The week-long forum drew to a close at the Law Auditorium, Bauchi Road Campus, where each participant was issued a certificate participation.
Kudra is an Arabic word meaning “Power”. KIND was founded by Hafsat Abiola in memory of her mother Kudirat Abiola, a champion for democracy during Nigeria’s military era.
Although KIND has been in existence since 2001, Kudra was initiated in 2006 and it is a leadership programme designed for female undergraduates. More than 4000 female undergraduates have benefitted from the programme and it will continue to reach 1250 young women each year and empower them with skills and information that they identify as critical for them to achieve their full potential. The curriculum developed for Kudra is available for use by other organizations working to empower women.
By Akumbu Uche
