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.