As part of the year long series, As Equals, by CNN, women from lesser developed countries are sharing their own stories of gender inequality, sexual assault and harassment. Even though the #MeToo and TimesUp movements started in the US, countless women from all over the world can relate to the distressing stories being shared.
Three brave women: Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi, Brenda Uphopho and Eurel Nwafor (Photo: CNN)
2017 was a pivotal year for Nigerian women and women’s rights movements revealed some disturbing details of the commonness of sexual harassment and assault of which thousands of men and women around the world partook in.
CNN is now also giving Nigerian women a louder voice, allowing them to share their #MeToo stories. Watch these strong Nigerian women – Brenda Uphopho, Eurel Nwafor, Chichi Ogbonnaya, Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi and Omodasola Omibeku – share their survival stories below:
1. Brenda Uphopho
Brenda, a festival producer from Lagos is one of the five women who shared their sexual abuse stories with CNN.
According to her, she was assaulted three times by three different men but she never found the nerve to tell anyone until it was dawn on her that her teenage daughter was fast growing up in the same world that soiled her purity.
Watch Video of her talk below
2. Eurel Nwafor
The 22-year-old said she was raped in August 2017 after some opposition union members stormed her former place of work.
She was working as a personal assistant at a market in Lagos at the time of the incident. We have her video below
3. Chichi Ogbonnaya
Chichi, another victim, was defiled at 10 years old by an ‘uncle’. Ogbonnaya was sent to live with the man by her mother, who could not afford to take care of her.
4. Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi
In 2010, young Seun now 27, was working as a volunteer in a local election when she was asked to register underage voters. Her refusal to carry out the illegal request landed her in trouble.
She said one of the candidates in the election tried to make her juicy offers just to make her budge which led to the unfortunate situation.
5. Omodasola Omibeku
At age 6 years old, another victim, Omodasola was first abused by a distant relative.
The man lived with them in her family house, which she said was full of “aunties and uncles, some not even blood relatives.” We have her video below.
