Limota Goroso Giwa

Dr. Limota Goroso Giwa co-founded the International Women’s Communication Centre (IWCC) in 1993. IWCC is an organization committed to promoting and protecting the rights of women and other vulnerable groups in the Kwara State of Nigeria. What makes Dr. Goroso Giwa able to foster peace between religious communities in Kwara while also giving the women of those communities a multitude of opportunities is not only her incredible passion, but her ability to deeply understand those who she wants to help. She states: “If you want to work with rural women on communication issues, you have to speak their language. And their language is the language of survival.”

Prior to participating in HRAP in 2002, she had achieved great success in creating awareness of the daily struggles faced by Nigerian women and empowering women and girls at the community level. HRAP provided Dr. Goroso Giwa with the necessary skills to continue putting momentum behind the growth of the cause and organization that she cared so deeply about. Not only did she refine her proposal writing and find herself empowered by the networking opportunities offered by the program; she was inspired to later pursue a doctorate degree. She writes: “Over 12 years ago the memory of [my cohort’s] togetherness lingers in my mind… I will forever be grateful to have [had] the chance to participate in the program.”

Just one year after participating in HRAP, Dr. Goroso Giwa was nominated along with eight other Nigerian women for the Gender Empowerment Award, a distinction awarded by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) project in Nigeria to women who have contributed to promotion of gender equality.

In 2005, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by the “1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize” initiative for her contributions towards national peace, health, education, and human rights for women in Nigeria.

Dr. Goroso Giwa’s impressive efforts towards gender equality in Nigeria have continued to this day. In 2010, she led the African Home-Based Caregivers Alliance while also serving as Executive Director of IWCC and on local advisory boards of funding agencies at home in Nigeria and abroad. She is now on the executive board of the Huairo-Commission, which is a U.S. based NGO dedicated to eradicating poverty, especially in women, in over 30 countries. This past year, Dr. Goroso Giwa participated in the 7th Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights in Accra, Ghana, joined the 2016 UNAIDS High-Level Meeting towards Ending AIDS, and was appointed to the advisory board of the Habitat III Africa Regional Meeting.

When Dr. Limota Goroso Giwa is not doing international outreach, she is at home with her husband and children.

- Article composed by Gabrielle Isabelle Hernaiz-De Jesus, November 2016