Maryam Uwais
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Lawyer[1]
- business woman
- politician
- human right activist
Maryam Uwais | |
|---|---|
| Born | Maryam Isa Wali |
| Alma mater | Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria |
| Occupations |
|
| Known for | Advocacy, Development, rights of women and children |
| Spouse | Mohammed Uwais |
| Father | Isa Wali |
| Awards | National Honours Award of the Order of the Niger (2011)[2] |
Maryam Hajiya Uwais, MFR is a Nigerian businesswoman, lawyer, human right activist and politician. She served as the special advisor to President Muhammadu Buhari on social investments from 2015 to 2023.[3][4] She worked at the Kano state ministry of industry, the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian Law Reform Commission.[5]
Before her appointment as special adviser, Uwais was an activist against poverty. She worked in N-Power.[6]
Uwais attended Ahmadu Bello University in 1981 and obtained her LL.M in 1985.[7] The Nigeria Institute of Advanced Legal Studies awarded her a certificate of honor in Advanced practice and Procedure that same year and Legal drafting in 1989. She worked as a consultant for several organizations including the Open Society Initiative for West Africa, UNICEF, World Bank, and the Department for International Development of the United Kingdom.[5]
She worked as a special rapporteur on Child's right of the council of the National Human Rights Commission. In 2009, She founded the Isa Wali Empowerment Initiative.[8] She has also worked as a Non-Executive Director and Member of Board of Directors of Stanbic IBTC Holdings.[9]
Activism
Her advocacy has been on gender related issues and feminism. She quoted, "...child marriage as the worst form of violence against the girl-child."[10]
Uwais was the National Coordinator of At-Risk-Children Programme sponsored and owned by the Federal Government of Nigeria.[11] Most of her work also touches child marriage in Nigeria[12] and proposing Women's empowerment.[13]
Media and public image
Fellowships
- Kashim Ibrahim Fellowship[16]
- Fellow of World Economic Forum, 2019.[17]
- Nigeria Leadership Initiatives[18]
- advisory group to accelerate progress of the sustainable development goals (SDG) by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation[19]
Awards and recognitions
In 2011, Goodluck Johnathan awarded Maryam, Saudatu Mahdi and others a National Honour of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic.[2] The International Women's Society awarded her that same year with the Humanitarian of the Year Award.[20] In 2012, she was the recipient of This Day Awards for women of service in Nigeria.[18] She was the recipient of National Human Rights Commission Awardee for Outstanding Contributions in the Advancement of the Rights of Women and Children in Nigeria, 2015.[21]
In 2018, Uwais was honoured with the ‘Public Social Intrapreneur’ award by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship.[22][23]