The African Centre for Leadership, Strategy Development (Centre LSD) has called on governments at all levels to prioritise funding and policy reforms that institutionalise male engagement in Gender-Based Violence (GBV) prevention and gender equality.
Centre LSD also asked donors and development partners to join the Ford Foundation in funding this critical endeavour as more resources are needed to achieve the goal not just in Nigeria but across Africa.
It further disclosed plans to train and mobilise at least 1,000 male leaders and grassroots influencers in gender advocacy and feminist principles across the country.
At a press conference to launch the Male Feminist Network (MFN) project in Abuja on
Friday, the founding executive director of Centre LSD, Dr Otive Igbuzor, said the efforts are part of collective journey to end gender-based violence (GBV) and to promote gender equality in Nigeria.
Igbuzor noted that the global status of women is precarious, having been marginalised socially, economically, and politically in nearly all countries of the world.
According to him, one in ten women lives in poverty; they are less likely than men to have access to social protection, more food insecure than men and suffer more from lack of water and sanitation.
“In Nigeria, the situation is more precarious. Men gained voting rights in 1922 through the Clifford Constitution but women all over Nigeria gained voting rights in 1979 through the 1979 Constitution-a 57-year gap. The early constitutions in Nigeria (1922 Clifford, 1946 Richards, 1951 Macpherson) restricted suffrage to adult males.
“Statistics from the National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) and reports by the National Bureau of Statistics reveal alarming figures – over 35% of Nigerian women have experienced physical violence, and millions more face emotional, sexual, and economic abuse.
“We also know that patriarchal norms, entrenched in our cultural, social, and even legal systems, fuel these injustices. Too often, men are either direct perpetrators of violence or passive bystanders when harmful practices are carried out,” Igbuzor said.
He noted that men hold influence in homes, workplaces, religious communities, politics and traditional institutions – and when that influence is aligned with feminist values, the change is profound, hence the new initiative.
“Over the next two years, through the support of the Ford Foundation, we will work with zonal partners to train and mobilise at least 1,000 male leaders and grassroots influencers in gender advocacy and feminist principles.
“We call on you to prioritise funding and policy reforms that institutionalise male engagement in GBV prevention and gender equality work. To donors and development partners – Join the Ford Foundation in funding this critical work. With more resources, we can scale this model not just in Nigeria but across Africa. To the private sector – Partner with us to integrate male allyship into workplace policies and corporate social responsibility initiatives,” he said.
Earlier, the chairperson of Centre LSD board, Kyauta Giwa, said the launch of the Male Feminist Network marked a collective commitment to reshaping narratives, challenging harmful norms, and building a more equitable society for all.
