Hauwa Ojeifo
Hauwa Ojeifo (born 1992) popularly known as "The Voice of Mental Health"[1] is a Nigerian sexual violence and mental health activist. She is the first person in Nigeria with a mental health condition to speak out in the Nigerian parliament about mental health rights and the first Nigerian female to have received a Queen's Young Leader Award for her work.[1][2][3] She is the founder of She Writes Woman, a nonprofit organization working to give mental health a voice in Nigeria.[4]
Early life and education
[edit]Ojeifo attended the University of Reading in England where she acquired a Master of Science degree in Investment Banking and Islamic Finance.[2]
Career
[edit]Hauwa Ojeifo struggled with mood swings and trauma from sexual and emotional abuse, which affected her life after she was raped at the age of 21.[5][6] In February 2016, doctors diagnosed her with bipolar and post traumatic stress disorder with mild psychosis, and she attempted suicide. She sought help from a psychiatrist and started a blog to share her story and help others. She also founded She Writes Woman.[7] Through her foundation, she provides support to sexual abuse victims and people in West Africa who need mental health care.[8][9]
In February 2020, Hauwa Ojeifo made history by being the first person with a mental health condition to speak before the National Assembly Committee on Health, helping to push for a mental health bill.[10]
Awards and achievements
[edit]Aside receiving a Queen's Young Leader Award for her work in 2018, Ojeifo has won several other awards including the following:
- In 2017, Ojeifo was honoured as the Possibilities Woman 2017 by IWOW[2][11]
- She was also selected as an honouree of the AstraZeneca Young Health Programme scholarship to the One Young World summit in The Hague, Netherlands[2][11]
- In 2018, she was awarded the MTV EMA Generation Change Award in Bilbao, Spain.[2][11]
- In 2019, She became an Obama Foundation Leader.[2][11]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Hauwa Ojeifo Bio" (PDF). Argentina.gob.
- ^ a b c d e f Kiunguyu, Kylie (2019-09-12). "Meet Hauwa Ojeifo founder of She Writes Woman, a women-led movement giving mental health a voice". This is africa. Retrieved 2020-10-02.
- ^ "'People think you can pray things away'". Retrieved 2020-10-02.
- ^ Ajala, Folakemi (2022-07-11). "She Writes Woman: Giving Mental Health a Voice in Nigeria". Nigeria Health Watch. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
- ^ Ajala, Folakemi (2022-07-11). "She Writes Woman: Giving Mental Health a Voice in Nigeria". Nigeria Health Watch. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
- ^ "WHO supports Government to curb gender-based violence - Nigeria | ReliefWeb". reliefweb.int. 2020-09-15. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
- ^ "Nigerian Activist Hauwa Ojeifo Wants You to Talk About Your Mental Health". Time. 2024-10-16. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
- ^ Aisha Salaudeen. "She was diagnosed with a mental health disorder. Now she is helping others work through theirs". CNN. Retrieved 2020-10-02.
- ^ Geall, Lauren (2020-09-24). "Hauwa Ojeifo wants to change the way Nigeria views mental health". Stylist. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
- ^ "Nigerian Activist Hauwa Ojeifo Wants You to Talk About Your Mental Health". Time. 2024-10-16. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
- ^ a b c d "Hauwa Ojeifo, the 26-year-old Nigerian championing women's mental health in Africa and getting global recognition". Face2Face Africa. 2018-11-07. Retrieved 2020-10-02.
External links
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