Source: Leadership
It has come to be accepted generally that women who are empowered become solutions to poverty, poor health and vulnerability for their families and within their communities. Incredible potential is reached with the benefit of support, financial resources and encouragement to the women folk.

Recognising the fact that gender bias and discrimination against women is still a powerful negative force in significant percentages of our world population, certain organisations, foundations and movements, irrespective of the nomenclature they fall under along with governmental organisations, have made substantial strides in gender equity.

But the battle for empowering women rages on, especially in too many countries where violence and oppression against women is a daily occurrence. This, despite the fact that female influence, hard work and perseverance provide the bedrocks of a family’s structure and successes.

Masari Zallah Foundation (MZF), a Women Empowerment Foundation and a non non-governmental organisation in Katsina State, which is a non religious and political organisation, has taken upon itself to operate on the premise of equality and inclusion so as to give women the needed push and encouragement to be the best they can be.

The foundation has over 1,500 less privileged people of Katsina State with the emphasis on women, girl child orphanage, the physically challenged and widows. Also, the foundation has over 1,000 orphans, widows, less privileged women that are in their database receiving free medical attention, housing allowance, business financial support. They have also married out over 50 orphans and widows in Katsina State only, also in their network, are youth who are provided with leadership and empowerment training, scholarship and business start-up kits.

MZF is able to reach out to the target groups through advocacies, outreach workshops, radio talk shows, television appearances with areas of concentration to include Health and hygiene, Women Empowerment, Education and Economic Empowerment, Human right, Agriculture (Food nutrition) and Water.

The foundation hopes to harness its power towards proactive change with its women empowerment Initiative as a global effort to promote the economic and social status of women through the formation of self-managed and self-sustaining ventures.

With objectives to empower the vulnerable groups in the society by providing them with access to good health, quality education and nutrition, empowerment of the less privileged, women, widows, orphans, youths in their careers through seminars, workshops and skill acquisitions and encouraging creativity of Nigerian youths and also provide them with access to facilities, the foundation has begun to make impact in its environment.

Masari Zallah Foundation has been able to train more than 1,000 less privileged women, widows and orphans in Katsina State through skills acquisition, farming with a vision to expanding it activities to other parts of the country thereby reducing poverty and improving quality of life.

This is one of many efforts that has laid the groundwork of the exhibition of the potentials hitherto not known in women and the led prvilaged in the state and across the the. MZF is one of many in the examples of women empowerment programmes by thought, by conviction and action.

By Andrew Essien

• Africa
• Nigeria