Niger/decentralization: Women councillors from Niamey, Tillabery and Dosso regions trained in communication and transformational leadership

Women councillors from the regions of Niamey, Tillabery and Dosso attended a training session on communication and transformational leadership yesterday in Dosso. This session is organized by the Association of African Women Communication Professionals, Niger Section (APAC) with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through the Project on Mobilization and Inclusive and Increased Participation of Women and Girls in Decision-making.

The opening ceremony of this workshop was presided over by the Secretary General of the Dosso region, Mr. Assoumana Amadou. Assoumana Amadou in the presence of the president of the Regional Council of Dosso, the prefect of the department of Dosso, the representative of APAC Niger and many guests.

The objective of this training is to strengthen the capacities of women councillors to assume their function by ensuring the safeguarding of the interests of the population, especially those of women who constitute the major part of the population. The training will also focus on gender budgeting, gender budget monitoring, i.e. monitoring the achievements of actions and infrastructures for the benefit of the population, especially women and girls. Participants will also be trained in personal development and communication techniques.

In his speech at the opening ceremony, the Secretary General of the Dosso region said thatIn Niger, socio-cultural barriers are a real obstacle to the influx and influence of women in decision-making bodies. The current situation, said Mr. Assoumana Amadou, is largely in favour of men who occupy most of the strategic places in political and public life. "Women are relegated to a rather passive role and the most important political and administrative functions are reserved for men," he said. For example, in the National Assembly there are 50 women out of 166 deputies, in the government there are 5 women out of 35 and no women as regional governors. For prefects, there are only 2 women out of 52 prefects and for mayors, there are 14 women out of 266.

That is why, Mr. Assoumana Amadou said, the issue of women's promotion is included in the priorities of the Renaissance Programme of the President of the Republic, Mr. Mohamed Bazoum. The holding of this training is timely because it is in line with the policy of women's promotion, he added. The SG of the Dosso region invited the women councillors to follow with the required attention the modules that will be presented to them. He then thanked the UNDP which is accompanying APAC-Niger in holding this activity and assured the participants of the State's support because, he said, "it is in the coordination of efforts at all levels that we can meet the challenges we face.

Earlier, the representative of the Association of Women Communication Professionals, Niger Section, Mrs. Aïssa Abdoulaye Alfary welcomed the participants and guests who responded massively to this meeting. In Niger, women's participation in political and socio-economic life is low, said the representative of APAC-Niger. For her, the challenge of this participation is that of strengthening women's access to decision making but especially that of bringing men and women to be able to manage and control the decision as full partners. To meet these challenges, the constraints to be removed, said Ms. Aïssa Abdoulaye Alfary, are the low time budget of women and girls, the low school enrolment and high dropout rate of girls, the insufficient knowledge of gender inequalities and the lack of access to education.She said the situation of gender equality in the country is not satisfactory, and that it is a matter of concern to the government.

Speaking about the gender situation in Niger, the representative of APAC Niger indicated that even if significant progress has been made, women remain disadvantaged compared to men. These disadvantages considerably reduce the well-being of women and limit their participation in development as well as the benefits they could derive from it, explained Mrs. Aïssa. She also highlighted the transversality of gender through the diversity of inequalities that exist in all areas of social, economic and political life. "There is therefore an urgent need to create the conditions to promote the representation of women in institutions and administrations," said Ms. Aissa Abdoulaye Alfary.

After thanking the regional authorities for their

After thanking the regional authorities for their support in the framework of women's capacity building and the UNDP, a long-time partner of APAC-Niger, for its multiform support, Mrs. Aïssa Abdoulaye Alfary hoped that at the end of this workshop, the participants would be able to train the elected women of their respective localities.

Source: www.lesahel.org/