#IWantToBe: Empowering Women for Peace in Nigeria

Hi,

My name is Haneen and I am the Social Media Specialist at Generations For Peace. 

Today I am here to share a few final words about our GlobalGiving campaign, #IWantToBe, which started in 2015. With your incredible support we finally reached our goal, and more! 

As you know, the purpose of our first ever crowdfunding campaign was to raise funds to support a women’s Empowerment For Peace programme in Nigeria, where a lack of opportunities severely limits women's abilities to demonstrate the roles they can play in national development and peace building, both at the community and national levels. Political, religious, and ethnic violence continues to affect many people in Kaduna, Northern Nigeria, especially women and girls. 

Why is women's empowerment so important?

• Between 1990-2010, only 92 out of a total of 585 peace agreements included references to women.
• On average, maternal mortality is reported to be 2.5 times higher in conflict and post-conflict countries.
• Did you know that 97% of military peacekeepers and 90% of police personnel are men?
• Between 1992-2011, less than 4% of those who signed to peace agreements and less than 10% of negotiators at peace tables were women.
• Globally 19% of landowners are women, but in conflict and post-conflict countries women only account for 9% of total land owned.

Now is the time to make a difference. Thanks to your generosity, the women who took part in the programme are already becoming change-makers for peace in their own communities. We would like to extend our sincere gratitude and appreciation to everyone who contributed to the success of this campaign.

Although this will be the last email you receive about this campaign, you can still stay connected to us. Did you know that Generations For Peace volunteers are working in many countries across the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Europe to bring about peace, and transform conflict in their communities too? That means there are many more stories coming your way. You can follow their extraordinary work through our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts, and of course by subscribing to our regular Newsletter. What are you waiting for?

Best wishes,
Haneen

*Facts and figures taken from UN Women

Links:

• Generations For Peace website