A Muslim And Christian Build A Women's Movement

KALTUNGO, NIGERIA

Ruth Abner (a Christian) sat next to Zuwaira Alhassan (a Muslim) at a training in Gombe State, Nigeria and had a one-on-one conversation. Back in 2017, this was unusual. Christians and Muslims did not socialize, and even though they were from the same town, they did not know each other. These two so enjoyed the conversation, that they decided to encourage other Christian and Muslim women in their home town of Kaltungo to pair up and build relationships. Three months later, 11 pairs of women convened to discuss what they might do. Encouraged to continue building relationships, nine months later over 160 women crowded into a small auditorium consider next steps.

Historically, Kaltungo has been vulnerable to election-related violence and a general election was only four months away. The team decided that preventing such violence was an urgent, relevant and winnable goal. They organized 3 community feasts in three locations. Over 1000 women gathered at each location.

The Call to Action asked the women to promise that they will demand that their husbands and sons reject violence. If they didn't, they threatened to go on strike. They would not cook, nor would they have sex! Instead, the women would gather at the center of town and protest the men! There was no violence in Kaltungo during the election of February 2019. Now over 3000 strong, they are in 20 IP Teams in Kaltungo working on a variety of other issues.