These are vulnerable women, victims of violence, who are welcomed into our first Women’s Digital Centre in Niger. This training centre, inaugurated a few weeks ago, was set up by our local Orange Foundation in partnership with the NGO SOS Femmes et Enfants Victimes de Violences Familiales (women and children, victims of domestic violence), committed to the fight against early marriage, violence and discrimination.
In Niger, and particularly in the region of Maradi in the south of the country, women are the major force in the local economy and are also the heads of their households. Unfortunately, many of them are made vulnerable by sexual discrimination and the domestic violence they suffer from, which encloses them in a miserable existence.
A unique place in which to train and rebuild oneself
Our Women’s digital Centre will take in and train 20 women and 10 girls in digital skills.
Those who have been unable to attend school will start with a literacy course, before receiving an initiation into digital tools (tablets, internet...) three times a week. Adapted to different backgrounds and needs, the programme also includes modules in marketing and leadership for women who want to become entrepreneurs. In any event, the various learning programmes will enable the women to achieve financial independence through an income generating activity, whatever it might be. In the very short term, these centres also become a place to exchange, listen, help each other, forming a group where the women can regain their self-esteem and confidence in social relationships...where they go from exclusion to social integration.
Repairing and changing mindsets
The founder of the NGO SOS Femmes et Enfants Victimes de Violences Familiales Mariama Moussa is a pioneer in the fight for women’s rights and their social integration. Her work has been acknowledged by numerous awards, including the Women’s Forum, and she is supported by many institutions including Oxfam, the German Embassy, the US Embassy... She fights to put right the injustices suffered by the women, but also to change the mindsets that lead to the violence through a major programme to raise awareness in communities.
