300 SECONDS with Hassana Maina
Lawyer, Poet and Advocate against sexual violence.
Meet Hassana Maina, Lawyer, Poet and Advocate against sexual violence. We sat down for 300 Seconds with Hassana to talk about her work in coordinating protests and her campaigning towards the enactment of the Violence Against Person’s (Prohibitions) Act across Nigerian states.
PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF?
My name is Hassana Maina, I am a lawyer and an advocate against sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV)
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR WORK AGAINST SGBV?
With regards to my work against SGBV, I can say I have done quite a lot. When the Arewa MeToo campaign went viral on the Nigerian Twitter space, I got motivated to get a group of people together, and we started going to schools and communities to talk to people about the importance of breaking the culture of shame and silence. Flowing from the Arewa MeToo campaign, I coordinated a ‘standstill’ rally across 8 Northern Nigerian states with the aim of convincing members of parliament to domesticate the Violence Against Person’s (Prohibitions) Act (VAPP Act). I also run a weekly programme on social media, the ABC’s of sexual violence, where I invite diverse guests to talk about issues connected to SGBV
WHAT MOTIVATED AND INSPIRED YOUR FOCUS ON SGBV?
A couple of things have motivated me and kept me inspired but it's primarily because women’s bodies are seen as a tool of abuse. This enrages me. I just want to live in a world where young boys and young girls can be free to live a normal life. You cannot seat with a group of girls and not hear traumatic stories about their experience of SGBV and that is not normal.
ONE OF YOUR PROMINENT ADVOCACY WAS THE NORTHNORMAL CAMPAIGN FOR AREWAMETOO, PLEASE TELL US ABOUT THAT?
The NorthNormal Campaign started when we were looking at the legislation around SGBV. We realised that the VAPP was passed by the National Assembly in 2015, but for some reason, it has not been domesticated across the states in Nigeria. This has left lawyers handicapped with regards to legislation to use in convicting offenders. I was able to get state leads in 8 northern states to have meetings and conversations leading to a push for the domestication of the VAPP. I am happy to say that we have seen increased domestication across some states, such as Bauchi and Sokoto. Borno state just had a public hearing regarding the Act.
IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT FACTORS CONTRIBUTE TO ONGOING SGBV IN THE COMMUNITIES YOU WORK IN?
There are so many factors such as the culture of shame and silence that I continue to talk about - the societal agreement to be hush-hush with regards to issues of SGBV, thereby giving abusers the confidence to continue perpetrating their abuse. I believe this is one of the major reasons for its prevalence. This is also linked to the culture of victim-blaming, which stops victims from speaking out. Victims are also discouraged from speaking out because of the inadequacies of the legal system and the difficulty in convicting offenders. When you look at countries where there seems to be a facade of justice, these problem isn’t as prevalent
WHAT WERE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES YOU FACED OR CONTINUE TO FACE IN YOUR ADVOCACY WORK AGAINST SGBV?
Online bullying is one. Sometimes it is really difficult to penetrate some communities, although some communities have been very welcoming. Also, the fact that there are so many spaces to fill leads to burnout, because you have to do a lot of stuff at once. The lack of synergy between all sectors has contributed to the burnout felt by all activists, not just myself.
CAN YOU TELL US ONE OF THE SUCCESSES YOU HAVE ACHIEVED IN THE COURSE OF YOUR WORK?
I am very happy to see that in my lifetime, conversations about sexual violence are normalised. I do not take that for granted. I am also happy about the implementation of the VAPP.
WHAT IMPORTANT POLICY CHANGES WILL ENSURE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOUR WORK
Right now I am very focused on the implementation of the VAPP Act, if I can also get the Child Rights Act implemented, I and so many other activists will be happy about that.