Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi, the Executive Director of Stand to End Rape Initiative (STER), has been named in the inaugural TIME 100 Next list of individuals shaping the future of their fields and defining the next generation of leadership.
The list was released on Wednesday, November 13. It is an expansion of the TIME 100 list of the most influential people in the world and highlights 100 rising stars who are shaping the future of business, entertainment, sports, politics, health, science and activism, and more.
Ms. Osowobi’s story is an inspiring one and that makes her success all the more glorious.
She founded STER in June 2014 after surviving sexual violence. She had participated in the 2011 general elections in Nigeria, where she served as an electoral officer under the National Youth Corps Service (NYSC).
During the election, Oluwaseun resisted election rigging and, as a result, she was raped.
Shocked by the lack of resources available for sexual assault survivors in Nigeria, Oluwaseun started her NGO to help rape victims.
STER is an award-winning youth-led not-for-profit organization advancing gender equality, advocating against gender-based violence and providing medical, legal and psychological support to survivors of sexual and gender-based violence in Nigeria.
Reacting to being recognized by TIME, Oluwaseun tweeted:
I DON’T KNOW HOW TO FEEL! IN MY LITTLE CORNER, GOD FOUND ME & GAVE ME AN ASSIGNMENT. I OBEYED! THEN HE BLESSED WITH ME THE BEST TEAM!
NOW GOD IS SHOWING OFF WITH MY LIFE. HE IS EMBARRASSING ME.
YOU MAY NOT KNOW, BUT I KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS TO ME. LOCAL WOMAN WITH A GLOBAL GOD.
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