Abagun Olaoluwa was born in Lagos and attended Queen’s College, Lagos, where she graduated in 2008 as Deputy Head-Girl and received the "Outstanding Service to College Life Award." She continued her education at Obafemi Awolowo University, earning a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) degree in 2015, and later pursued a Master of Arts in Gender and Development at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex. Raised in an inter-religious family, with a Muslim father and a Christian mother, Abagun is the only female among her parents' four children. Her upbringing, marked by gender equality, profoundly influenced her feminist beliefs and advocacy for human rights, which began when she was inspired by a speech on child rights at age 13.
At 15, Abagun met Governor Babatunde Fashola and his cabinet, an encounter that motivated her commitment to women’s advocacy. Prior to earning her law degree, she wrote on women’s issues and was a finalist in the 2014 Africa Youth Day Essay Competition for her work on young women’s empowerment in Africa. In 2014, she founded "Girl Pride Circle," an organization dedicated to advocating for women's rights in Nigeria.
In March 2016, Abagun launched the Safe Kicks Initiative at the UN Commission on the Status of Women, a program focused on training adolescent girls to defend themselves against sexual violence through martial arts. By July 2016, she had trained over 250 female teenagers and was honored as the only Nigerian recipient of a monetary grant from the Women Deliver organization. Additionally, she addressed the 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly on gender issues.
In July 2017, Abagun was one of six Nigerians selected to discuss future global challenges with members of the UK Parliament, emphasizing gender equality and the political empowerment of Nigerian women. She defines feminism as advocating for equal socio-economic opportunities for all, regardless of gender, and has consistently promoted this view in her work and public statements.
In January 2018, she urged Nigerian women to engage more actively in politics ahead of the 2019 general elections. Awarded the Commonwealth Shared Scholarship in 2019, Abagun played a crucial role in the Girl Pride Circle’s "Zero Tolerance to Sexual Violence in Religious Communities" project, aimed at empowering religious leaders in Lagos State to support the National Gender Policy and combat sexual violence.
She presently holds the position of Executive Director at ATHENA, a global feminist network dedicated to promoting gender equality and upholding human rights.
Thanks for reading!
LK…making a statement.
Share your comments!