Women empowerment

At The Omari Project, we recognize that meaningful empowerment of women is central to successful harm reduction, recovery, and reintegration.

Women Empowerment

Women face unique, overlapping vulnerabilities that require targeted interventions. In addition to the health risks associated with drug use such as HIV, Hepatitis, and overdose many women experience gender based violence, sexual exploitation, stigma, poor access to healthcare, housing insecurity, and a lack of economic opportunities. Empowering these women requires more than just medical services; it calls for holistic, gender sensitive approaches that restore dignity, build resilience, and support long-term stability.

Our Approach to Women Empowerment

Our women empowerment work focuses on providing safety, support, and opportunities for female PWUDs to heal, lead, and rebuild their lives. This includes:

We established a safe shelter for female PWUDs, particularly those who are:

Homeless

Survivors of sexual or domestic violence

Pregnant or breastfeeding

The shelter provides temporary housing, safety, basic needs (meals, hygiene), psychosocial support, and linkage to healthcare, including maternal and reproductive health services. This space is critical for women in crisis, offering them a peaceful and protective environment while they stabilize and prepare for reintegration

To promote hygiene, self-care, and dignity, we distribute dignity packs to vulnerable women who inject drugs. These include sanitary products, underwear, soap, lotion, and health information materials. Packs are tailored to the needs of pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, women living with chronic illnesses, and street-based clients.

We facilitate peer-led support groups for women to share experiences, learn coping strategies, and build social bonds. These sessions address topics like trauma, motherhood, HIV treatment adherence, healthy relationships, and financial independence.

We ensure women are equally represented in peer educator and outreach worker roles. We also support their involvement in Community Advisory Boards (CABs) and technical forums, giving them a platform to advocate for their rights and shape programming.