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BAOBAB For Women’s Human Rights

Wikis > BAOBAB For Women’s Human Rights

BAOBAB For Women’s Human Rights is a not for profit, non-governmental organization, which focuses on women’s legal rights issues under the three systems of Gender Law – customary, statutory and religious- in Nigeria Baobab’s vision is that women’s human rights become an integral part of everyday life. BAOBAB works to promote and protect Women's rights principally via improving knowledge, exercise and development of rights under religious, customary and statutory laws.

History

The organization evolved from an ad hoc group of activists, social scientists, lawyers, and specialists in Muslim laws and Arabic who were responsible for executing the Women and Laws Nigeria project, under the auspices of the International Solidarity Network of Women Living Under Muslim Laws from 1993 to 1996. This three-year research project on women’s legal rights generated a wealth of data which needed an organizational structure from which outreach work could be planned and executed in the states under study. In 1996, BAOBAB formally came into being.

Objectives

The objectives of BAOBAB are to:

  • promote knowledge, development and exercise of women’s rights
  • protect and defend the rights of women
  • raise awareness of women’s human rights, abuse of these rights and other legal issues as they affect women, with a view to determining policies which can best promote all human rights
  • further the construction of truly universal and relevant human rights
  • support and strengthen women’s and other human rights focused organizations and individual activists

Programmes and activities

Baobab implements various inter-related activities geared towards the achievement of the organization’s objectives.
These are grouped into four working groups namely:

1. Research and Capacity building

2. Information,Communication,Education and Networking

3. Peace Building Interpretation of Laws and Legal Defence

4. Mobilization and Advocacy

1. Research and capacity Building

The objectives of this programme are to conduct research, document findings and build capacity in different areas, based on the identified needs of women in particular, and the society in general. Its activities are:

  • Women and Laws Project
  • WLP Collaborative Leadership Training
  • Workshops and Conferences
  • Legal Literacy Leaflets
  • Internship
  • Volunteering
  • Publication
  • Staff Orientation
  • Staff Seminar
  • Strategic Planning Meeting (Staff Retreat)

2. Information,Communication,Education and Networking.

A core programme in BAOBAB, it generally handles the communication and information needs of the organization. The activities carried out under this programme include:

  • Information Sharing
  • BAOBAB Newsletter
  • Email workshops
  • General Alerts/ Solidarity
  • Formation, Coordination and membership of Coalitions
  • Information service to NGOs
  • Talent competition

3. Peace Building,Interpretation of Laws and Legal Defence.

This programme generally addresses background and conceptual issues regarding women’s Human Rights in religious laws and how interpretation of laws affects women adversely.It also aims to provide platforms for discussing Women’s Human Rights Issues,to develop appropriate intervention strategies to bridge the gap of understanding of these issues,to mediate in violence against women cases in both private and public spheres and provide counselling support to survivors.

Amongst other activities,this programme liases with print and electronic media to enhance gender sensitivity of reporting to provide legal support to survivors of violence against women,and also initiates activities geared towards the domestication of international treaties.

3.1 Peace Building

  • Mediation and counselling (Individual Case)
  • Meeting on Women and Religion (Bridge Building {BB} Meetings for West Africa and Nigeria).
  • National Discussion on Women and Religion

3.2 Interpretation of Laws

  • Simplification of documents

3.3 Legal Defense

  • Sharia Legal Defence
  • Public Interest Litigation (Cases of domestic violence that require legal attention)

3.4 Media Relation

  • Capacity building for media personnel
  • Networking with the Media
  • Coordination of JAVAW network

The programme generally addresses issues related to the promotion and protection of women’s human rights under the three systems of law operative in Nigeria. This is done in several ways i.e. training paralegals with a paralegal hand book which has 10 modules dealing with diverse areas that serves to enrich and equip the paralegal in acting as the first legal aid, the distressed community member who ordinarily would not be able to access justice due to the rigorous and expensive legal systems. Also by its activities the workgroup serves to put out information to the public area to equip women specifically with information on how to access justice. The activities of this group is interwoven with the activities of all the workgroups that exist in BAOBAB in an ad visional capacity.

4. Mobilization and Advocacy

The activities of this programme revolve around sensitizing communities on issues that affect women and prevent them from actualizing their potential in different spheres, as well as social and legislative advocacy. Thus, the activities under this programme include;

  • Formation and Coordination of Community-Based Outreach Teams
  • Legislative and Social Advocacy through International and Regional Treaties to Protect and Promote Women’s Human Rights, e.g. CEDAW
  • Engendering the Police, Judges and Legislature
  • Engendering Democracy and Good Governance Issues
  • Advocacy Solidarity Campaigns e.g. “16 Days Activism Against Gender-Based Violence”, “March 8 International Women’s Day”, etc.

MEDIA REVIEW
ONLINE DISCUSSIONS
EVENTS
PUBLICATIONS