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Summary
Nigerian activist Aisha Yesufu has condemned the dangerous culture of normalised male sexual violence against women. She urged all governments and institutions to take urgent action to end such impunity.
Nigerian activist Aisha Yesufu has condemned the dangerous culture that treats women’s bodies as possessions, calling for urgent action to end male sexual violence and impunity against women.
In a statement released on Nov. 9, 2025, titled “No More Silence: Women Own Their Bodies,” Aisha cited the assault of Mexico’s President, Claudia Sheinbaum, as an example of the persistent danger women face in public spaces.
Claudia was groped by a man while walking to the Ministry of Education on Nov. 4, 2025.
Aisha argued that if Claudia were a man, it would be a different story and condemned the culture of male violence against women.
“Let us be clear: if that had been a man in her position, the perpetrator would never have dared,” she wrote. “This is what happens when the world normalises assault and ownership over women’s bodies.”
The activist linked Claudia’s experience to similar injustices faced by women in Nigeria, including the case of Senator Natasha Akpoti Uduaghan, who spoke about being harassed by Senator Godwill Akpabio.
“A female Senator publicly complained about the sexual harassment she suffered from the Senate president, and instead of the institution standing with her, it stood with the accused. That is how broken the system is,” the statement reads. “The people who speak out are the ones who are shamed, while the perpetrators are protected.”
She stressed that such incidents reflect a wider culture of silence and inaction. Citing data from the World Health Organisation (WHO), Aisha noted that one in three women aged 15 to 49. She also referenced a study showing that nearly half of Nigerian female undergraduates have been sexually harassed.
“These are not statistics to gloss over. They are cries for help dressed in numbers. They expose a global crisis of impunity, a system that excuses violence against women and silences accountability,” Aisha said.
The activist urged governments and institutions to hold abusers accountable rather than protecting them, insisting that women’s safety must become a universal priority, noting that “A woman’s body is hers alone. She owns it. She owns her agency. She owns herself.”
