At least 125 female street hawkers in Kano State have been sensitised on how to detect, avoid and manage Gender-Based Violence (GBV) by an NGO, Isa Wali Empowerment Initiative (IWEI).
The hawkers, drawn from Yargaya community of Dawakin Kudu LGA, were engaged in a six-month training tagged: “Street Connected Female Hawkers as Agents of Change”, on the specifics of GBV.
Speaking at the end of the training, the Project Officer of IWEI, Brigitte Idoko, said the hawkers were taken on safe spaces aimed at creating a safe and inclusive environment for them.
She said, “At the end of it, we want to see that these girls are safe and living a peaceful life. A lot of the girls admitted being abused by men, especially while they were doing their business but that they didn’t even know they were being abused.”
A community leader in Yargaya, Mustapha Bello Yargaya, said, “We are grateful for this intervention. Before, the girls practiced all sorts of uncalled life, but now we have seen changes, even in the way they conduct their business and engagement with the opposite sex.”
