Betty Abah
Betty Abah | |
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 Abah in 2020 | |
| Born | March 6, 1974 Otukpo, Benue State, Nigeria |
| Nationality | Nigerian |
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Betty Abah (born March 6, 1974) is a Nigerian journalist, author and a women and children's rights activist. She is the founder and Executive Director of CEE HOPE, a girl-child rights and development non-profit organization based in Lagos State.
Early life
Betty was born in Otukpo, Benue State, Middle Belt region of Nigeria. She obtained a first degree in English and Literary Studies from the University of Calabar and a Masters in English Literature from the University of Lagos.
Career
Betty first worked with The Voice Newspaper in Makurdi, Benue State, and then Newswatch and Tell Magazine, before she proceeded to work with Rocky Mountain News as a fellow of the Alfred Friendly Press Fellowships.[1] As a journalist, she practiced with The Voice Newspaper, Newswatch, Tell Magazine and she also had a stint with the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, Colorado, U.S.A. She is the author of Sound of Broken Chains, Go Tell Our King and Mother of Multitudes.[2][3] Betty worked with Environmental Rights Action; Friends of the Earth Nigeria before setting establishing CEE-HOPE in December 2013.
Activism
Abah has been involved in several cases, defending cases of human rights violations. Some of them include campaigns for the release of the Chibok girls abducted by the Boko Haram terrorist in North East Nigeria, campaigns for the environmental rights of Niger Delta women, the case of the torture involving three women in Ejigbo, Lagos by members of a vigilante group, the case of the kidnapping of Ese Oruru among others.[3] In 2019, on the Menstrual hygiene Day event held at Lagos, Betty advocated for the free distribution of sanitary pads to woman and girls, reasoning that since government gives free condoms for sex, sanitary pads should also be made available for the needy women and girls.[4]
Awards, recognitions and fellowships
| Year | Class | Category | Awarding body |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | State Honours | Community Service | National Youth Service Corps Nigeria |
| 2003 | Reporter of the Year | Journalism | National Media Merit Awards Nigeria |
| 2006 | Fellow | internships | Alfred Friendly Press Fellowships, USA |
| 2006 | Fellow | Journalism | The Knight Journalism Press Fellowship, USA |
| 2006 | Fellow | Journalism | The Kaiser Family HIV/AIDS Fellowship, USA |
| 2008 | Child-Friendly Reporter of the Year | Journalism | Media Excellence |
| 2010 | Participation | Leadership Program | Global Tobacco Control Leadership Program, Johns Hopkins University,USA. |
| 2012 | Honorary Mention | Poetry Prize | Association of Nigerian Authors |
| 2014 | Honorary Mention | Journalism | Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting |
| 2016 | Print Journalist of the Year | Journalism | Nigeria Media Merit Award.[8] |
| 2019 | Visiting Fellowship | Human Rights | Human Rights Defenders Fellowship, University of York, England. [9] |
https://www.york.ac.uk/cahr/defenders/protective-fellowship/past/betty/
References
- ^ "Nigerian Women Bear the Curse of Oil". Archived from the original on 2016-08-17. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
- ^ "JOURNALIST, BETTY ABAH BRINGS MULTIMEDIA TO POETRY".
- ^ a b "A word is enough for the wise! Interview with Betty Abah, Environmental Rights Action - Enanga". Archived from the original on 2017-10-19. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
- ^ "'Since govt gives free condoms for sex, why not free pads for girls' – child rights activist". Vanguard News. 2019-06-06. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
- ^ Dame Awards. "The Child Friendly Reporting". Retrieved 19 July 2016.
- ^ Voice of America. "Three Africans Chosen for U.S. Press Fellowships". Retrieved 19 July 2016.
- ^ Tobore Ovuoire. "PREMIUM TIMES reporters honoured at Wole Soyinka Journalism Awards". Premium Times. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
- ^ The Editor. TELL https://tell.ng/https:/tell.ng/tag/postname/betty-abah/. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
{{cite web}}:|last1=has generic name (help); Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Centre for Applied Human Rights. "Human Rights Defenders Fellowshio". University of York. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
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