The African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development has called on men to take a more active role in challenging patriarchy and preventing gender-based violence. The organization's Project Director, Male Feminists Network and founding executive director, Dr. Otive Igbuzor, made the call in Abuja at a two-day capacity-strengthening programme for Women's Rights Organisations. The programme aimed to institutionalize accountable male allyship in women's rights programming.
Dr. Igbuzor emphasized that male participation must strengthen, rather than overshadow, women's leadership, voice, and agency. He warned against "performative allyship," where men participate in gender-equality platforms for visibility, status, or access to resources without confronting patriarchal practices in their own lives and institutions. According to him, genuine allyship must translate into measurable changes in behavior, institutions, and power relations.
The programme brought together prominent Women's Rights Organisations from across Nigeria, using the Amandla Institute Strengthening Women's Movement in Nigeria Manual. Dr. Igbuzor outlined seven principles of accountable male allyship, including keeping women's leadership central, addressing power, not just attitudes, and accepting accountability. He stressed that male allies must listen before leading, support rather than substitute women's leadership, and challenge other men.
Dr. Igbuzor also emphasized the need for institutions to embed gender-equitable values in their policies, budgets, leadership structures, and accountability systems. He cited traditional and religious institutions as examples, saying occasional statements against gender-based violence were insufficient without reforms capable of changing harmful practices. The feminist advocate urged institutions to adopt community charters against harmful practices and integrate gender justice into sermons and institutional responses to violence.
The Male Feminists Network has trained over 12,000 male feminists across Nigeria, but Dr. Igbuzor stressed that the number trained was not evidence of transformation. Rather, success should be measured through behavioral changes, institutional reforms, and feedback from women and Women's Rights Organisations on the conduct of male participants. The project is using post-training action plans, mentoring, and feedback mechanisms to monitor behavioral changes.
Project Lead, Male Feminist Project, Mrs. Victoria Oseyande Udoh, said the Centre LSD deliberately brought men into the campaign against gender-based violence because advocacy driven largely by women had not sufficiently engaged those who perpetrate violence. Udoh added that involving male allies could make it easier to challenge harmful behavior within male-dominated spaces.
Participants at the programme, including Ejiro Sharon Okotie of Hope Inspired Foundation for Women and Youth with Disabilities, emphasized the need for inclusion and meaningful participation of women with disabilities and other marginalized groups in decisions affecting them. Okotie urged Women's Rights Organisations to ensure that women with disabilities are actively involved in designing and leading interventions, citing the disability rights principle, "Nothing about us without us."
Key points
- The African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development has called on men to take a more active role in challenging patriarchy and preventing gender-based violence.
- Male participation must strengthen, rather than overshadow, women's leadership, voice, and agency.
- The programme aimed to institutionalize accountable male allyship in women's rights programming.
