A pioneering ethnographic study has identified grandmothers as the missing link in the fight against gender-based violence (GBV), domestic abuse, and low school enrolment for girls in North West Nigeria. This finding has led to the launch of a first-of-its-kind community project.
Granny's Network for Change Initiative
The initiative, titled “Granny’s Network for Change” (GNEC), spearheaded by the Development Research and Projects Centre (dRPC), aims to prevent GBV by shifting the decision-making of male household heads through the influential voices of their own mothers.
Lead Consultant at the dRPC, Hajiya Halima Ben-Umar, stated that the project marks a strategic departure from traditional advocacy, which has historically targeted religious and political leaders to influence male patriarchs with limited success. Speaking at a Two-Day Workshop of Female CEOs organized by the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Health in partnership with the dRPC in Abuja, Ben-Umar noted that GBV remains very high in North West Nigeria.
Research Findings
Presenting the project’s findings, Hajiya Ben-Umar revealed that despite millions of dollars spent by international partners, gender-based violence remains disproportionately high in the North West. She cited the 2024 National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS), which indicates that the zone still grapples with the highest rates of wife beating, early marriage, and out-of-school girls in the federation.
“The G-NEC project is a household-centred initiative anchored on the reality of traditional social structures in African gerontocratic societies. Ethnographic research shows that grandmothers (called Kaka in the north) shape household decisions and justify male authority. They are powerful voices determining many household outcomes,” she explained.
Project Implementation
The pilot project will be implemented across six communities in Kano State and four in Jigawa State, selected specifically for their high rates of physical violence and low secondary school enrolment for girls aged 12 to 17. Ben-Umar explained that the core objective is to prevent GBV by shifting the decision-making of male household heads through the influential voices of their own mothers.
She added that under the project, “Male leaders will be influenced and supported to change by grandmothers delivering new messages of change that are carefully aligned with traditional beliefs and customs.”
Background and Impact
The dRPC grew out of a collective of university lecturers from Bayero University Kano (BUK) and Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria and has a 32-year history of designing high-risk innovative social programmes. This latest project is set to benefit 2,000 households, including 2,000 male heads, 2,000 grandmothers, 3,000 daughters-in-law, and 8,000 young girls.
The Lead Consultant said the G-NEC implementation strategy will rely on indigenous communication methods, including storytelling by grandmothers, community dialogues, and radio programmes. “By using the ‘Kaka’ as a change agent, the dRPC aims to reduce physical violence against wives and increase resources for girls’ secondary education. This is the first project focusing specifically on grandmothers as change agents. We are addressing a significant gap in GBV programming. It is no longer enough to appeal to patriarchs from the outside; we must use the wisdom and influence derived from tradition within the home,” she added.
The project has been highlighted as a critical case study for the Ministry of Women Affairs and international donor agencies, with monthly success stories and research insights expected to be shared with the academic community at BUK and ABU.
