Gender advocates in the country have called for more space for young women in decision-making processes to enable them to contribute meaningfully to nation-building.

They made this call in Abuja at an event celebrating Ford Foundation’s 65 years of unbroken commitment to promoting social justice, equity, and human dignity across Nigeria and the West African sub-region organised by TechHer NG.

Speaking, Ford Foundation’s regional director, ChiChi Aniagolu-Okoye, restated the foundation’s commitment to ensuring that vulnerable voices are heard, adding that Ford believes in the agency of women.

“We believe in the agency of women, especially young women, and TechHer has been at the centre of that, making sure that young feminists have a voice, that young feminist issues are brought to the fore, and that young women can impact decision-making.

“And so what they are doing is quite central to the work of the Ford Foundation, because by ensuring the agency of young people, we ensure that the Nigerian society is able to carry along all its sectors, all the different groups of people, especially the most marginalised, which are Women.

“So I think that Ford has been a major partner of many prominent social justice organisations because we believe that it is the grassroots organisations, it is the people closest to the problem, who have the solution to the problem.
“And so what we have done, we just work hand in hand and sometimes behind the people who have the solution.”

Also speaking, Executive Director of TechHerNG, Chioma Agwuegbo, who noted that the celebration was not just about Ford Foundation being TechHer’s excellent partners, applauded Ford’s support to the wider civil society movement in Nigeria.

Agwuegbo urged advocates to use the opportunity to interrogate questions that are inimical to the growth of civil society organisations in the country, including civic suppression, the shrinking civic space and the shutting down of dissenting voices

“We wanted to take this 65th anniversary opportunity to interrogate a few questions, like resilience. How are we surviving in a civil society in Nigeria?

“How are we fighting things like civic suppression, the shrinking civic space, and the shutting down of dissenting voices? And so we thought, what better time to come together, as we are talking about 65 years for a donor organisation, we should also talk about and look at ourselves as a civil society. Where are we today?” Agwuegbo said.