The Empowerment and Leadership Position of Women in the Grassroots of Edo State

Presented a Paper that shared my recent experience working with the Wole Soyinka Center for Investigative Journalism #rReportwomen #the voicesofwomenintheruralareasmustbeheard at SOTHAWACA's 3 - Day Groundbreaking Event: The Hope of Healing Initiative. The tour took us to 5 Local Governmet Areas of the State Oredo; Egor; Esan Central; Owan East and Etsako Central). Basically the project was aimed at \"Promoting Women's Empowerment, Political Leadership and Governance in Edo State.\" The objective of the program was aimed at addressing the issues that concern women in the grassroot communities, elected women representatives in politics especially the participation of women in decision making process both in the homes and at work inclusive of all women living with disabilities. We sought to inquire whether suficient awareness had been created for them at the grassroots level. We delved into such issues concerning gender equality, livelihood and housing, health, education and developmental infrastructure. We also touched on such sentive issues like trafficking in women, commercial sex workers including child prostitution, rape and defilement, sexual harassment in the workplace and domestic violence.