… Expressed worry over widespread sexual, gender based violence/child early forced marriage.
FIDA Nigeria has trained forty (40) Civil Society Organisations/State actors drawn from Kogi State on Gender Responsive Budgeting.
The two day workshop for the Civil society and state actors is geared towards equiping them with basic knowledge and understanding on gender responsive budgeting.
According to Amina Agbaje (Mrs) Country Vice President/National President FIDA, in an opening remarks at the workshop held in Lokoja, Kogi, said
“Sexual & Gender Based Violence/Child Early Forced Marriage continues to be widespread and underreported as domestic violence and abuse often includes financial abuse”.
“The skills acquired is to enable participants demand accountability for gender-related expenditure monitor the release, utilization of the budget and advocate for the incorporation of gender perspectives at various stages of budget planning, policy, and program formulation”.
“The capacity building workshop is geared towards enhancing its understanding as a tool for promoting gender equity, accountability to women’s rights as well as efficiency and transparency in budget policies and processes”.
The workshop according to Mrs Agbaje, represented by Barr. Lilian Okolo, Kogi State FIDA Chairperson
is organized with the intention to enhance the capacity of civil society organisations and agencies in applying gender budget analysis tools in their programming around gender equality and women’s rights
Also the training Mrs. Agbaje added is to assist participants in supporting gender budget initiatives wherever they exist, and seeking clarity and understanding of the conceptual, technical, and political elements of gender responsive budgeting.
“Women are more likely than men to have social responsibility for unpaid work such as childcare, care for older or disabled people, domestic work, and unpaid Subsistence work”.
“This is due to the fact that shouldering these gendered responsibilities reduces women’s ability to do paid work, public services like early childhood education can reduce unpaid work and have
a major effect on women’s opportunities and employment”.
“Funding for specialist services for women who have experienced violence is therefore vital to promoting gender equality through the instrumentality of a budget”.
The FIDA Vice President described “budget as the single most important policy tool of government as it affects the successful implementation of all other policies as it reflects the economic, social and societal priorities of a state”, pointing out that it mirror’s the
values of a society and a certain socio-political agenda.
Presentation by various resource persons on topics such as Power Analysis and Policy Influencing on GRB, Gender Audit and Gender Sensitive Monitoring of Budget were made, said gender equality is critical to the development and peace of every nation.
The FIDA workshop holding in Lokoja is supported by the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room and funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).