Nigerian human rights activist Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi. From blog to global stage: Nigerian human rights activist calls for action to protect women Women
Nigerian human rights activist Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi, who visited UN headquarters on the opening day of the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, called on world leaders to focus on practical actions that will help protect women and girls.
Osowobi is the founder of the Stand to End Rape Initiative (STER), an organization working with victims of sexual and gender-based violence in Nigeria. The organization was awarded the UN Award for Achievement in the Field of Sustainable Development (SDG Action Awards).
She is in New York this week as the winner of the International Women’s Forum Youth Prize. Evgenia Kleshcheva from the UN News Service spoke with the activist on the sidelines of events dedicated to International Women’s Day and the opening of the session of the Commission on the Status of Women.
Personal journey
For Osovobi, her work has a deeply personal meaning.
“I myself am a survivor of sexual violence,” she says.
At the same time, the girl faced difficulties trying to get help and understand the complex support system. This, according to her, became the starting point for her future activities. She began writing about her experiences on her blog and social media, explaining to readers what consent and bodily autonomy are.
“Women started writing to me: “I think this happened to me too, but I didn’t know it was violence.” Then I realized that I needed to create solutions,” she recalls.
Over time, the blog has turned into a social movement and organization that today works with government agencies and local communities.
Social norms and lack of access to help
Deeply ingrained social norms remain one of the main challenges women and girls face, Osowobi said.
“In many communities, patriarchal ideas about the roles of men and women persist,” she notes. – It is believed that a woman should only be in the house, not have a voice, and be secondary to a man. This creates an environment in which violence against women is perceived as acceptable.”
Another major challenge is access to support and justice, especially for women living in rural areas.
“Most services are concentrated in cities,” she says. “It is almost impossible for women from rural areas to get there. Therefore, it is important that help comes to people, and not vice versa.”
Help at the community level
Osowobi says her organization works directly with local authorities and communities. One project aims to train primary health care workers to support victims of sexual violence.
“This means women in rural areas no longer have to travel to big cities to get help. It is available from local healthcare providers,” she explains.
In addition, the organization conducts awareness campaigns in communities, collaborates with religious and traditional leaders and helps women better understand their rights.
Why it is important to work with men
The human rights activist emphasizes that the involvement of men and boys in this work plays a key role in the prevention of violence.
“Most cases of violence against women are committed by members of the other sex, so it’s important to work with men as well,” she says. “We teach them about consent, gender equality and positive masculinity.”
She gives an example of a common stereotype: if a man pays for dinner, then the woman is supposedly obliged to go to his house and continue the relationship.
“It is important to explain that no expectations replace consent,” Osowobi emphasizes.
Is there progress?
According to the activist, some changes have occurred in recent years.
“We see men who call themselves feminists and advocate for women’s rights,” she says. “The boys we have taught have a better understanding of equality and respect for women.”
However, practices persist in communities that seriously violate girls’ rights. For example, in some cases, families with debts may “give” their daughter to another family to pay them off.
“We’re trying to change those norms in our communities,” she notes.
Increased risks during conflicts and migration
Osovobi also draws attention to the factors that make women especially vulnerable. These include natural disasters and conflicts.
“In times of conflict, violence against women often becomes a weapon of war,” she says.
Serious risks also arise during migration. While working with the UN on human trafficking issues, the activist spoke with migrant women who had experienced sexual exploitation.
“The stories they tell are heartbreaking,” she says.
From promises to action
Osowobi’s main call to world leaders and members of the Commission on the Status of Women is to focus on implementing existing international commitments.
“We have declarations, treaties and global instruments that protect the rights of women and girls. The problem is their implementation,” she emphasizes.
According to her, states must not only make commitments, but also allocate resources to combat child marriage, sexual violence and other forms of discrimination.
“We need to move from talk and promises to action at the community level,” she says.
The role of local initiatives
Osowobi believes that international forums can play an important role if they listen to local initiatives.
“It’s important to listen to people in communities and be sensitive to their needs,” she says. “It’s at the local level that we can see real change.”
How societies respond to domestic violence remains an important area for rethinking, Osowobi said.
“In many countries, when a woman is violated in her own home, she is the one who is taken to a shelter,” she notes. “This may be necessary, but the question arises: why are we removing the woman from the house, and not the one who committed the violence?”
She draws a parallel with other crimes. “If a person commits murder, he is isolated from society and faces the legal system. But in the case of domestic violence, the opposite often happens: the woman is forced to leave her usual environment, and the abuser continues to live in the same place,” says the activist. In her opinion, systems for responding to violence should be more focused on the safety of victims. However, Osowobi notes that shelters remain an important element of the assistance system, since they may be necessary in different situations.
From split to a common movement
The activist is convinced that changes can begin in different ways – through publications on social networks, participation in public discussions, working with local communities or supporting victims.
“You don’t have to have a perfect system or a ready-made organization to get started. You can gather people in your area, put it on the radio, write about it, support others,” she says.
According to her, it is precisely such small initiatives that gradually add up to larger-scale changes.
“Unfortunately, this is the burden that we have to bear: our society seems to be split. And it is we who must put it back together again,” Osowobi emphasized.