Anita Dadaba, a 25-year-old woman from the Nambiri Zongo community in the Saboba District, is at the forefront of advocating for women's rights in her community. Married with one child, Anita initially worked as an apprentice Kente weaver while engaging in petty trading to support her family. Her life took a transformative turn when she joined the Generating Revenues and Opportunities for Women to Improve Nutrition in Ghana (GROWING) project.
Anita Dadaba is female gender champion in her community working for change in women’s access to land and productive resources, promoting workload sharing between men and women, joint decision-making, gender-based violence against women and income control within the household level and the community. The goal is to see behavioral and attitudinal change regarding gender roles and norms with rural women having greater access to land and inputs, more access to extension and income-earning opportunities, and a greater role in household decision-making. Her journey as a gender champion was greatly influenced by GROWING Project when she was selected and trained as a gender champion.
Through the GROWING project, Anita’s capacity was built on facilitating gender dialogues which built her confidence and provided her with invaluable insights to engage in meaningful conversations with individuals much older than herself, even on sensitive issues around household income and gender-based violence. Empowered with this knowledge, Anita organized 12 gender dialogues sessions with the GROWING FUTURES club members (GFCs) and with her community members to promote gender equality.
Anita’s proactive approach has made her a community leader, empowering other women in their community to advocate for access to land, engage in decision making and claim their rights. Through her engagement with the GROWING Future club members, she was able to convince the men to support their wives in reducing the burden of unpaid care work by promoting workload sharing. “Haven't gone through the Gender Dialogues training and facilitating it in the community I have realized a great change in my household as well as the community. In my house, the young guys have started helping us with the following house chores: Sweeping, fetching water, washing bowls, setting fire among others.
The men too now support us in bathing the children, setting fire, carrying children when we are busy and sending us to hospital. These are some of the few changes l have observed, so currently, that is what is happening in my house. Though, my husband helped me with household chores in that aspect but now, he is doing wonderful. l observed positive changes in most of the households within the community with regards to work- load sharing. The men in the community provides us access to land and gives a helping hand with weeding, planting and harvesting. Therefore, I stand on behalf of the women in Nambiri zongo community to say God bless the GROWING Project.”
Like many women in her community, Anita believed it would be difficult to cultivate orange-fleshed sweet potatoes (OFSP), tree plants, and vegetables due to the poor soil and lack of knowledge. However, when the GROWING project started, Anita was inspired to try growing these nutritious crops.
"I chose to do it because amaranth, OFSP, pawpaw and moringa are known here but we are not utilizing them and most of us don't know the nutritional benefits," Anita explained. "I want to introduce them to my family so that one day many people like me will be producing and enjoying the nutritious benefits."
With her husband's support and training from the GROWING project, Anita cultivated a backyard garden with these nutritious crops. So far, she has saved GH₵60 from selling amaranth and GH₵130 from OFSP, with 34 OFSP tubers stored for her family's consumption. Before GROWING, rigid gender norms in the Saboba District limited women's participation in income-generating activities.
The project aims to empower women economically and improve gender equality, nutrition and food security. Anita is one of 51 women trained in Nambiri Zongo, and 244 women trained overall in the Saboba District.
By giving Anita, the knowledge and opportunity to cultivate nutritious crops, GROWING has increased her income, savings and and her capacity. . Her success is helping change perceptions, so more women in her community can gain confidence and skills to support their families. Anita hopes her backyard garden will inspire others to utilize OFSP, tree plants and vegetables for better nutrition and livelihoods.
Anita faced several challenges in her role as a gender champion in Nambiri zongo community:
Engaging in conversations about sensitive issues: As a young woman, Anita had to overcome the cultural barriers of speaking up about gender norms like men participating in unpaid care work, involving women in decision making, giving women access to productive lands and resources among others. The building of her capacity from the GROWING project gave her the confidence and knowledge to have these difficult discussions.
Resistance and Backlashes: There is often significant resistance to addressing gender inequalities, especially when it comes to men partaking in household chores. Anita encountered skepticism and opposition to her message, but she did not give up as she was very determined.
Maintaining momentum and support: Sustaining the impact of her work Anita is continuously engaging the GFCs and community members and leaders to maintain momentum and support for the gender equality agenda.
Despite these challenges, Anita’s passion, determination, and the knowledge gained through the gender champion training empowered her to become a successful gender champion in her community. Her story serves as an inspiration for other young women and girls to assert their rights and drive positive change.
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