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The Magaret Ekpo Fellowship Program for Women Right (MEFP) |
The Margaret Ekpo Fellowship Program for Women Right (MEFP)
YouthHubAfrica invites entries from interested and qualified Feminists to its first Magaret Ekpo Fellowship Program for Women Right (in Honor of Magaret Ekpo, a pioneering women right activist in Nigeria). The MEFP in its first year will build the capacity of 20 emerging feminists from across Nigeria through two separate retreats and the opportunity to work with older women who are pioneers of feminism in Nigeria. The program will provide platforms where young feminists are exposed to theory, discussions and interactive processes related to feminism, feminist movements, women’s rights, and local and global strategies to achieve social justice.
Background
Despite the existence of a visible feminist movement, the potential of such movement and other groups to advance the cause of gender equality and put an end to violence against women and girls has been insufficiently tapped to date due to limited coordination and capacity gaps. This project, therefore, aims to work with the most hit population, the women, to build their capacity to meaningfully engage and speak up against gender inequality in Nigeria.
In the last one year, there has been a bigger urgency to tackling patriarchy and violence against women in Nigeria. From the #MarketMarch in Lagos, a movement convened to respond to indiscriminate touching of women in Lagos markets, to the #ArewaMeToo movement, a spontaneous movement removing the veil of silence on Gender-Based Violence in Nigeria. To more recently, the #SexforMarks scandal, a documentary by the BBC that went to the heart of sexual harassment in West African Universities. While the national outrage on these campaigns has been fiery and spontaneous, the elements and opportunities for collaboration amongst emerging feminist leaders in Nigeria as well as between emerging feminist leaders and pioneers of the women movement in Nigeria have not been adequately optimized.
YouthHubAfrica will work with 20 emerging feminists across Nigeria. The specific focus will be on the less served girls and women from different communities within the rural and urban settlements across Nigeria. The project will provide a platform for the feminists to tell their stories and learn how to use storytelling and other advocacy techniques to amplify their voices and continue to address patriarchy from inside. It will also seek to amplify the voices of young girls and boys to demand equality and challenge gender norms.
Background
Despite the existence of a visible feminist movement, the potential of such movement and other groups to advance the cause of gender equality and put an end to violence against women and girls has been insufficiently tapped to date due to limited coordination and capacity gaps. This project, therefore, aims to work with the most hit population, the women, to build their capacity to meaningfully engage and speak up against gender inequality in Nigeria.
In the last one year, there has been a bigger urgency to tackling patriarchy and violence against women in Nigeria. From the #MarketMarch in Lagos, a movement convened to respond to indiscriminate touching of women in Lagos markets, to the #ArewaMeToo movement, a spontaneous movement removing the veil of silence on Gender-Based Violence in Nigeria. To more recently, the #SexforMarks scandal, a documentary by the BBC that went to the heart of sexual harassment in West African Universities. While the national outrage on these campaigns has been fiery and spontaneous, the elements and opportunities for collaboration amongst emerging feminist leaders in Nigeria as well as between emerging feminist leaders and pioneers of the women movement in Nigeria have not been adequately optimized.
YouthHubAfrica will work with 20 emerging feminists across Nigeria. The specific focus will be on the less served girls and women from different communities within the rural and urban settlements across Nigeria. The project will provide a platform for the feminists to tell their stories and learn how to use storytelling and other advocacy techniques to amplify their voices and continue to address patriarchy from inside. It will also seek to amplify the voices of young girls and boys to demand equality and challenge gender norms.