By Innocent Anaba
A rights group, WomenAid Collective, WACOL, has launched a two-year project aimed at empowering Christian women and cultural leaders to prevent and respond to gender-based violence, GBV, across Nigeria. The initiative will be implemented in partnership with nine grassroots organisations carefully selected from the six geo-political zones.
Founding Executive Director of WACOL and Tamar Sexual Assault Referral Centre, SARC, Prof. Joy Ezeilo, SAN, who addressed newsmen in Lagos, said the programme would mobilise women at the community level to challenge harmful cultural and religious practices that perpetuate violence against women and girls.
“Transforming social and cultural norms to prevent gender-based violence in Nigeria is possible if we build the capacity of grassroots women leaders, mobilise Christian women’s groups, and promote attitudinal change within communities,” she said.
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The project, funded by the Ford Foundation West Africa Office, comes against the backdrop of alarming cases of abuse in churches and communities. WACOL/Tamar SARC currently handles hundreds of cases, including one where two sisters, aged 15 and 17, were raped during a so-called deliverance session.
Ezeilo recalled high-profile tragedies, including the death of gospel singer, Osinachi Nwachukwu, in 2022, due to domestic violence, and the rape and murder of Vera Omozuwa and Barakat Bello in 2020.
“These incidents are a reminder that gender-based violence knows no boundaries. Churches, which should be safe spaces, have in some cases become sites of abuse. This project seeks to change that reality by empowering women leaders with tools to drive positive cultural and religious transformation,” she stressed.
Under the initiative, WACOL will train 1,000 women religious leaders and 500 cultural leaders, including titled women such as the Umu Ada in Igboland, while an interdenominational network of Christian women’s groups will also be created to advance equality and prevention of GBV.
The selected grassroots partners include: Women Empowerment Initiative (Bauchi), Foundation for Community Empowerment Initiative (Gombe), Gender Awareness Trust (Kaduna), Succour Foundation (Abuja), Hacey’s Health Initiative (Lagos), Gender Perspective and Social Development Centre (Anambra), Global Health Awareness Research Foundation (Enugu), Justice Development and Peace Centre (Edo), and Agape Development Initiative for Youths and the Vulnerables (Delta).
Prof. Ezeilo emphasized that cultural and religious platforms, often misused to reinforce patriarchy can also be powerful tools for liberation.
“The Bible itself promotes equality and condemns violence against women. Our goal is to revive these truths and build inclusive churches and communities where women are safe, respected, and able to lead,” she said.
Expected outcomes of the project include stronger grassroots capacity to respond to GBV, reduced cases of abuse, and greater inclusion of women in church and community leadership.
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