Blessing Oparaocha
Nigeria
I speak out even when it is difficult to do so.
I live in Lagos, Nigeria where I work with Alliances for Africa as a Program I
live in Lagos, Nigeria where I work with Alliances for Africa and the Nigerian
Feminist Forum (NFF) Secretariat as a Programmes Assistant. My duties are
to support planning and implementation of programmes for the organization
and the NFF. I also support outreach, training, and networking to ensure that
we achieve our objectives. In addition, I play a central role in media relations,
proposal writing and also documentation of the NFF.
I call myself a feminist because I oppose in word and deed, all forms of
patriarchal oppression. The lives of women and girls do not seem to mean
as much as the lives of men and boys. We are poorer, more vulnerable, less
educated, battered, and discriminated against. I believe in the global struggle
for women’s rights and liberation.
In my own view, the challenges feminists in Africa face today have to do
with religious fundamentalisms. Especially in Nigeria, religion affects the way
most women see themselves and also t