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Hassana Maina Brings Nigerian Feminist Perspectives to Women Deliver 2026

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Conversations on the future of gender equality took centre stage at the Women Deliver 2026 Conference in Melbourne, Australia, where ASVIOL Support Initiative’s Executive Director, Hassana Maina, joined global advocates, youth leaders, and human rights defenders as a speaker. Across two sessions, Hassana contributed insights from Nigeria’s feminist movements and ASVIOL’s work supporting survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. She participated in the Global Voices: Storytelling Circle and Youth Panel, where young leaders from different regions shared how their communities are responding to growing economic uncertainty, shrinking civic space, and increasing resistance to human rights. Drawing on movements such as #ArewaMeToo and #EndSARS, Hassana highlighted the determination of young Nigerians who continue to organise, speak out, and demand accountability despite difficult circumstances. She also joined the Reimagining Strategies for Multilateralism Advocacy strategy lab, where participants explored how multilateral systems can better respond to today’s global challenges. During the session, she shared perspectives on democratic decline and rising militarisation in West Africa, and the urgent need to protect existing rights while advancing gender justice. Reflecting on the conference, Hassana said: “Young people are being asked to defend rights within systems that are themselves becoming increasingly unstable. Yet despite all this, young people continue to organize, document, resist, imagine, and insist on accountability. Perhaps that is the real story of this generation—not that we are fearless, but that we continue anyway.” Women Deliver 2026 provided an important platform to exchange ideas, strengthen global partnerships, and ensure that the experiences of Nigerian women, young people, and grassroots movements remain part of conversations shaping the future of gender equality and human rights.

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ASVIOL Support Initiative Executive Director, Hassana Maina, Named to the World Bank’s Inaugural IDA Youth Champions Circle

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Executive Director, Hassana Maina, has been selected as a member of the World Bank’s inaugural IDA Youth Champions Circle. The IDA Youth Champions Circle brings together young leaders from across Africa and Asia who are driving positive change in their communities. As part of the inaugural cohort, Hassana will join other youth champions in advocating for inclusive and sustainable development while amplifying the voices and priorities of young people across their regions. Through ASVIOL Support Initiative, she has led efforts to strengthen survivor-centred support, influence policy, and mobilise communities to address sexual and gender-based violence and the inequalities that enable it. Speaking on her selection, Hassana Maina said: “I’m excited to be part of the inaugural World Bank IDA Youth Champions Circle, a space for bold, young voices shaping real change. I come into this with years of work on gender justice, survivor support, and unapologetically centring those often left out of the room.” Her appointment reflects the growing recognition of the role young leaders and grassroots organisations play in advancing sustainable development and creating more inclusive societies.

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Advancing Girls’ School Re-Entry Efforts in Kaduna Through the Aminiya Initiative

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The Anti Sexual Violence Lead (ASVIOL) Support Initiative has recorded a significant milestone in its efforts to strengthen access to education for vulnerable girls in Kaduna State through the implementation of the Aminiya Initiative, a school-based intervention designed to support adolescent mothers and married girls whose education has been interrupted to successfully return to and remain in school under the leadership or it’s Executive Director and Education Champion of Malala Fund Education Champion Network Cohort 8, Hassana Maina Implemented with support from the Malala Fund, the Aminiya Initiative introduces a structured mentorship model that trains and certifies selected teachers as Aminiya Mentors, trusted adults equipped with skills in trauma-informed mentorship, psychosocial support, safeguarding, inclusive pedagogy, and referral pathways. As implementation of the Aminiya Initiative progresses, the organisation recently convened a two-day Stakeholder Engagement and Validation Workshop in Kaduna State, bringing together key education stakeholders, government representatives, school leaders, teachers, development partners, civil society actors, and community representatives to strengthen collective action around girls’ school re-entry and retention. The workshop provided an opportunity to examine the barriers that continue to limit educational access for many Adolescent Married girls and mothers,discussions throughout the engagement highlighted the need for stronger policy implementation, expanded teacher capacity building, improved psychosocial support services, community sensitisation, and safeguarding mechanisms that enable Adolescent married girls and mothers to return to learning without stigma or discrimination. As Kaduna State continues efforts to improve educational outcomes for girls, the Aminiya Initiative represents an important step toward ensuring that school re-entry policies translate into meaningful support for the girls they are intended to serve.

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Founder and Executive Director, Hassana Maina Announced as Ford Global Fellow

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We are proud to announce that our Founder and Executive Director, Hassana Maina, has been selected as one of 32 leaders worldwide for the prestigious 2026 Ford Global Fellowship, a flagship leadership initiative of the Ford Foundation. Chosen from across Africa, Asia, the Americas, and the Middle East, the 2026 cohort joins a growing global community of more than 150 social justice leaders working to address some of the world’s most pressing inequalities. Since its launch in 2020, the Ford Global Fellowship has invested in visionary leaders driving systemic change by strengthening leadership, fostering collaboration, and building a global network committed to advancing justice and democracy. Hassana’s selection is a recognition of years of bold leadership and unwavering commitment to advancing the rights of women and girls through survivor-centered advocacy, legal support, research, policy reform, and community organizing. Through ASVIOL Support Initiative, she has championed a feminist approach to addressing sexual and gender-based violence, challenging the structural inequalities that enable violence to persist while working alongside survivors to pursue justice, healing, and lasting systemic change. Reacting to the announcement, Hassana Maina said: “It still feels surreal, but I am deeply humbled and excited to share that I have been selected as one of the 32 Ford Global Fellows 2026. Through ASVIOL Support Initiative, my work has focused on interrogating shame and silence, and how they sustain sexual violence and deepen inequality for women and girls.” She added that the fellowship represents an opportunity to deepen collaboration with changemakers across the globe and strengthen efforts to dismantle systems that perpetuate inequality. As Hassana joins this distinguished network of global leaders, ASVIOL remains committed to advancing justice, influencing policy, generating evidence, and building movements that ensure every survivor can access support, dignity, and accountability.                

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