From Shehu Muhammad Shehu, Sokoto
A Sokoto-based non-governmental organization, Gender Educators Initiative (GEI), with support from Nigeria Youth Future Fund, on Saturday, November 1, 2025, organized a one-day capacity-building training for 30 selected female journalists on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Ethical Reporting in the state.
Declaring the training open, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Gender Educators Initiative, Shafa’atu Suleman, said the organization came up with the training because they felt that the story of gender-based violence is often not told the way it should be told.
She explained that the training aimed to bring female journalists together to learn, relearn, and unlearn from experts on how best to report issues related to gender-based violence.
Suleman added that GEI is an organization committed to peacebuilding in Sokoto State through capacity building, dialogue, and training.
In her remarks, Hajiya Rabi Muhammad Gwadabawa, Deputy President of the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Zone A, described the training as an opportunity for participants to build confidence and strengthen their reporting skills.
She urged them to note that they hold the most powerful tool and weapon—the pen—and reminded them to be honest and unbiased in their reportage.
While applauding the Gender Educators Initiative for organizing the training, she called on the participants to become advocates against gender-based violence.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Sokoto State Chapter, Usman Muhammad Binji, urged the participants to make the best use of the knowledge gained from the resource persons.
He said the essence of the training was to equip journalists with the technical knowledge needed to report GBV issues in line with professional ethics.
“We hope they will use the knowledge acquired here to change the narrative, so we can see more reports on GBV, and for them to be the voice of the voiceless and encourage people to speak up. The best way to fight GBV is to speak up,” he said.
Binji also suggested that each media house should establish a GBV desk in their newsroom so that reporters can contribute their quota in the fight against the menace.
The Director-General of NGO and Human Rights Affairs, representing the Special Adviser to the Governor on Human Rights, commended GEI for the initiative, emphasizing that ethical reporting is the foundation of credible journalism.
The training session, held at Iconic University, Sokoto, featured presentations from media experts and was attended by notable personalities, including representatives from civil society organizations (CSOs) and government officials.
One of the resource persons, Mr. Abdallah Elkurebe, Editor-in-Chief of ASHENEWS, shared insights on responsible and ethical journalism practices.
Participants expressed their commitment to applying the knowledge gained to support survivors and advocate for the proactive change in Sokoto, where one in three women experiences violence in her lifetime.