Aisha Yesufu Makes BBC's 100 Most Influential Women In The World

[Edoman]

Nigerian activist and co-convener of the Bring Back Our Girls campaign, Aisha Yesufu has been listed amongst the BBC’s 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world for the year 2020.

The highly vocal activist was listed alongside Sanna Marin who leads Finland’s all-female coalition government, Michelle Yeoh, star of the new Avatar and Marvel films and Sarah Gilbert, who heads the Oxford University research into a coronavirus vaccine, as well as Jane Fonda, a climate activist and actress.

According to the BBC, this year’s 100 Women list “is highlighting those who are leading change and making a difference during these turbulent times.”

Who is Aisha Yesufu?

Born on December 12 1974 in Kano State, northwest Nigeria, Aisha Yesufu is a socio-political activist, and co-convener of the Bring Back Our Girls Movement, an advocacy group that brings attention to the abduction of over 200 girls, from a secondary school in Chibok, Nigeria, on 14 April 2014, by the terrorist group, Boko Haram.

Yesufu, alongside the former Minister of Education, Obiageli Ezekwesili were at the forefront of the campaign that drew attention worldwide including that of the former first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama.

Yesufu has also been at the forefront of the End SARS movement, a campaign that drew attention to the excesses of a controversial police unit called the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

Mrs. Yesufu who was born by Edo parents but raised in Kano had always shared her difficult experiences of being a girl-child in a heavily patriarchal environment.

In her words, “By the time I was 11 years old, I did not have any female friends because all of them had been married off but I wanted to be educated and leave the ghetto.”

According to Aisha Yesufu: “Most of my mates were almost grandmothers when I married at 24.”

https://dailytrust.com/aisha-yesufu-makes-bbcs-100-most-influential-women-in-the-world

[Edoman]

Nigeria's Aisha Yesufu, Uyaiedu Ipke-Etim make it to BBC 100 Women 2020 list







The BBC has revealed its list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world for 2020 and Aisha Yesufu and Uyaiedu Ipke-Etim made it to the list.
 
This year's 100 Women is highlighting those who are leading change and making a difference during these turbulent times.
 
The list includes UK nurse, Professor Dame Elizabeth Anionwu, who is of Nigerian descent.
 

 
She is an emeritus professor of nursing at the University of West London and a patron of the UK Sickle Cell Society.
 
She is a groundbreaking sickle-cell and thalassemia nurse who campaigned for a statue of British-Jamaican nurse Mary Seacole. She's been a key figure in highlighting the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on BAME communities.
 
Uyaiedu Ipke-Etim, a Nigerian feminist film-maker, director and LGBTQ+ activist, who has committed herself to creating stories about marginalised groups in Nigeria, also made it to the list.
 

 
Her film If??, which means "love" in Yoruba, tells the story of two Nigerian lesbians navigating the harsh, homophobic realities of Nigeria. Following the announcement of the film's impending release, it has faced state censorship in Nigeria.
 
Aisha Yesufu, a Nigerian activist demanding good governance in Nigeria, also made it to the list.
 

 
Others on the list are: four-time Grammy award winner Angélique Kidjo, who advocates on behalf of children as a Unicef ambassador, Sanna Marin, who leads Finland's all-female coalition government, Michelle Yeoh, star of the new Avatar and Marvel films and Sarah Gilbert, who heads the Oxford University research into a coronavirus vaccine, as well as Jane Fonda, a climate activist and actress.
 

 
And in an extraordinary year - when countless women around the world have made sacrifices to help others - one name on the 100 Women list has been left blank as a tribute.
 
Click here for the full list.