IRI Holds Regional Conference to Strengthen Muslim Women's Advocacy

April 25, 2005

April 25-28 – IRI’s Muslim Women’s Advocacy Program conducted a regional conference in Lagos, Nigeria, which convened participants from Liberia, Nigeria, Somaliland and Sudan. The participants represented Muslim women’s groups and nongovernmental organizations from their respective countries. The goal of the conference was to build regional synergies between Muslim women groups within Africa. The 20 participants received training on issue advocacy from experts from Sierra Leone, Kenya and Nigeria. The experts instructed the participants on how to target messages, write proposals and develop strategic plans. The conference provided and opportunity for well-organized Muslim women groups in Nigeria and Somaliland to provide peer-mentoring to their counterparts from Liberia and Sudan. At the end of the conference, participants unanimously agreed to form a coalition for increased Muslim women’s participation in African politics.

Launched in 2004, IRI’s Muslim Women’s Advocacy program seeks to increase political participation of Muslim women in Africa and help countries transition to democracies. Long excluded from the political process, Muslim women are becoming increasingly active in public life. Through issue advocacy, IRI encourages rural Muslim women to get involved in the political process. IRI provides Muslim women with the skills to advocate for basic needs, such as drinking water, basic health services and primary education.

Figure 1: Women from Liberia, Nigeria, Somaliland and Sudan participate in IRI’s Muslim Women’s Advocacy Program regional conference held April 25-28, 2005, in Lagos, Nigeria.

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