This week the Cardiff based diaspora charity the Sub Sahara Advisory Panel (SSAP) are launching the TuWezeshe Akina Dada: My Rights My Freedom project to improve the rights of East African girls and young women to be free from all forms of violence.
The Welsh element of project will be working in Somaliland as well as the African Diaspora here in Wales to develop the leadership skills of women in these communities.
Violence against women and girls is a global human rights violation that gravely impacts on the health, development and progress of African women and girls. It takes many forms and includes female genital mutilation, child marriage, domestic violence, sex trafficking, intimate partner violence among others.
Fadhili Maghiya of SSAP said: “We are focusing our attention on areas of East Africa because we believe that although a lot of policies have been adopted and the legislation has changed, there is limited progress on the coordination, implementation and enforcement of national laws and policies that prevent protect and support the needs of survivors of violence.
“We are also working closely with the diaspora communities in Wales and across the UK as we believe that the issues faced by women in east Africa are relevant in these communities. We also want to connect these communities so they are able to support each other and come up with the solutions to their own problems.”
The project will work with women in Somaliland and young women in Wales by linking them and providing safe spaces for them to discuss Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV). Using social communication tools, young women from the diaspora groups will then link and work with their counterparts in Somaliland to address SGBV and other related issues. There will be residential training which will involve mentoring from older women within the diaspora community.
Finally the project aims to engage men and boys from the diaspora community and in Somaliland on issues affecting women, especially on SGBV. This is a unique project that links communities in Wales and in Somaliland as well as three other countries (Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania) in East Africa.
The project is a collaborative effort with a consortium of four organisations (Akina Mama wa Afrika (Uganda), Foundation for Women’s Health Research and Development – (FORWARD) (UK based), Sub-Sahara Advisory Panel (Wales based) and Young Women Leaders Institute (Kenya).
Naana Otoo-Oyortey MBE, Executive Director of FORWARD said: “For too long African women and girls have experienced multiple forms of violence, ending these human rights violations requires urgent actions at all levels including government commitment to protect and fulfil obligations as well as enabling young women to have the leadership and voice to advocate for their rights to be free from all forms of violence.”
The project is part of the Common Ground Initiative funded by Comic Relief, and UK Department for International Development (DFID).
The Sub- Sahara Advisory Panel (SSAP) is a member of the Hub Cymru Africa partnership which is hosted by the Welsh Centre for International Affairs and funded by the Welsh Government.
