Gender advocacy has always been personal for me. I started advocacy because growing up, I had a lot of questions about my identity and about the stereotypes I saw in the society. It seemed like there were different sets of rules for guys and different sets of rules for girls, especially as regards career choices and leadership. I wondered why it was so. It seemed like women were limited or deterred from reaching certain heights and my heart rebelled against it. When I realized the truth about who I was and whom I was meant to be, I decided to help every young girl and young woman do the same.  My advocacy is centred around women shattering glass ceilings and rising above stereotypical limitations. I advocate for them to live purposeful and fulfilling without regard to limitations society has placed on their gender. I achieve this by organizing programs from time to time, using my social media and writing on my blogs.  All through my advocacy, people keep asking why I am just f...

 I am super excited to be honoured as one of the 60 Women Champions in celebration of Nigeria’s 60th independence by BusinessDay Nigeria's WOMEN’S HUB. Kindly click on the link https://businessday.ng/download/465629/ to download the full list of women.  

 About a month ago, I was discussing with a close friend. We talked about a lot of issues generally then we zeroed in on issues affecting women. As we talked, we got to the subject of women who haven’t had any children. It was a really intense and touching subject for both of us because of the things we’ve seen. Now, although I am still very young, I have seen a lot of stuff that I can’t seem to wrap my mind around.  Recently, I was in the midst of some people and they were talking about a woman who hadn’t given birth since she got married. This woman is someone who is stylish, loves dressing well and looking good. She is also well to do and can afford vacations and trips to different places. She’s also a very cheerful and down to earth person too. But the people talking about here felt she had no right to dress flamboyantly or walk about happily.  They kept saying she had no shame like it was her fault that children were not forthcoming. They felt like she doesn’t care a...

 Gender Equality is advocacy that involves both men and women. This is because men and women make up the society. You cannot establish or put a stamp on equality in society if both parties are not actively involved in this advocacy. This is why even though I champion the cause of female empowerment by helping girls and women shatter glass ceilings, break stereotypes and dismantle societal constructs, I shine my light on men who are equally doing the same for the male gender. Today, my focus is on Adeyemi Temidayo - the Executive Director and founder of The Catalyst Men Network Int'l. In this piece, he will be walking us through his advocacy journey - how it all began, what inspired him, the reception door far, the challenges he has encountered and how he has been able to weather the storms.  I suggest you grab a chilled drink, sit back and enjoy: Can we meet you, please? My name is Adeyemi Temidayo. I am the founder and Executive Director of The Catalyst Men Network Int’l, Lag...

 Growing up, Melissa was different from the rest of us. While other girls wanted to play house and build sandcastles, she memorized the current affairs and listened to the news. In primary school, she would argue with the boys in our class and take part in debates. Luckily, our school was gender-inclusive and so they let her be class captain because of how smart she was. At the end of every school year, she was always the leader of the year. No one cared about our welfare like she did. Melissa was always ready to fight for our rights. She always put others first. She loved to serve and never saw leadership as a tool for oppressing her peers.    In secondary school, her light shone brighter. Everyone knew what she stood for and she knew how to make her voice heard. We all admired her courage and outspokenness. Slowly, she was blossoming into a strong woman. Sometimes, I feared that she was too aggressive in her opinions. I also feared that she was unlike any lady I knew fo...

 I have had people come to me with cases on abuse and they ask me for practical advice on what course of action to take. Many times, I refer them to people whose core area of advocacy is gender-based violence and they are shocked. They ask why I don’t handle these situations myself seeing I am also a Gender advocate. I tell them that it’s not my core area of advocacy – and that I am referring them to people who are passionate about and competent enough to give them the information and help they seek.  When people hear that someone is a gender advocate, they assume that the person is involved in all the aspects or areas of gender advocacy. Thinking about this often, I have come to realize that this misconception arises because many people don’t realize that there are actually different core areas or aspects of gender advocate. A gender advocate usually has an area they focus on or are passionate about. For me, I am all about girls and women shattering glass ceilings and breakin...

 Gender equality is something I am very passionate about. My family, friends, acquaintances, and people connected to me on the cyberspace have always been carried along in the things I do to help make this a reality. I am more or less all about educating the girl child and young women out there and empowering them with values and mindsets that would help them break stereotypes and shatter societal constructs. In my years of advocacy, people have asked me, "why are you focused on just girls, why not do something for boys too?" My answer is always the same, I don't handle that because it's not my strong suit. Although I have always had boys in my audience, they have never been my focus because I am not as experienced in the boy child advocacy as I am in the girl child advocacy. Girl child advocacy resonates more with me naturally because I am female. I have had firsthand experience of a lot of things these girls go through and over time that has stirred up a passion in ...

Beauty standards are mostly unrealistic stereotypes upheld by culture, the media, or society. Many times, people expect you to look a certain way - be of a certain height, have a certain hip size, have a certain skin tone, and even certain shoe size. Many times, it makes people who are not those things to feel inferior or less beautiful. It also makes people think you are odd when you tell them you are not obsessed with making yourself look like the "standard."   Over time, we have come to agree that beauty is highly subjective. We even say things like Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This goes to say that what I find beautiful or attractive may not necessarily be what you find beautiful or are attracted to. This is one of the biggest reasons why I think beauty standards are utterly ridiculous. I mean, if we see things differently, why then should there be a set of unwritten rules and standards on who is beautiful and who is not? And if there should be rules, whose judge...

 Education has a major role to play in curbing gender inequality. This is because when educators start at a young age to instill and promote gender equality, it's easier for the children and teens to grow with it and become adults who see gender equality as a norm. This creates a balanced world and also makes advocacy much easier because the crop of young adults being sent into the society has a good understanding of what gender equality is really about. In light of this, we will be interviewing Chidinma Ibemere, a young Gender Equality Advocate who is also a Biology teacher at Federal Government College Enugu. In this interview, we would be reading about her first-hand experiences with having gender equality conversations with her students. We would gain insight into what being a teacher and a Gender advocate for her is like, her challenges, her inspiration, the other forms of advocacy she does outside of the classroom, and her future plans. Sit back, grab a glass of your favorit...

 Educational institutions that are supposed to be the hallmark of enlightenment many times fuel gender inequality. It shows in the big decisions, chore assignments, and in little conversations. To achieve gender equality, we have to promote it in our schools. Here are ways we can: 1. Encourage female leadership. Don't automatically choose male leaders or select male candidates for leadership. Encourage girls to volunteer and participate in leadership. 2. Focus on abilities, not gender. Assign roles and responsibilities like the class captain, etc to people who are qualified. 3. When you have both male and female senior prefects, don't say that the boy is the number one citizen of the school. Let both of them be recognized as the first citizens of the school. 4. Encourage girls to be athletic by training and organizing outdoor sports for them. Don't call an athletic girl a "boy". Don't call a boy who prefers card or board games a "girl." 5. Give every...

  Women exploring opportunities I have noticed that so many times, it seems that a lot of women are laid back when it comes to applying for opportunities. We have complained that women were not given the opportunities they deserve. Today, things are a lot better and women have more opportunities yet it seems like they are not utilizing it as they should. Not many women are applying for these opportunities. This is part of why most organisers of scholarships say that "Women are encouraged to apply".  Whenever opportunities are announced, usually more than 70% of applicants are male. Most times, this is discouraging especially when you know that more women are also qualified out there. Women tend to give up opportunities for domestic reasons or even romantic attachments. I heard of someone who gave up an opportunity for further studies because of her boyfriend. I have also heard of others whose parents are scared of them going too far. Usually, many married women would always c...

 Female Education has a great role to play in Women's empowerment and gender equality. This is because when you educate the girl, you equip her intellectually. You give her the tools necessary for survival in this modern world. This broadens her perspective and helps to empower her financially by creating opportunities for her. It also opens her up to a world of endless possibilities. Education liberates a woman mentally and makes her see herself as a person capable of making a difference in society. I am very passionate about women shattering societal constructs and breaking away from stereotypes. This is why I am greatly concerned about the girl child education. Recently, I was privileged to come across Aisha Abdullahi, a beautiful young female Medical Doctor from Nassarawa state. Aisha graduated as the Overall Best Graduating Student in her set. This is a great feat. It goes to shatter myths and show people that women are capable of incredible things. In this interview, we would...

 Swinging my bag and walking around the area, I couldn't believe I had made it out. We used to sit out on the sand and admire those we saw on TV wearing green and white and marching. Today, I was one of them. I had finished school and I had been posted to somewhere to serve. We'd just finished the three weeks camp and I had returned home after years of staying away to tell my people that I had made it. After dropping my bags at home and showering, I had gone round to see my old acquaintances, friends, and the younger ones I'd left behind. My first stop was Aunty Pat's tailoring shop. She was the one that sewed all my school dresses because I couldn't afford to buy "ready-made". As I neared her shop door, I could hear her scolding someone. "You this girl! Why can't you focus? What is wrong with you?" she yelled. "I'm sorry aunty," a meek but strangely familiar voice replied, "I'm trying really hard to." "You...