Women Arise (WA) Governing Board has approved strategic plan for 2012-2020 to focus on the following priority activities to advance women’s democratic and fundamental rights in Nigeria.
1.) Support Services Programme: Women’s Human Rights Clinic provides practical support services to female victims of violence such as rape, incest, child prostitution, child pornography and indecent assault. Counseling is yet another form of support services that Women Arise (WA) will render to abuse women and young girls. Clients receive both individual and group counseling. While individual counseling is aimed at dealing with the specifics of a client’s care; group counseling is aimed at encouraging victims to see themselves as survivors and gather strength from the experiences of others.The clinic also organizes quarterly forum.
Legal Aid:
Women Arise (WA) provides free legal aid to female victims of violence through:
– Legal advice
– Sending letter of invitation to alleged abusers
– Petition writing
– Accompanying of victims to the police station
– Bailing clients.
In the last 3 years WA has provided free legal aid to over 250 women and young girls.
2.) Encouraging women to seek elective offices: as against the present situation, where majority of women in public offices are appointees, we will identify women with leadership potentials in the six geopolitical zones, nurture their skills and encourage them to seek elective offices especially at the local levels. We will educate the women folk to believe in themselves and give support to women standing elections, including raising funds to prosecute their campaign.
3.) Women Economic Empowerment: Supporting women, especially local women, to acquire skill and access to micro credits to make them less dependent and in the process acquiring the guts to speak out and demand their rights.
4.) Information Technology Education: In the new global village, most women out of the cities do not have access to Information Technology (IT). We shall organize women in major towns to undergo IT education at designated centres to be managed by WA in partnership with the Women Group.