Women, youth get electoral awareness boost in Rigasa outreach

The Civic Action for Accountability and Sustainability Initiative (CAAS-INITIATIVE), in partnership with other civil society organisations, has organised a community-based outreach to promote greater participation of women and young people in the electoral process in Rigasa, Kaduna State.

The outreach held on Saturday, brought together women, youths, community stakeholders and residents to discuss voter rights, responsible voting and informed participation in elections.

The programme was organised in collaboration with the Rigasa Action and Awareness Forum (RAAF), Society for Equitable Development Foundation (SEDF), TinT-FollowTaxes, TransparencIT Nigeria and Youth and Community Development Initiative (YCDI).

Speaking during the engagement, Executive Director of CAAS-INITIATIVE, Yusuf Musa, emphasised the importance of ensuring that citizens, particularly women and young people, are adequately informed about their rights and responsibilities within the electoral process.

Musa stressed that electoral participation goes beyond casting votes on election day, urging participants to seek accurate information, make informed choices and remain actively engaged in governance and accountability processes.

The outreach featured presentations and interactive discussions, with participants raising questions and sharing their perspectives on issues affecting electoral participation in their community.

The organisers noted the significant participation of women, describing it as an encouraging indication of growing interest in electoral and civic affairs among women in the community.

The engagement also brought together stakeholders from different parts of Rigasa to discuss practical ways of strengthening citizens’ participation before, during and after elections.

The partner organisations expressed their commitment to sustaining electoral awareness activities beyond the outreach and extending the campaign to wider sections of Rigasa and other communities.

They also proposed the development of a broader Election Awareness Campaign, through which participating organisations would work collectively to promote informed, inclusive and responsible electoral participation.

The organisers expressed appreciation to participants, volunteers, speakers and partner organisations for their contributions to the success of the programme.

The engagement ended with a renewed commitment to promoting informed and responsible civic participation, particularly among women and young people.