The Women in Peacebuilding Program, WIPNET, of the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding, WANEP was initiated in 2001 with the broad goal to elevate women from their state of obscurity to the fore to enable them play key roles alongside men in building peace. This was based on the realization that ‘gender and peacebuilding’  did not adequately respond to the existing gap between men and women and that men and women cannot attain equal opportunities espoused in the gender equality definition if women are absent from the scene altogether. In the course of regional and national consultations with women groups across West Africa, WIPNET realized that aside from the fact that women are excluded by design or default from peace processes by male establishment, women also suffer from lack of awareness and skills in peace making and also lack the confidence, exposure and opportunity to get involved.

Thus, WIPNET has been striving to address issues on women’s peace and security by promoting social justice and challenging patriarchal systems that are preserved and reinforced by wars and violence. WIPNET has presence in 10 West African countries where women are engaged at different levels of the peace process. The program was launched in Nigeria in 2002.

In the period under review, Women in Peacebuilding Program (WIPNET-Nigeria) focused on: strengthening and broadening her initiatives to strategically position women to play functional role in peace and security across the country and also on expanding the program to other geopolitical zones of Nigeria. In 2004, the WIPNET program was boosted through a 3-year grant from NOVIB aimed at strengthening the capacity of women’s groups in Nigeria to participate in peace advocacy and conflict prevention.

Strategic Objectives

• Strengthen national coalition of women in peacebuilding organizations, mobilize them to act collectively and mutually support each another on peace and security issues.
• Build the capacity of women to participate in formal peace process and peace building initiatives, policy analysis and advocacy.
• Improve local women’s access to basic skills and knowledge of community peace building by translating existing training methodology into indigenous Nigerian languages.
• Establish community radio program for women, ensuring their right to be heard at the grassroots level in conflict-prone rural communities in Nigeria.
• Design a participatory lessons learned process through consultations and annual conferences to design initiatives, assess progress of the program, guide future initiatives and inform partners and policy makers.