Supporting women’s leadership in promoting rights, peace and human security.
This project aims to support innovative local solutions for countering extremism in Kawar Maila in northeast Nigeria, which has suffered from high levels of recruitment by Jama’atul ahl al-sunnah li da’awati wal jihad – commonly known as Boko Haram.
The high levels of recruitment of boys by Boko Haram has made neighbouring communities and security forces suspicious of those in Kawar Maila – especially mothers – and left residents feeling isolated, reluctant to use social services and negatively affected economically. It is important to address this stigma and help support the community in countering further extremism.
We hope to increase women’s leadership on this issue, providing a platform for learning between local civil society groups, NGOs and government partners, as well as between grassroots activists in Nigeria and neighbouring countries. In doing so, we hope to better inform the policies and programmes of international donors and institutions, based on the realities on the ground.
We will distribute small and medium grants to fund local initiatives aimed at supporting women’s leadership in countering violent extremism and promoting diversity. We will exchange strategies, ideas and lessons learned across countries affected by similar issues. And we will exchange this information with security officials, religious and community leaders, as well as international donors and policy-makers.
In partnership with: International Alert