For Immediate Release

January 27, 2026

Centre LSD Convenes Women’s Rights Organisations on Engaging Male Allies

Abuja, Nigeria- The African Centre for Leadership, Strategy & Development (Centre LSD), will convene a two-day capacity building programme for women-led and feminist organisations on Engaging Male Allies from January 28–29, 2026, in Abuja.

The convening brings together leading women’s rights organisations from across Nigeria to reflect, learn, and strengthen collective approaches to engaging men and boys in the struggle for gender justice, without compromising women’s leadership, feminist principles, or movement integrity.

A statement by Dr. Vincent Dania, Project Lead of the Male Feminists Network, notes that the Network is deliberate in enhancing collaboration with women’s rights organisations through joint programming that ensures male involvement does not undermine women’s leadership but rather amplifies it in a supportive and feminist-informed manner.

Across Nigeria, women’s rights organisations continue to lead the work of preventing gender-based violence, challenging discriminatory norms, and advancing women’s rights. At the same time, there is growing recognition that patriarchal systems are sustained largely by male-dominated institutions and social structures. Engaging men as allies is therefore often necessary, but it is not neutral, automatic, or without risk.

This convening responds to a clear need expressed by women’s movements themselves: the need for practical frameworks, safeguards, and shared principles that guide male engagement in ways that are accountable to women’s leadership and feminist values. It creates space for honest conversations about power, risk, and responsibility, grounded in lived experience rather than theory alone.

According to Dr Dania, the programme is designed as a participant-led feminist learning space. Rather than prescribing models, it centres the knowledge and experiences of women-led organisations, enabling them to critically examine what has worked, what has failed, and what must never be compromised. Discussions will focus on power dynamics, accountability mechanisms, red lines in collaboration, and practical strategies for engaging male allies in ways that strengthen women’s movements.

A key outcome of the convening is to support women’s rights organisations to leave with greater clarity, confidence, and agency in deciding when and how to work with male allies, including within structured platforms such as the Male Feminists Network. Participants will also develop concrete action plans and shared commitments that can guide future collaboration and learning.

The capacity building contributes to MFN’s broader goal of supporting gender justice and the prevention of gender-based violence in Nigeria, while remaining firmly accountable to feminist movements. It reflects a deliberate choice to place women’s leadership at the centre of male allyship work, rather than treating male engagement as an end in itself.

Members of the public are encouraged to follow updates on the training via Centre LSD’s social media platforms.

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