Favour Abatang

A defining moment in Favour's career came in 2020 when she encountered a 12-year-old pregnant girl. According to her, what struck her most was not just the situation, but the realization that the girl's story was not an isolated case. It reflected a broader pattern of girls being pushed out of school, childhoods ending too early, and harmful practices sustained by silence and systemic gaps. That conviction led to the founding of Her Voice Foundation, initially launched as Campus Babe Initiative. The organization was created in direct response to the realities facing Africa's teenage mothers and vulnerable girls, particularly those excluded from education and support systems.^[6]

Under her leadership, Her Voice Foundation has focused on helping girls stay in or return to school, while also providing access to healthcare, protection, and economic empowerment. Beyond direct support, the foundation actively engages in advocacy, challenging policies, cultural norms, and systemic barriers that push girls out of education and limit their opportunities.^[7]

The foundation has so far reached over 7,500 girls across 60 communities, offering literacy, life skills, vocational training, and psychosocial support.^[5] In 2023, with support from UN Women under the Spotlight Initiative, she led a campaign in Becheve, Cross River State, to combat the resurgence of money marriage. She mobilized 1,000 men as allies and engaged 200 traditional rulers who pledged to abandon the practice.^[8][9]

Favour has served as a research fellow at Data Ville Group's Institute for Development Research in Nigeria, where she contributed to work focused on development policy and social impact. Since 2020, she has been involved with UN Women Nigeria as a National Youth Gender Advocate.

Her works have reached international audiences through speaking engagements, including her appearance on the TEDx stage, where she delivered a speech titled “The Power of a Second Chance.” In it, she emphasized a core belief that defines her work: that teenage mothers deserve opportunities to rebuild their lives through education, support, and dignity.^[4]

In October 2020, Abatang emerged as the 3rd Prize Winner at the South-South Technovation Hackathon Challenge, organized by the National Information Technology Development Agency

In 2023, she received the Diana Award, recognizing her as one of the young people making exceptional contributions to humanitarian causes.^[3] That same year, she received the Girl Child Education Champion Award in South Africa, presented by the Maldives minister of defense, Mariya Didi^[10]

In 2025, she was named among the 100 Reputable Women of African Descent alongside Nigeria's First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, President of Tanzania, Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of Mauritius, Ameenah Gurb-Fakim, MTN Uganda CEO, Sylvia Mulinge, Kwara State First Lady, Olufolake Abdulrazaq, Afrobeat singer, Tems, and others.^[11][12]