When 14-year-old Surely from Edo State, southern Nigeria, stood up during the Voices at the Table (VATT) pilot dialogue in Benin City, her voice trembled, but her message was clear. With courage, she spoke of a classmate relentlessly mocked for her appearance and speech impairment. ‘She always felt shy and timid’, Surely said. ‘Her classmates constantly mocked her… she felt isolated and unwanted’.
To Surely, the solution is simple yet powerful. ‘If she had more friends who could stand up for her, it would make her feel safe’, she continued. Surely’s words, like those of other teenage girls who gathered in a quiet room in July 2025 to participate in the VATT, capture the heartbreak, resilience, and clarity of adolescent girls across Nigeria.
VATT, a girl-led citizenship assembly powered by the Grace Agbonlahor Foundation (GAF) in partnership with ImpactHouse Centre for Development Communication, is a civic classroom where teenage girls in Nigeria share lived experiences, demand accountability, and shape policymaking. Hosted quarterly at GAF’s civic hub in Benin City, the assembly combines storytelling, activism, and policy-focused dialogue to elevate the lived realities of girls often left out of decision-making.
In Rivers State, Chisome, 23, recounted being harassed on the street by a man who refused to take ‘no’ for an answer. ‘He grabbed my arm when I said I wouldn’t give him my number. I screamed and pulled away. That’s how I got free’, she said. Her reflection pierced through the noise. ‘Maybe if men held other men accountable, things like this would reduce’, she concluded.
In Akwa Ibom State, 17-year-old Ellen was followed home by boys who hurled vulgar comments at her. ‘To them, it was romantic. To me, it was threatening’, she said. Her solution was direct. ‘We need to enlighten these people’, she proferred.
For her part, Akoso Shalom, 23, shared a near-escape on a dark street in Benue State. Her plea was both practical and profound. ‘If we had street lights, a lot of things would reduce’, she said. These girls are not complaining. They are offering clear, practical, and bold solutions.
One participant, who preferred to remain anonymous, recounted a harrowing walk home from a church event. ‘We chose the shortcut, even though it was unsettling. What made me more uneasy was the fact that we were all women’, she said. As they reached a notorious corner, ten men surrounded them. ‘Five ahead. Five behind. I cannot describe the chill that swept through me. It was pure fear. We just ran, like our lives depended on it. And honestly, I think they did. Since that day, I have never walked that route again. Not once. And I never will’.
From the stories told during this first VATT session, one truth echoed through the room: Nigerian girls are growing up afraid, unheard, and unprotected. And the experiences shared align with the grim reality captured in national and global data. Nigeria remains one of the toughest places in the world to be a girl, with six in 10 girls having experienced gender-based violence before the age of 18, according to a UNICEF 2023 report.
That figure directly contradicts Nigeria’s commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDGs 5 (achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls), SDG 4 (ensure inclusive and equitable quality education, and SDG 16 (promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development).
The country is also falling short of its legal obligations under the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees the rights to life, dignity, and freedom from discrimination; the Child Rights Act (2003); the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child; and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
Despite these binding commitments, the girls at the VATT session did not dwell in despair, as they rose to the moment with urgency and purpose, demanding real change. Their proposals included improved public infrastructure such as street lighting and CCTV, school-based counselling services, comprehensive sexuality education, community safety task forces, and the engagement of men and boys as allies in creating safer communities for girls. These are not impossible asks. They are the minimum requirements for girls to live, learn, and lead safely.
To bring these demands to life, concrete steps must be taken by those in power. The Federal Ministry of Women Affairs must take the lead in mainstreaming and funding girl-led safety initiatives. To shift harmful gender norms, the National Orientation Agency (NOA) must roll out targeted public awareness campaigns that reach communities at every level. At the state and local levels, governments must invest in infrastructure, such as street lighting and safe public spaces, that support the safety and well-being of girls.
In addition, security agencies like the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) must establish and maintain gender desks that are not only responsive but also youth-friendly and accessible to adolescent girls in distress.
VATT reminds us that democracy is stronger when everyone has a seat at the table, especially those often pushed to the margins.
