Women's Rights in Developing Countries

Women's rights are a point of contention in many developing countries, such as India, Nigeria, Ghana, and many South Asian, Middle Eastern, and African nations. Many of these countries do provide equal rights and opportunities to women as in developed countries, such as access to birth control, job opportunities, and freedom of expression. There are organizations and movements aiming to end injustice and marginalization toward women in many developing countries, however.

The Nigerian Women Trust Fund
The Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF) is an organization that aims to increase representation of women in elective and appointive positions in the Nigerian government. Current representation of women in Nigerian elected and appointed positions is less than 5%, but the NWTF aims to raise that percentage to 35% by the Nigerian elections in 2027. The hashtag #Balance4Her on Twitter focused on increasing awareness on the active participation of women in the governance process.

The Feminist Coalition
The Feminist Coalition is a group consisting of young Nigerian feminists who work to achieve equality for women in Nigeria and other African countries. Founded by Damilola Odufuwa and Odunayo Eweniyi in June of 2020, the coalition seeks a vision for Nigeria where "equality for all people is a reality in our laws and everyday lives." This group of feminists focuses on the three core pillars of women's rights & safety, financial equality for women, and political & legislative power for women.

The Feminist Coalition started #EndSARS in order to protest against police brutality and injustices within Nigeria. By raising nationwide awareness through the use of this hashtag, the feminist group was able to donate ₦20,114,087.25 to #EndSARSresponse (Medical) and ₦6,121,678.73 to #EndSARSMentalHealthSupport (between October and November 2020). The group was able to donate N40,000,000 to 80 families (N500,000 each) across Nigeria who have lost loved ones to police brutality or have been victims themselves (between November 2020 to February 2021).

In spreading awareness of The Feminist Coalition as a whole, members of the feminist group are active on a number of social media platforms, including Instagram and Twitter.

#BringBackOurGirls
The hashtag #BringBackOurGirls started in response to 276 Nigerian schoolgirls being kidnapped by Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram on April 14th, 2014. The hashtag garnered lots of attention on social media, even catching the attention of former First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama. She posted a picture of herself holding a sign with the hashtag on it to her Twitter account.