Betty Abah (born March 6, 1974) is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

journalist, author and a women and children's rights activist. She is the founder and

Executive director Executive director is commonly the title of the chief executive officer of a non-profit organization, government agency or international organization. The title is widely used in North American and European not-for-profit organizations, though ...

of CEE HOPE, a girl-child rights and development non-profit organization based in

Lagos State Lagos State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkó) is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Of the 36 states, it is both the most populous and smallest in area. Bounded to the south by the Bight of Benin and to the west by the international border with Ben ...

Early life

Betty was born in

Otukpo Otukpo is a town in Benue State, Nigeria located in the Middle Belt Region of Nigeria. It is also the eponymous name of a subgroup of the Idoma people. Otukpo is the headquarters of the Otukpo Local Government Area. It was the headquarters of the ...

Benue State Benue State is one of the North Central states in Nigeria with a population of about 4,253,641 in 2006 census. The state was created in 1976 among the 7 states created at that time.The state derives its name from the Benue River which is t ...

, Middle Belt region of

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. She obtained a first degree in English and literary studies from the

University of Calabar The University of Calabar is a public university situated in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria. It is one of Nigeria's second generation federal universities. The University of Calabar was a campus of the University of Nigeria until 1975. Th ...

in1999 and a masters degree in English literature from the

University of Lagos The University of Lagos, popularly known as UNILAG, is a public research university located in Lagos, Nigeria and was founded in 1962. UNILAG is one of the first generation universities in Nigeria and is ranked among the top universities in th ...

in 2012

Career

Betty first worked with ''The Voice Newspaper'' in

Makurdi Makurdi is the capital of Benue State, located in central Nigeria, and part of the Middle Belt region of central Nigeria. The city is situated on the south bank of the Benue River. In 2016, Makurdi and the surrounding areas had an estimated popul ...

, and then ''Newswatch'' and '' Tell Magazine'', before she proceeded to work with ''Rocky Mountain News'' as a fellow of the Alfred Friendly Press Fellowships. As a journalist, she practised with ''

The Voice Newspaper ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', '' Newswatch'', '' Tell Magazine'' and she also had a stint with the ''

Rocky Mountain News The ''Rocky Mountain News'' (nicknamed the ''Rocky'') was a daily newspaper published in Denver, Colorado, United States, from April 23, 1859, until February 27, 2009. It was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company from 1926 until its closing. As ...

'' in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Colorado, US. She is the author of ''Sound of Broken Chains'', ''Go Tell Our King'' and ''Mother of Multitudes''. Betty worked with Environmental Rights Action; Friends of the Earth Nigeria before setting establishing CEE-HOPE in December 2013.

Activism

Abah has been involved in several cases, defending cases of human rights violations. Some of them include campaigns for the release of the Chibok girls abducted by the Boko Haram terrorist in North East Nigeria, campaigns for the environmental rights of

Niger Delta The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopolitic ...

women, the case of the torture involving three women in Ejigbo, Lagos by members of a vigilante group, the case of the

kidnapping of Ese Oruru The kidnapping of Ese Rita Oruru, the youngest child of Charles Oruru and Rose Oruru, occurred on 12 August 2015 at her mother's shop in Yenagoa local government area, Bayelsa State. Ese, who was 13 years old at the time, was abducted by a man ...

among others. In 2019, on the Menstrual Hygiene Day event held at

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...

, Betty advocated for the free distribution of sanitary pads to woman and girls, reasoning that since government gives free condoms for sex, sanitary pads should also be made available for the needy women and girls.

Awards, recognitions and fellowships

References

abah.pk

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abah, Betty 1974 births Living people Nigerian women writers People from Benue State Nigerian activists Nigerian women's rights activists Nigerian women activists University of Calabar alumni University of Lagos alumni Nigerian human rights activists Nigerian women journalists