With the occasion of International Women's Day this Sunday (08/03), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and its partner Accountability Lab organized a series of activities at IOM’s transit center for women migrants in Niamey.

This year’s theme Gender Equality by 2030 reflects on the progress made so far for women’s rights, calls for further change and celebrates the courage and perseverance of women across the globe. In line with the theme, IOM wanted to celebrate the women staying at its transit center in Niamey and their strength.

In a festive atmosphere, more than 50 women migrants joined the celebrations, games and workshops organized for the day. The morning was dedicated to educational group games aimed at enhancing communication and empathy skills. The second part of the day was focused on group discussions on female leadership and empowerment.

Accountability Lab is a global organization that aims to make governance works for people living in different contexts, by supporting active citizens, responsible leaders and accountable institutions. In Niger, the organization offers several services and awareness raising activities, such as citizen actions groups, open forums and film-making workshops.

Such gatherings can provide participants a positive platform to exchange experiences on the topic, agrees Oumarou Adamou, Director of Accountability Lab’s branch in Niger. “This day was an unforgettable experience for all the participants. It was amazing to see the female speakers invited for the event raise awareness about female leadership and give hope to the women staying at the transit center.”

The organization’s “Connect 227” platform is dedicated to promoting the collaboration between local structures on a specific topic, such as female leadership, by sharing challenges and success stories. The initiative seeks to bring together inspiring speakers of various profiles, such as migrants, returnees or diasporas, to share their experience and stories about migration.

The discussions provided the women with the opportunity to open up about their frustrations related to women’s rights in their communities and to brainstorm about solutions to remedy them.

“I really enjoyed the expression workshop,” explained Sidonie, 34, from Cameroon. “Through it, I realized that no matter the country you come from, the suffering women go through is the same all over. Today I feel brave enough to use my voice so I can fight for our rights.”

Some migrant women bravely took the stage to openly talk about their experiences and day-to-day challenges, such as living with a disability. Others, daringly took the microphone to express their sorrows through song or slam.

The migrant women also had the occasion to have lunch in a convivial atmosphere with their neighbours, invited for the occasion. Through such joint gatherings, IOM seeks to strengthen the social link between migrants and community members and foster good relations in the neighborhood.

“Is important to prepare migrants for everything that their return entails,” said Barbara Rijks, IOM’s Chief of Mission in Niger. “There is no better occasion than International Women’s Day to remind them how strong and capable they are. It is vital for them to know that failure is an integral part of leadership and personal development, and that moving forward, they can accomplish anything they set their mind to.”

IOM’s activities for this year’s International Women’s Day were supported by the US Department of State and France’s Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, in the framework of the Migrant Resource and Response Mechanism (MRRM) financed by the European Union.

For more information, please contact Monica Chiriac at IOM Niger at Tel: +227 8931 8764, Email: mchiriac@iom.int.