Purdah is the traditional Islamic practice that confines women to the home or compound and so limits their participation in society. Women living in purdah are not allowed to come out of their homesteads. They do not interact with other people outside their homes. Many women in Sokoto live in such conditions and they have no source of income of their own. This organisation works with women who are living in purdah.
VSO provided funds to our organisation, which in turn started a local skill development center in one of the homes. The women in that compound come together and learn how to knit or sew. This has proved to be very helpful, as the women do not have to leave their homes to do this.
Below: some of the women in the project.
Our youth program is based on HIV & AIDS education, which is very rare here in Sokoto. Matters of sexuality are never discussed. Many people living in Sokoto believe there is no AIDS and more so because they practice Sharia law. It is also hard to know how many people die from AIDS because people are buried as soon as they die and there is no post mortem.
This has been a very difficult issue to deal with because certain preventative measures such as use of condoms are not acceptable. The State government does not permit any organisation to advocate the use of condoms.
