Connection Avenue

My passion to empower other women began ever since my friend told me about how her father disappeared when she was born, simply because her mother had three other girls before her, and how the father’s relations maltreated them, because they are girls.

Their condition of living was so bad that they had to move back to the village to leave with their mother’s parents; their only saving grace was that the mother was a seamstress. She used the meager money she made from sewing and the little support her relations could give her for the family upkeep.

Then these questions came to my mind like “what if she was not doing anything or have any skill, how would she and the four children survived? What if she was an orphan and no close relations to assist her?

One key thing I learnt from her story was that a woman must be empowered for her to be a blessing and not a burden to herself, family and society. I felt so bad and said to myself that when I grow up I must be empowered to support myself, family and other women.

Little did I know that I was equally going to have all girls, even though my husband is trying to be indifferent, I know that people around would definitely want to talk him (God forbid ) into trying his luck elsewhere by taking another woman and who knows, he might heed to their advise and could abandon me and the children. So what happens to us?

My work as a development worker for an NGO in some rural areas of the northern part of Nigeria again sparked up my passion for women and girls empowerment. This experience opened my eyes to some developmental issues especially those affecting women.

Being an AWID member I have access to information on women issues and organizations globally where I read about the Pulsewire and became a member. PulseWire for Is a window of opportunity to advocate for vulnerable women and girls, because its vision matches with my personal vision “to see a society where women can be empowered”.

Pulsewire is a platform where I could voice out for the voiceless, campaign against all forms of discrimination against girls and women. It is also an avenue for shared learning, as well as connecting women. I can also tap from the experiences of others, so that I could in turn better the lot of the women in my community as I am already making consultations relevant stakeholders on how to build a computer centre community for girls in my community.

With my journal on the Pulsewire community, I could blow the whistle on some issues, connect and build partnership as I strongly agree with its value which says “Through connections, we Transform our world”. As we discuss and rub minds on some issues which we can collectively change in partnership with other like-minded women.