Arewa Voices

Stories from the community as told by the community. Arewa Voices documents the voices of Arewa women in the Hausa community of Nigeria.

Arewa Voices

Why should African Governments Invest in Mental Healthcare?

I first came across Hauwa Ojeifo in November 2019, when she was invited to speak on mental healthcare in Nigeria at Aké Festival. I was impressed by her achievements and her own personal journey to becoming the Executive Director of She Writes Woman (SWW), one of the country’s leading mental health initiatives. On knowing her…

ByKhadija Yusra SanusiMay 26, 20210Comments

Arewa Voices

‘Yashafeni’: The Truth about My Life

I recently wrote an article about cultural stigma around mental illness, where I wrote about M, a 21-year-old young lady from Kebbi state in northern Nigeria. In her own words, M spent her late kindergarten years running from sexual assaults, her early teenage years suffering from Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) and her late teenage years…

ByKhadija Yusra SanusiMay 24, 20210Comments

Arewa Voices

International Day to End Obstetric Fistula

I was in my early twenties the first time I saw a VVF (vesico-vaginal fistula) patient. She was much younger. She was in a sea of women recovering from the same disease – all sitting on mats, row by row, their urine in bowls in front of them. I was there as a member of…

ByKhadija Yusra SanusiMay 23, 20211Comment

Arewa Voices

The Role of Religion in Women’s Safety

When my sister was getting married in 2015, my father called her in for a discussion. He spoke to her about the importance of sabr (patience), the Islamic role of a wife and the expectations of our society. In his speech, he noted that although he believed he was marrying her off to a good…

ByKhadija Yusra SanusiMay 19, 20212Comments

Arewa Voices

‘Yashafeni’: The Voices in my Head

It starts slowly, with the little things. You’re unmotivated – unable to study or work; unable to concentrate. Slowly, you start withdrawing from friends and family – choosing to stay in bed, away from the noise of the outside world. You say no to activities that involve moving, interacting and socializing because they seem “tiring”.…

ByKhadija Yusra SanusiMay 17, 20210Comments

Arewa Voices

How My Family Reacted to my Rape Story

One of my closest friends – let’s call her Q – is a 24-year-old woman from Kano, northern Nigeria. She was sexually assaulted by her cousin for 10 long years. This abuse started when she was only 11. He would constantly sexually molest her by forcing her to engage in sexual activities with him. In…

ByKhadija Yusra SanusiMay 16, 20210Comments

Arewa Voices

A Mark of Shame: Cultural Stigma around Mental Illnesses

In Ramadan 2020, I received the most troubling email. It was from M, a then-20-year-old young woman with whom I had had a few conversations on Twitter. It was a 15-page letter with intimate, yet painfully explicit, details about her personal life. “I recently went for a mental health test and I realized I had…

ByKhadija Yusra SanusiMay 10, 20211Comment

Arewa Voices

Drug Abuse and How it can be Gendered

The call came close to midnight. Like always, I was ending my day watching a sitcom and snacking on baguette and cheese – as one would in Paris. It was A, my Syrian classmate at the university. Earlier that day, she had notified me that her parents travelled, and she was going to use the…

ByKhadija Yusra SanusiMay 9, 20211Comment

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