GWR 2026: BARR. Olubunmi Uluba Begins 220 Hours Reading of SGBV Laws 

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Nigerian lawyer and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) prosecutor, Olubunmi Uluba, has begun a 220-hour Guinness World Records attempt to publicly read SGBV laws, policies, and legal instruments from 15 African countries, turning an endurance challenge into an exercise in legal awareness and advocacy. For 220 hours, Olubunmi plans to read laws that are meant to protect women and girls from violence.

Her Guinness World Records attempt, which began after an opening press conference at the Maryam Babangida National Centre for Women’s Development in Abuja on August 14, is focused on more than breaking a world record. Uluba says the marathon is intended to encourage Africans to understand the laws designed to protect them from sexual and gender based violence, examine how those laws differ across countries and identify gaps that could inform future reforms.

The countries covered are Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, South Africa, Namibia, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, The Gambia and Botswana. The comparative approach is intended to allow stakeholders to examine how different African countries address SGBV and identify provisions that could strengthen survivor protection, access to justice and institutional responses. 

At the Abuja conference, she questioned how much people actually know about the laws that are supposed to protect them from sexual and gender-based violence.

“Do we truly know our SGBV laws? Do we know what they provide? Do we know who they protect? Do we know how they are implemented? Do we know where the gaps remain?”

For her, reading the laws aloud is a way of putting them where more people can see and hear them, while also examining how different African countries respond to SGBV.

The laws being read include national legislation as well as regional and international legal instruments. Olubunmi pointed out that some African countries have incorporated certain conventions and protocols into their domestic laws, while others have not. Comparing the laws, she said, could therefore show what Nigeria and other countries are doing well and where changes may be needed.

The Maputo Protocol, for example, provides a continental framework for protecting women’s rights, including protections against violence and harmful practices. Nigeria’s own legal framework includes the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015, which prohibits various forms of violence and provides protections and remedies for people affected by violence. Yet having laws on paper does not necessarily mean that women and girls can easily access the protection those laws promise. That gap between knowing that a law exists and being able to use it is central to Olubunmi’s argument.

UN Women Country Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Beatrice Eyong, also backed the focus on legal awareness at the Abuja conference, saying people need to know their rights in order to demand them. 

The discussion also went beyond survivors and members of the public. Olubunmi’s comparison will look at the responsibilities of institutions involved in preventing and responding to SGBV, including the justice system.

Dr Abiodun Essiet, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement, said comparing Nigeria’s laws with those of other African countries could help identify gaps and strengthen the country’s response to violence against women. He also called for greater attention to laws affecting women.

Olubunmi’s choice of a Guinness World Records attempt gives the legal discussion an unusual platform. Rather than holding another conference about SGBV laws that may only reach people already working in the field, she is putting the laws themselves at the centre of a public endurance challenge.

The record she is attempting to break is currently held by another Nigerian, Samson Ajao, who read aloud for 215 hours, two seconds in Osogbo in May 2024. Guinness World Records lists his performance as the current record for the longest marathon reading aloud. Olubunmi’s target of 220 hours would therefore add almost five hours to the existing record.

But what happens after the 220 hours may matter more than the number itself? According to her, the organisers plan to hold a stakeholder dialogue after the marathon to discuss what emerges from the reading and comparison of the laws. The findings are expected to form the basis for recommendations on policy and legislative reform. She hopes the process will move beyond simply talking about SGBV to understanding the laws, identifying what is missing and pushing for changes where necessary. She said the intended journey is from public conversation to practical change.

“From conversation to knowledge, from knowledge to evidence, from evidence to recommendations, and from recommendations to reform.”

By placing SGBV laws at the centre of a Guinness World Records attempt, Olubunmi is drawing attention to an issue that remains buried in legal documents and policy papers. The challenge now is to ensure that when the 220 hours are over, the conversation does not end with the record.