Uche Umolu – Women Deliver
2020

Uche Umolu

  • Age: 28
  •    |   She/her/hers

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Oppressors never give away power so it is up to us to rise, fight, and overturn systems designed to fail us. We must address the root of sexual violence by examining our structures and reflecting on our beliefs. Rape culture can only be deconstructed by unlearning and correcting.

- Uche Umolu

Bio

Uche Umolu is a sexual health and reproductive rights activist, born and raised in Nigeria. As a teenager, she moved to the United Kingdom to receive an education, followed by the United States and now lives in Canada where she has resided for the past 7 years.

For the past decade, Uche has been one of the leading recognized voices on sexual health and reproductive rights issues in the diaspora. At just 21 years old, Uche launched a unique online platform that allowed survivors of sexual violence to share their story. Two years later, she helped to usher in the growing #MeToo movement into the Nigerian community, taking on the responsibility of sharing those survivor stories herself.

As an award winning activist, Uche is also the Founder of The Consent Workshop; a youth-led grassroots non-profit providing consent education, resources, and social awareness to deconstruct rape culture in marginalized communities. Over the past 4 years, Consent Workshop has delivered hundreds of workshops and initiatives in Nigeria, Ghana, Canada, and St. Vincent and Grenadines.

In addition to her Bachelor of Commerce degree in Digital Business Management and over three years of corporate experience, Uche is now pursuing a law (Juris Doctor) degree at Queen’s University, Faculty of Law. As a future lawyer, she hopes to find a niche in the practice of law that utilizes her passion and experience in activism.

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What ignited your pursuit for gender equality?

My passion for gender equality was ignited by my search for liberation. Growing up in a Nigerian environment and escaping gender roles, it became evident that they were many systems actively working to oppress women.

Please share your biggest wins as an advocate for gender equality.

In March 2018, my team and I launched an online petition urging the Federal Republic of Nigeria to implement a sex offenders registry. That petition garnered necessary social awareness and over 8,000 signatures globally on change.org. As a sexual violence survivor and advocate for justice reform, it was a big win for myself, other victims, and my team that a sexual offenders registry was implemented in Nigeria in November 2019.

Outside of your gender equality advocacy work, what do you enjoy doing?

Gaming, Binge watching TV and traveling.

Languages Spoken:

  • English

Publications:

Past Awards, Certifications, or Fellowships:

  • UN and British Council Youth Innovator Canada (2019)
  • Pam McConnell Award for Young Women in Leadership (2019)
  • CIBWE 100 Black Women to Watch in Canada (2019)
  • Gates Foundation Goal Keeper (2019)
  • 100 NCS Youth Leader UK (2012)
  • UN Active Citizen Summit Training
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