“If our hopes of building a better and safer world are to become more than wishful thinking, we will need the engagement of volunteers more than ever.” — Kofi Annan
At Stand To End Rape, we try to recognize our volunteers, who go above and beyond in fighting against sexual violence and actively contributing to the day to day running of our initiative.
This month, we would like to recognize Nwamaka Mbagwu for her outstanding work. She is a volunteer with the STER Legal Team. In getting to know more about Nwamaka, we asked her a few questions:
What or who inspires you?
The people that inspire Nwamaka are women past and present who were/are unafraid to be themselves and speak for their truth/what they believe in. Especially, in a society that constantly tries to put them in a narrow box that is falsely believed to be ascribed to femininity. So she says women like Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Michelle Obama, Ozzy Etomi just to name a few.
What is your Mantra?
A quote or mantra Nwamaka lives by is “wake up and strive to be the best version of yourself every day”.
What do you do in your quiet time?
Nwamaka enjoys reading, writing, playing video games, and watching anime/movies/TV series/gameplay videos on YouTube.
How can we address the Gender-Based Violence problem in our society?
Nwamaka believes Gender-based violence can be solved by believing women once they come forward with their stories and creating safe spaces/systems for them to share stories and get justice. Beyond this, she believes some of our laws need to evolve beyond provisions that do not acknowledge women as equal beings. Easier said than done but this is how it needs to be.
What advice would you give your 15-year-old self?
Nwamaka’s advice to her 15-year-old self would be “hold your head high, you’re formidable just the way you are”.
What is your definition of a ‘Safe Nigeria’?
Nwamaka believes a safe Nigeria is one where human rights are not violated and where every human life is treated with value.
What are your social media handles?
IG: @amaka_mbagwu
Twitter: @Maksyy_M
We appreciate your good work and we are proud of you. Thank you and keep it up Nwamaka!!
