Josephine Okei-Odumakin

Dr. Josephine “Joe” Obiajulu Okei-Odumakin is a Nigerian women’s rights activist and the president of Women Arise for Change Initiative and Campaign for Democracy. She also serves as the executive director of the Institute of Human Rights & Democratic Studies and is actively involved in various other activist organizations. Dr. Okei-Odumakin began challenging human rights abuses in Nigeria in the late 1980s, a period during which she was detained 17 times under the military rule of Ibrahim Babangida. In 1994, she was brutally assaulted by police for protesting against one of the world’s most violent regimes and later sustained serious injuries at a rally, leading to her imprisonment.

Dr. Okei-Odumakin is a formidable figure in Nigeria’s civil rights movement, assisting in over 2,000 cases involving rights violations against women and children. Her efforts have earned her numerous accolades, including the International Women of Courage Award, presented by Michelle Obama and John Kerry on International Women’s Day in 2013.