Maryanne Nkechi Obiagbaoso-Udegbunam
Founder and Executive Director of IWOGRA

Maryanne Nkechi Obiagbaoso-Udegbunam is a feminist, social justice and gender advocate with 8 years of programming and leadership experience. She worked as a Legal Officer/Program Assistant and subsequently became a Legal/Program Officer at a leading women’s right organisation where she headed different projects simultaneously. She has presented papers on gender issues; human rights laws, sexual and gender-based violence reporting, rights of persons living with HIV/AIDS and facilitated several meetings. She has provided technical assistance on mainstreaming gender issues into various development programmes, policy dialogue and analysis, criminal justice system, capacity development, civil society engagement and program management. She is an excellent advocate on sexual and gender-based violence, sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender laws and policies and, gender and corruption. She is experienced in grassroots mobilization and project execution. She has acquired series of trainings and knowledge building skills both within and outside Nigeria. She holds certificates on ‘Responsible Leadership on Transparency & Good Governance’ and ‘Understanding the Rights of Women and Girls’ through the Young African Leaders Network (YALI Network) online course.

She has done a lot of research, and edited several research publications on access to justice, gender, governance, human rights and development. She took part in the drafting of a Training Manual on Gender-Based Violence, Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights, Women in Conflict Zones and Gender Budgeting. She took part in preparing the first draft of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Law of Ogun State, Nigeria and, also took part in drafting the Rising Above Violence Against Women and Girls in Nigeria Publication produced by Initiative for Women and Girls Right Advancement (IWOGRA). She has supported access to justice for women and girls through the Legal Clinic Services and actively took part in the justice process for Monica Osagie of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria’s sex for mark scandals which led to the conviction of the erring Professor. She is presently the Founder and Executive Director of IWOGRA, a non-governmental organisation that actively works to increase institutional and social support for ending sexual and gender-based violence and improving access to information and services for women and girls on sexual and reproductive health and rights. Through IWOGRA, she has also provided interventions around mental health and, crisis prevention and management especially for women and girls, and works closely with mental health institutions in addressing mental health conditions triggered by sexual and gender-based violence.

In December 2021, she was recognised by Allure, Vanguard Newspapers as one of the five activists that actively engaged the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence. Her passion is to drive an inclusive development agenda for women and girls by working with both the demand and supply sides’ actors to provide technical assistance for women and girls’ inclusion in all development programs. She holds a Bachelor of Law (LLB) from Anambra State University, Barrister at Law (BL) from the Nigerian Law School and Masters of Law (LLM) in Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Africa from University of Pretoria, South Africa through a fully-funded scholarship scheme.