Women in community development: Interrogating the role of women August meeting in South East Nigeria

Abstract

The paper examines the involvement of women in community development with a view to interrogating the impact of the annual women August meeting in the South East, Nigeria. The paper shows how a combination of community development and August-meeting can be a viable project that has the potential of making women even more relevant and capable of being a model in the quest for sustainable development which is part of the Millennium Development Goals. It discusses the role of women in the quest for sustainable development through community development. The paper argues that the involvement of women in community development promotes peace and consequently gives room for sustainable development and good governance. Thus, ways of realizing these objectives are highlighted. Also in focus is the need to separate politics from the activities of the women August meeting as the paper revealed that the annual gathering has assumed the status of a political jamboree. Therefore, the research submits that the yearly August meeting should be used to consolidate peaceful relations and create an environment which deters the emergence or escalation of tensions that may lead to violent conflict. Thus, giving room for community development for no development thrives in an environment where there is violent conflict. Methodologically, primary and secondary data were used and for theory, social responsibility theory was used in the study which proved effective in carrying out the research.

Keywords: Community development, conflict management, gender, peacebuilding, peace education, August-meeting.