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By Izeduwa Derex-Briggs
Nearly every country in Africa has a law prohibiting violence against women and girls. Feminist movements have driven this incredible achievement, using their voices to spur governments to action and accountability.
In West Africa, for example, advocates have worked tirelessly for an end to violence, insisting that rape is a national emergency and pioneering new approaches to keep women and girls safe online.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelYet one in three women and girls continues to experience physical or sexual violence in their
lifetime, with a woman or girl killed every 10 minutes by an intimate partner or close relative.
A shockingly low level of investment in the prevention of gender-based violence (GBV) is
certainly a driving factor of this reality: only 0.2% of development assistance goes to GBV
prevention. We can’t expect to reduce GBV if we don’t invest in doing so–but there is another
important reason.
Those of us working to prevent GBV have overlooked some of our most
powerful potential allies in shifting the harmful social and cultural norms that perpetuate GBV:
faith and traditional leaders.
READ ALSO : Accelerating Action: Ongoing Struggle For Gender Equality In Nigeria And Africa
Ford Foundation: How Social Norms Drive Inequality and Gender Based Violence In West Africa
Culture, tradition, and religion shape the lives of women and girls, more than the words of a law or policy. Patriarchal cultural norms embedded in religious and traditional beliefs often serve to justify and normalize GBV. Looking to faith and traditional leaders to lead the fight against GBV may seem counterintuitive.
How can we expect those who often preach harmful values about women and girls – including condoning violence, at times – to lead efforts to end that violence?
In Nigeria, where I live and where the Ford Foundation has worked for more than six decades, 99 percent of Nigerians are Christian or Muslim, alongside and intertwined with traditional and customary religions. In this highly religious society, faith and traditional leaders are seen as the custodians of culture. They have both wide reach and deep influence: when they speak, people listen. If we don’t cultivate their support to tackle the root causes of GBV, we won’t get far.
In February, more than 100 faith and traditional leaders from 23 countries in Africa will convene
in Nigeria for a historic dialogue about the outsize role they can play in preventing GBV. It sends a powerful signal that many leaders across the continent are ready to use their influence to
ensure women and girls can live safer lives.
Two years into Ford’s partnerships with traditional leaders in West Africa, we have gleaned valuable lessons about advancing this solution.
First, a moving sermon or two is not enough. A commitment to preventing GBV must be
institutionalized into the policies and practices of religious and cultural institutions. Our grantee
partner Anglican Compassion and Development Initiative worked with 25 dioceses of the
Anglican Church to train clergy, bishops, lay leaders, and community members on GBV prevention, including how to address it in pastoral counseling. This work revealed that cultural and religious teachings in the church often uphold the acceptance of violence within marriages.
A breakthrough came when the Anglican Church in Nigeria endorsed the institutionalization of
GBV prevention into the premarital counseling curriculum. Work is now underway to formalize
this shift into church policy. Institutionalizing change is key to making it durable.
Second, changing cultural norms requires a shift in the way donors and communities approach
GBV work. Donors traditionally prioritize response work—support given to survivors once
violence has already taken place, where the number of shelter beds, hotline calls, or livelihoods programs can be counted to show impact.
Efforts that prevent violence from happening in the first place are often unseen because they are harder to measure and track. Both approaches
are important, but an overemphasis on response has created challenges for the field to move
toward a prevention mindset that addresses the root causes of violence. When properly
resourced and supported, organizations and communities championing prevention efforts
demonstrate that it is possible to shift cultural norms and practices.
For example, several of our partners are working with faith and traditional leaders to protect the
rights of widows who face stigma, rejection, and disinheritance that leave them destitute and
vulnerable to gender-based violence. While Nigeria’s laws ban discrimination against widows, traditional practices based on deeply rooted patriarchal norms often take precedence.
Following years of community-based interventions from organizations such as Lux Terra Leadership Foundation — run by a Catholic priest – wives are now increasingly being included in wills, safeguarding their inheritance and property rights. Some traditional leaders across Cross River, Plateau, and Ekiti States are revising community guidelines to allow women to remain in their homes and keep their property.
Widows are being accompanied by church members and linked with local police to prevent dispossession. This is critical, as economic insecurity is one of the strongest determinants of women’s vulnerability to violence. From domesticating laws into community guidelines to engaging community leaders in reflection and action, these partners are catalyzing a set of changes that need ongoing support to sustain and deepen over time.
This means that funders must commit for the long-term, too.
Third, it is important to understand that progress won’t be linear. Religious teachings and
cultural beliefs inform our morals and guide our behavior and relationships. They are deeply
held, and many will resist ideas that appear to contradict them. Development Research and
Projects Centre (dRPC) works with Muslim leaders in northern Nigeria, leveraging their
influence to champion the protection of women’s and girls’ rights within Islamic teachings.
DRPC builds the capacity of Muslim leaders, who then share their knowledge with Imams, Mufassirun (interpreters of the Quran), and Sharia court judges. Following a study tour to Egypt, Where leading religious authorities, including the Grand Mufti of Egypt, emphasized Islamic provisions that condemn violence against women, 81% of participants reported a change in their perceptions about GBV. These leaders have started to advocate for the implementation of GBV prevention policies within mosques, Sharia bureaucracies, and the state. But real change takes time, and some members of their communities disagree with these proposals. That is whycreating continuous spaces for dialogue, like the upcoming convening, is an essential tool to help those involved navigate through differences and ultimately move the work forward.
While certainly a promising solution, working with faith and cultural leaders alone will not bring the change we need. The importance of the continuum of prevention, response, and care for
survivors cannot be overemphasized, and the continued leadership of feminist movements is
vital to ensure accountability. What we need is a diverse chorus of voices speaking out against
violence and for gender equality.
Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie asserted, “Culture does not make people. People
make culture.” And, promisingly, we are beginning to see some real indicators of culture change.
71 percent of Nigerian women and 74 percent of Nigerian men now believe that female genital
mutilation (FGM) should not continue, compared to 64 and 62 percent just six years earlier. The
prevalence of FGM dropped by 6% in this time period as well. Our partner UN Women pointed
out notable progress in Akwa Ibom and Oyo States, where traditional and community leaders
have championed the abandonment of FGM. This is a powerful sign of progress, and we must
keep going.
On the eve of this historic conference, we say to funders and practitioners addressing GBV: let’s
scale up efforts to leverage the power of faith and traditional leaders to stop violence before itstarts. Women and girls can’t wait.
Derex-Briggs, Program Officer, Office for West Africa, Ford Foundation
Amanze Chinonye is a Staff Correspondent at Prime Business Africa, a rising star in the literary world, weaving captivating stories that transport readers to the vibrant landscapes of Nigeria and the rest of Africa. With a unique voice that blends with the newspaper's tradition and style, Chinonye's writing is a masterful exploration of the human condition, delving into themes of identity, culture, and social justice. Through her words, Chinonye paints vivid portraits of everyday African life, from the bustling markets of Nigeria's Lagos to the quiet villages of South Africa's countryside . With a keen eye for detail and a deep understanding of the complexities of Nigerian society, Chinonye's writing is both a testament to the country's rich cultural heritage and a powerful call to action for a brighter future. As a writer, Chinonye is a true storyteller, using her dexterity to educate, inspire, and uplift readers around the world.
