Watch what women can do when you listen to their goals. In Niger, women members of savings groups are prioritizing education for the next generation as a key strategy for improving their communities. Bakara Ali, who works with a group of women to make sure girls have a safe place to stay and support to pay for high school says, “We wish one day to have a woman Mayor in Tchadoua. We want to increase the number of women municipal councilors.” They’ve been operating for 4 years, and are seeing girls shine. “We were 3 women at the start and today there are 12 of us sponsoring girls in Tchadoua. … One of our sponsored girls is ranked first in the Arab-French school of Tchadoua.”
Men are noticing a difference, too. In the words of one local government official, “Women are very committed to the fight for development in Tibiri. If all the women of Niger could do like those of Tibiri, the country would have advanced. … the results are spectacular.”
The second phase of the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Programme (GEWEP II) ran from 2016-2019 in Niger. With $6.8 million in funding from the Norweigan Development Agency, the project reached 411,228 people directly and 1.1 million indirectly.
What did we accomplish?
- Families have more money: Women in the project have saved nearly $1.9 million collectively.
- Women in savings groups have more control over assets: Women in savings groups are 2.5 times more likely to own land, and 2.9 times more likely to own houses than women who do not participate in savings groups.
- Women are making more decisions: Women in savings groups are 3 times more likely to participate in community decisions than women who are not in groups. They are 2.2 times more likely to participate in community leadership groups.
- Women can control more in their lives: Women in savings groups are 15% less likely to need their husband’s permission to go places, and 31% more likely to have made the decision to use health services.
- Women are building their skills: There is a 71% increase women’s literacy in the savings groups.
How did we get there?
- Work with savings groups: The project work with 108,608 savings group members in 4,842 groups.
- Get groups to work together: The savings groups in the project organized into 164 savings group networks, where the groups can learn from each other and build their collective voice.
- Help women get leadership experience: When women get involved in leadership roles, it allows them to build and demonstrate their skills. Leadership within the savings groups is often a steppingstone to broader leadership roles. When men see what women can do within the groups, male community leaders recognize the value women in savings groups in discussions of ideas, proposing actions, and participating in community dialogues.
- Helping women build skills: The savings groups work with literacy, financial training, negotiation, and building other skills that allow them to grow their influence in the community and better manage their own needs.