Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi

British-Nigerian feminist activist, writer and policy advocate

Bisi Adeleye Fayemi (born 11 June 1963) is a Nigerian-British feminist activist, writer and policy advocate. She was first lady of Ekiti State, Nigeria as wife of Ekiti State governor Kayode Fayemi from 2018 to 2022. She previously served as first lady from 2010 to 2014 during her husband's first term in office. In 2001, she co-founded the African Women's Development Fund (AWDF), the first Pan-African grant-making organisation. She serves as a UN Women Nigeria Senior Advisor, and was appointed as a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at King's College, University of London in 2017.

Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi in 2018

Quotes

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  • As women, regardless of our class, geographical location or educational status, we should be aware that we do not operate in a vacuum. We function within a context of patriarchal norms and values, which have been firmly entrenched over time, and which continue to be validated through culture, traditions and religious beliefs.
  • Ultimately, it is the fabric that binds us together as a community of people that will unravel, when we can no longer talk to one another in civility, when young people can abuse their elders at will in the anonymity of cyber space, and when reputations built over years of hard work and service get tarnished with one stroke of the keys.
  • We need to keep mentoring young women in ways that nurture them and prepare them for the harsh world of business, politics and public life. In doing this, we need to be able to set an example for them because they will practice what they see and not what they hear from us.
  • All of us here have a sphere of influence we can operate from. Let us use our spaces wisely and purposefully. Let us all rise and set our sights on all the great things we know we can accomplish. Let us stop being complacent. Let us move out of our comfort zones. Let us stop passing things on to the next person. You are the person. You are the change.

"I wanted to make sure that no woman or women's organization would ever be turned down for a grant for the reasons I was turned dow.On reasons for founding The African Women's Development Fund."

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