Meet an Organisation Giving Mental Health a Voice in Nigeria
For a significant part of her life, Hauwa Ojeifo struggled with extreme mood and energy swings, which, coupled with trauma from sexual and emotional abuse, severely interfered with her quality of life. In February 2016, she was on the verge of taking her own life, but she shared her suicidal thoughts with a friend who encouraged her to see a psychiatrist. The road to Hauwa's diagnosis was long, hard, and fraught with the shame, stigma, and secrecy that is often associated with accessing mental healthcare in Nigeria, writes Folakemi Ajala for Nigeria Health Watch.
Non-profit organisation She Writes Woman aims to change this. Part of their mission is to create safe spaces for people to access support that is free of shame and judgement. The organisation is involved in legislative advocacy, as well as mental health policy and reform across different sectors of the economy and in the political space. At the heart of their advocacy work is the mantra, "Nothing about us without us" - the idea that no policy should be decided by any representative without the full and direct participation of members of the group(s) affected by that policy.
In this capacity, Ojeifo, who has since been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and PTSD and is now receiving treatment, testified before the National Assembly Committee on Health regarding the Mental Health Bill of 2019. Her testimony highlighted deficiencies in the language of the Bill and the fact that the human rights aspects of the legal process were largely disregarded. The bill was stepped down and sent back for revision.
Hauwa Ojeifo speaks at the Nigerian Parliament.
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She Writes Woman is a non-profit organisation working to give mental health a voice in Nigeria.