The Country Director, Women For Women International, WFWI Nigeria is mobilising stakeholders to ensure a better society for women, especially those affected or living in conflict areas.
At an event marking the 25th anniversary of intervention of the organisation in Nigeria, Bukola Onyishi raised the hope that women in conflict situation cannot only live a good life, but impact their immediate environment and at a global stage.
In her opening speech, Bukola lamented that “One in three women will experience physical or sexual violence during her lifetime, this is during relative peace time, so one begin to wonder about the plights of women living in the midst of conflict, imagine being pregnant while fleeing conflict, imagine being a young girl managing her monthly circle in a displacement camp, imagine being elderly or living with disability, with no where to turn for safety,” she said.
Underscoring the seriousness of this statistics, she said the reality inspired the founding of Women For Women International, 33 years ago by Zainab Salbi and Amjad Atallah during the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
According to her, thier vision was simple but profound; to help women affected by war move from surviving to thriving.
Twenty five years ago, the mission moved to Nigeria with a focus on moving women affected by war move from surviving to thriving.
This is evidence in the testimony of women affected by conflict in Jos, Bauchi and Benue, it is a case of giving hopes to the hopeless.
According to Onyishi, over the last 25 years women have been helped to rebuild their confidence, start businesses, educate their children, become leaders in their communities and rediscover hope.
This was corroborated by the Chief Executive Officer of Women for Women International, Thelma Ekiyor, according to Thelma the journey began with a simple yet powerful belief that women are agents of change, this belief, she added manifest in countless lives, seeing women rise from unimaginable hardship to rebuild their lives.
In her remark, Rima Salah, International Board Member recognised the roles of women and identified how they can be agent of change.
According to her, the women for peace and security agenda is a comprehensive international policy framework that recognises and addresses the unique and disproportionate impact of conflict on women and girls while promoting active participation in peace and security process.
She urged participants to continue to raise the bar, raising the voices of Nigerian women so that they echo through the world, let them tell their stories of success.’she added.
In his address, the Chairman, Woodhall Capital Foundation, Vavo Hunponu-Wusu, while congratulating Onyishi added that the initiative is built on a simple conviction that when people are empowered with purpose and opportunity, they become catalysts for transformation within their communities and beyond.
According to him, it is important to renew collective commitment to building a future where every woman has access to opportunity, every girl can dream without limitation and every partnership creates measurable and lasting impact.
For the Founder of Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre, WARDC, Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi and renowned actress, Stella Damascus, living in conflict situation has put lots of pressure on women in those areas.
However, they both agreed that women needs to be reminded that they can live a better life again.
It come with an admonition that women should not be left alone, while it is important for the relevant security agencies to crush these violent conflict, it is also important for society to rise up and give the affected women a new lease of life.
They must be helped to stand up again and provide for themselves and their children.
Example abound that this is possible at least with the testimony at the event, many women came out to tell their stories of how WFWI helped them to pick up their pieces again.
The highlights of the day includes a colourful cultural display, goodwill messages, presentation of awards ajd cutting of 25th anniversary cake.
