Chairperson of Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), in Bauchi state, Rasheeda Yusuf has emphasised the crucial roles women play in nation-building stressing the importance of establishing informal learning centres to address women’s educational needs.
Rasheeda Yusuf was speaking at a One-day stakeholders meeting to commemorate the 2024 International Women’s Day (IWD) held at the American Space in Bauchi on Wednesday.
She said not fewer than 40 women were trained at the workshop advocating for grassroots reporting on women-related issues to highlight success stories and recognize outstanding women in different communities.
Speaking further, she announced plans for the 2024 International Women’s Day event aimed at inspiring women to pursue basic literacy, with efforts underway to identify and support women interested in education across various learning centres in the state.
According to her, the programme, supported by partners such as UNICEF, focuses on providing education materials and expanding training sessions to reach more women across 20 local government areas.
Rasheeda Yusuf then urged Journalists to amplify grassroots activities and success stories to promote Women’s empowerment and education.
In his remarks, the UNICEF implementation partner, Umar Shira, commended NAWOJ’s leadership in Bauchi for its efforts to encourage women to return to school and highlighted the role of journalists in identifying key issues for policymakers.
In her contributions, the Director General of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) office in Bauchi State, Lydia Shehu, emphasised the importance of leveraging government and partner resources to promote second-chance education for women and advance social inclusion across sectors.
Also, the representative of Al-Muhibba Foundation, Aliyu Duguri said that the training was conceived for women who are in a disadvantaged position to be educated.
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It was disclosed that a number of Bauchi Women have embraced Adult Education as their husbands encouraged a return to School in order to develop themselves.
Speaking to Journalists at the one-day workshop organised by the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Education Funds(UNICEF) in partnership with Office of the Bauchi First Lady, State Universal Education Board (SUBEB) and Bauchi State Agency for Mass Education (BASAME), some of the women expressed gratitude for their husbands’ support and encouragement.
The workshop was to build the capacity of women to accelerate more enrollment of Bauchi women into acquiring basic education, in line with the International Women’s Day Celebration held in Bauchi with the theme “Invest in Women”
One of the beneficiaries of the workshop, Juliana Akilapa said that without the support of her husband, she would not have been able to participate at the workshop.
She added that she has also enrolled in one of the informal learning centres for Adult Education in the State.
“Until now, I only had Secondary School Certificate, but by husband encouraged me to enrol in one of the informal learning centres for women Adult Education and I have gained a lot from it. Now I can help my children with their assignments at home” she said.
NIGERIAN TRIBUNE