Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja

The West African Network of Peacebuilders (WANEP) has said without meaningful inclusion of women, there can never be a lasting solution to armed conflicts, and, as a result, no sustainable development.

National Coordinator of WANEP, Bridget Osakwe, said this at a Media, Women, Peace and Security training workshop, jointly organised with the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP), a New York-based international coalition of over 100 women’s organisations.

With support from the Global Affairs Canada, the workshop was organised to project the role of the media in implementing the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325. 

Osakwe urged Nigerian journalists, in her opening remarks, to develop a strategy for the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions on Women, Peace and Security

She said it was in recognition of the role of the women in conflicts resolution that the UNSCR 1325 shifted the perception of women as victims, to that of change-makers and agents of peace. 

Osakwe regretted that in practice, women are still often perceived as passive victims or by-standers, and the images of women as peace builders are largely absent from Nigerian media.