By Loveth Obiora
Disability Rights Advocacy Center (DRAC) organized an Equality and Inclusion Boot Camp for Girls in Akwanga, Nasarawa State between 15th and 18th of March, 2021.
The event which had in attendance girls with disabilities and girls without disabilities, supported by Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC) program of the British Council and funded by the European Union was put together to commemorate the 2021 International Women’s Day.
The major aim of the event was to transform the girls into energetic gender and inclusion champions and advocates who would challenge the drivers of gender inequality and exclusion faced by women in general and other marginalized and disadvantaged populations such as women and girls with disabilities.
The Executive Director DRAC, Dr Irene Ojiugo Patrick-Ogbogu, in her opening remarks told the participants that they were specially selected for the intensive boot camp because they are the generation that would take the country to the next level in terms of advocacy for equality and inclusion.
Noting that participants are in a patriarchal society where women are being marginalized and oppressed, and constantly experience violence and all forms of abuse, she enjoined them to maximize every opportunity during the boot camp sessions to learn skills that would help them break the cycle of inequality and exclusion.
She urged the participants to internalize core human rights values and principles and be intentional about choosing to challenge actions that seek to harm or dehumanize girls and particularly girls with disabilities.
She added that though the past generations have almost given up on the fight against equality and patriarchy as they have not been able to achieve tangible results, the new generation should not relent in their efforts.
She anticipated that at the end of the boot camp, participants will be empowered enough to advocate for equality, feminism, disability inclusion and be more equipped to fight against the subjugation and violation against the rights of girls and women.
The 4-Day boot camp was packed with a lot of interesting topics and activities that facilitated effective learning for participants.
The facilitators, Marian Nwaokolo and Marline Oluchi, took the participants through different topics such as the concept of gender, gender stereotypes, gender equality, feminism and intersectionality, disability inclusion, sexual based violence, effective communication, emotional intelligence, among others.
The boot camp was very participatory and saw participants working on group exercises which improved bonding amongst them.
Participants were tasked to develop action plans and embark on group projects to further improve skills learnt at the bootcamp.
