Women Activists From Nigeria

"A government that goes to court as the proper arena for deciding cases cannot be reasonably accused of not respecting the rule of law. Those who assert the contrary have the burden of showing how the rule of law can be advanced without the courts and whether society is better served by permitting license, or confusing incitement with freedom of speech."

"There is no controversial journalist; every journalist puts a story out that might be too hard for some people’s ears"

"I know that if the Federal Government of Nigeria had given sufficient and reasonable time for the naira redesign policy, all the current hardship and loss being experienced by the Plaintiffs’ State Governments as well as people in the various states would have been avoided.I know that the 10-day extension by the Federal Government is still insufficient to address the challenges bedevilling the policy. I also understand that the Federal Government cannot bar Nigerians from redeeming their old naira notes at any time, even though the senior notes are no longer legal tender."

"It is very common for Nigerian men to think that all a woman wants is good sex but we don’t need that to get what we want out of life."

"We need men and women from every corner of the country bound by a common objective to create a Nigeria which works for every Nigerian."

"I have confidence that I will win, that I will get justice, that is why I came to court and as a lawyer, I know how the system works, I am not seeing any foul play bearing in mind the administrative bottlenecks. I know I will get justice."

"we cannot do without ICT in this dispensation, so, that is why we adopted this convention of training women with disability since Dec. 13, 2006, seeing the world has gone digital."

"Rulings and orders that were secured against the Federal Government do not have any bearing against the Kaduna State government which was not a party to those proceedings and against whom no orders were made. Any issues regarding compliance or non-compliance with a court order by the DSS or the Federal Government cannot be used to vitiate the judicial proceedings the Kaduna State government has commenced against the El-Zakzakys."

"“I believe there will be respect for human life, less nepotism, tribalism, religious fanaticism, insensitivity and outright disregard for the wishes of the Nigerian people."

"We have empowered many women in Cross River. We are going to the North East then the other geo-political zones with our empowerment programmes. We will train the women on poultry, fishing, tailoring, soap-making, among other vocations."

"Unfortunately, hierarchies of human value also create hierarchies of knowledge. The people most likely to be marginalised by unjust social systems – and thus best placed to really understand them – are also those least likely to be considered credible “experts” on the subject. This is particularly true because the knowledge gleaned from marginalisation is invariably threatening to the system that produces it."

"Nigerian women are hardworking and self-motivated, they create opportunities for themselves and also take opportunities as they come. Our women have always managed to triumph over challenges and cultural disadvantages. Nigerian women have excelled both in the public and private sectors. All we need is the enabling environment to excel in our chosen fields."

"“In addressing the issue of ICT, the centre runs a girls’ coding programme to connect young girls and women to the information super highway and enable them to explore opportunities available in the sector."

"Through advocacy, we encourage as a corporate social organisation from other agencies and private sector, to ensure that every organisation will buy a certain quantity of pads available to schools and send to rural areas as their own CSR"

"The role of women in any election is very crucial. Apart from being great and efficient mobilizers, women have proven themselves to be pacesetters in terms of carrying out the leadership roles. So, as we move towards the 2023 elections, I expect Nigerian women to break all barriers, offer themselves and put themselves forward for the various political offices in the land. Gone are the days when women would sit back, fold their arms and allow men to dictate their political path. A lot of women have made their marks and I expect more active and robust participation in the coming elections."

"I will never and cannot withdraw from the race"

"Nigerian women have worked their ways to the top in various sectors. Women are now major players in business, politics, the academics and just about any area endeavor. We may not have reached our goal of having 35 representation in government, but women have broken the glass ceiling in the public and private sector. We have a large pool of female entrepreneurs, academicians, sports stars, investors and leaders, who are contributing to the development of the country. Today, you can say we have a lot to show for years of advocacy for gender equality, judging by the success millions of women have recorded in their chosen fields”,"

"It has been very rewarding and fulfilling in the sense that as a woman myself and one who has always been at the forefront of ensuring the welfare of women, it was not a new terrain for me to listen and proffer solutions to the myriad of issues bedevilling Nigerian women, using the instruments of government. Looking back, I would say we were able to make remarkable progress and I am satisfied with what the government has been able to achieve under my watch."

"Nigeria is ripe for a female president. Nigerian women are making indelible footprints everywhere; a recent example is the appointment of Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, WTO. I am sure as we move closer to 2023, interested women will join the race."

"The workshop is to re-position women to take advantage of the numerous generous financial policies of the present administration, in its next bid and agenda to lift up over 100 million Nigerians out of poverty"

"In the bid to restore the competency of the teaching profession and improve the standard of education in schools across the state, a competency test was conducted for public primary school teachers in the state, on 3rd June, 2017."

"I joined the race for the sole purpose of pulling more of my people out of poverty as you already know, youth and women empowerment is critical to achieving this. Also critical to reducing the level of poverty among our people will be my attracting infrastructural projects in the education and health sectors as well as basic infrastructure and even in the area of rural electrification."

"The case management system has been adopted for use in the Ministry to improve service provision and make it easier to categorise cases for good archival purposes. The ministry has provided lawyers with necessary operating skills which was done through series of trainings to enable them to work anytime from anywhere."

"Through hard work, dedication and perseverance Nigerian women have achieved milestones, broken barriers and charted new paths in the last 25 years. We have so much to present to the world, as stakeholders take stock of the progress made by women after the famous conference. I congratulate Nigerian women on this special day and state my confidence that even with so much we have achieved, the best days of Nigerian women are still ahead."

"To create hierarchies of humanity, we must distort people. Dehumanisation thrives by making it difficult for those considered less than human to know themselves, or be properly known by others. The systems that produce racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism and classism are built on such distortions. They are then maintained by ensuring that the distorted version of the dehumanised group is framed as “who they really are”. This type of misinformation is necessary for maintaining injustice. As long as we remain wilfully ignorant of who marginalised people are, we can claim legitimacy in denying their rights, dignity, and humanity. It’s the perfect vanishing spell."

"We must learn to state our opinions clearly, & stand by them no matter whose oxes are gored! How else do you assure the electorates that your word is your bond?!"

"Luckily, we don’t have to know everything about everyone’s realities to respect them, not tell lies about them, or believe that they know best what their needs are. We just need to do our bit to ensure they are able to lead dignified, free and safe lives, even when that bit is simply getting the hell out of their way. The root of respect is not the full understanding of other people; it is the recognition of people’s non-negotiable humanity. Regardless of our identities or how we navigate our different worlds, we all have the same rights to self-determine, live in community with others, enjoy access to the opportunities we need to survive, and write our own (magical) narratives. It can never be anyone’s place to tell another person or group of people that yielding space for their needs to be met is a danger to others. Only unrepentant bigotry results in such claims. By making respectful space for one another and learning from those who have the kinds of knowledge that we could never gain on our own, we become able to see all the different worlds that exist in this one that we share. And isn’t that the strongest magic of all?"

"It has never been easy to reorganise or resist social norms and beliefs, but among the most difficult ones to reject are those at the root of the social system known as patriarchy. This system relies on a few core ideas to perpetuate itself, two of which are that gender is a fixed binary, and women are the inferior parties within it."

"So, we thought it is good to bring the lawyers here and refresh their minds on how to present electronic evidence in their cases. We want to enhance their capability so that they do better in court"

"I will say that rape has become endemic in our society and all over the country and unfortunately there is societal stigma to rape victims. For this reason, it is not a crime that a lot of people admit has happened to them. But the thing about rape is that if you keep quiet, the perpetrator continues committing the crime unchallenged or unrestrained. So, what I was trying to say at the event is that, yes it is a thing of shame, especially in our society but people need to report these rapists and rape cases to enable us drastically reduce these crimes. And another thing that we have noticed is that there is a lot of pressure on victims and their families, to cover it up and it has a very adverse effect on the society. So, people need to report these cases so that perpetrators can get punished. if they know that they will tried and convicted for rape, it will be a deterrent to people who are even contemplating it."

"Freedom is the many faced god and queerness is its first born."

"Money is good. Imagination is better. Giving yourself permission to create a life that sustains you *no matter what others think* is best."

"Transgender and gender non-conforming people know things about gender that most cisgender folks are light years away from realising. To survive unequal realities, marginalised folks often cultivate deep knowledge of how these realities actually function."

"I wish Nigeria would copy Tanzania’s top-notch customer service and dedication to tourism. It is one area that Nigeria still hasn’t gotten right"

"Rituals serve as mechanisms for sustaining familial bonds through shared meanings and experiences, and reinforced value systems. Holidays and rituals can therefore help foster national integration by building and cementing social bonds, reinforcing common values, promoting and communicating moral and social order."

"That hard work is great, but it’s not always appreciated, nor do you always get what you deserve as a result of it. That others won’t always appreciate you insisting on standards and what you deserve, and not being a pushover, especially as a woman."

"In the wake of campaigns like the #MeToo movement, and gender pay gap scandals, networks like the African Women in the Media are important, not just so we women in the media can connect and support each other, but so we can initiate change"

"The Pitch Zone for us at AWiM is our way of putting words into action. Our research shows that allocation of resources to produce stories are often gendered in newsrooms. The reporting grant is our way of ensuring that women in media have the opportunity to produce the kind of stories that will give them the visibility and recognition they deserve"

"I would like to see journalism in some countries on the conticontinentnent and embrace the full potentials of new technology. There’s so much we can be doing with things like virtual reality and data – though for us to really explore the full potential of data journalism, we need more open data, and better application of the Freedom of Information Act."

"I have had instances where men try to help but end up being patronizing. The sad reality especially as a female entrepreneur is that people are less willing to invest in you because you are a woman. But it should not stop you. I try to show my daughters that they should grow up not letting their gender be an obstacle to what they really want to do."

"A natural extension of our work is to contribute to journalism training in Africa, so we will also be introducing online training materials covering a variety of areas relevant to online journalism,"

"An explicit call to the global media, especially African ones, to cover global issues without bias or discrimination, such as gender equality, culture and gender, as well as issues of the environment and global peace."

"I think there is a question of reviewing how we do journalism, for example, the focus on balance and simply presenting the facts has not really helped the current political environment. It is not just enough to present both sides anymore.So trust is not necessarily always about not trusting the facts. But more on not trusting what each media represents."

"Africa is blessed with a young population, It is a young continent with many people full of energy."

"The media has a big role in people’s lives."

"Resources are always limited. It’s just about how judiciously you use them. Use them smartly, and in the best way possible, where they will have the greatest impact."

"Pidgin is a real language of opportunity across the region, spoken by millions across the West and Central African region."

"Africa is so richly blessed with a population that is dynamic, vibrant, educated; that has energy and drive."

"Pidgin language is a language that brings people together; a language of unity; a language that cuts across divides and barriers."

"If you are young and living with your parents, you need to consider that they might kick you out."