AMECEA: Women commended to be agents of change in the Society

The participants of AMECEA Justice and Peace Women for Accountability workshop have called their fellow women to take their positions in their society to influence a positive change towards societal development.

Speaking at the end of their workshop the participants said women feel very much marginalized in the society because they do not support each other. “We can be people who are beyond petty gossips, cheap talks and lovers of useless soap operas; it is time for us to go out there and take our position in the society. We have to play the part that is our responsibility because the society needs us. Women also need to trust themselves and have faith in their abilities,” said Sr. Grace Njau, a participant from Kenya.

The participants were also concerned on how to make African Women especially from the AMECEA Region more self-reliant. They wished that AMECEA could think of ways to eradicating overdependence tendencies among women from our regions,” said Asha Banda from Malawi who explained that many African women are housewives who depends entirely on their husbands as breadwinners and faces a lot of challenges in their lives as a result.

The participants identified various reasons why women projects often fail. These include: Inadequate skills and knowledge on projects management among many African woman, Lack of confidence in one’s abilities which is often fueled by gender stereotyping and Lack of support from the communities based on stereotype; men particularly criticize rather than support women projects. Others are Women not involved in designing of projects and Poverty and lack of education which leads women to be just housewives and dependants of their husbands.

To counter the above listed obstacles to women prosperity the participants suggested that Capacity building workshops should be carried out from time to time for women who hold key positions in projects; sensitization of women on their rights and motivations to boost their confidence and self-esteem; involvement of spouses from the onset of projects in order to get mutual support and encouragement and encourage women to be more self reliant.

The participants expressed satisfaction towards the way the workshop was conducted they unanimously agreed that time to act is now. “The workshop has equipped us with more knowledge especially on matters of accountability and we are challenged to go and share with our fellow women from our respective countries,” says Maxensia Nakanjakko from Uganda.

The participants also recommended that AMECEA Secretariat and the national conference to play their major role to make the objectives of the workshop achievable. In particular, they asked AMECEA Secretariat to take a leading role in sharing agreed memorandum and also consulting various secretariats on behalf of the women; to collaborate with conferences to organize exchange programs to enable exchange and sharing of ideas and experiences and to communicate on behalf of the participants to various conferences on what the delegates are supposed to do and way forward.  The participants also wished that a follow-up workshop be organized within a near future.

The training of trainers (TOT) workshop was an effort to build the capacity of women in monitoring projects and equipping them with skills needed hold their leaders in various aspects accountable. The workshop was organized by AMECEA Justice and Peace Desk which began on 6th December 2011 came to its conclusion on the 9th December 2011.