We Were Afraid to Break the Barriers Holding Women Back: How Three Women Defied Tradition to Build a Thriving Business

Women’s roles are often confined to household management, particularly in the Northern Region of Nigeria. However, their potential stretches far beyond these limitations. Women possess great resilience, creativity, and leadership, and when empowered with the right tools and opportunities, they become powerful drivers of economic growth, social change, and community development. By breaking traditional barriers and stepping into roles such as entrepreneurship, advocacy and community leadership, women are proving that their contributions are essential to building more resilient and prosperous societies. 

The UNDP’s Climate Security Project implemented in the Northwest states of Katsina and Sokoto is providing women with the necessary tools, training, and opportunities needed to break traditional barriers and thrive as active participants in their communities. Through skills acquisition programs, livelihood support, and business development initiatives, women are gaining economic independence and becoming leaders in sectors such as tailoring, agriculture, and entrepreneurship. This empowerment not only strengthens their families but also contributes to the overall resilience of their communities in the face of climate-related pressures that have significantly contributed to resource-based conflicts in the Northwest region of Nigeria. 

Three young women from Jibia LGA, Katsina State, Umma Salma Salisu (23), Maimuna Abubakar (23yrs), and Mariam Mukhtar (22yrs), are rewriting their stories.t. These close friends were fortunate to be among the beneficiaries who received training and skills to build sustainable livelihoods.

Full article here published by UNDP