HRDs of the Month

Human Rights Defender of the month: Rachael Mwikali

29 November 2024

Born and raised in the Mathare slum, Rachael faced numerous challenges growing up, particularly as a young girl navigating a patriarchal society that often overlooked her rights and well-being. These early experiences of violence and discrimination, including sexual and emotional abuse, shaped her activism and her determination to fight for justice.
“Growing up as a girl, having access to basic needs was a challenge. At one point, I was engaged in a relationship with someone older than me, who took advantage of me in multiple ways. This had a profound effect on my childhood and development. It led me to embrace feminism and activism because I realized that this wasn’t just a personal issue, but a systemic one affecting many girls around me. No one was giving us a platform to speak out or condemning what was happening.” – Rachael Mwikali

Human Rights Defender of the month: Peace Monica Pimer

31 October 2024

Peace Monica Pimer is the Executive Director of the Nile Girls Forum, an organisation focused on empowering young women through leadership, governance, sexual and reproductive health, and economic development. Born and raised in Zombo, Uganda, Peace is a committed environmental human rights defender, integrating climate action into her work. She advocates for the inclusion of women and girls in environmental decision-making, highlighting the link between environmental protection and human rights. Through her leadership, Peace continues to drive change, ensuring the voices of vulnerable communities are central to climate action and environmental justice. The Covid-19 pandemic, which confined many to their homes during the global lockdown in 2020, marked a turning point in Peace Pimer’s activism. As people stayed indoors, the world experienced cleaner air and healthier environments due to reduced carbon emissions from cars and factories. This period of reflection heightened Peace’s awareness of the importance of biodiversity and environmental conservation, leading to a pivotal shift in her focus.

Human Rights Defender of the month: Daniel Ngendakumana

28 September 2024

Daniel is a committed slam poet and human rights defender, using his powerful words to advocate for change in his home country, Burundi. Living in exile since 2015, Daniel has turned to poetry as a medium for raising awareness about the struggles his country faces, particularly focusing on themes like patriotism, civic values, and the preservation of Burundian culture.
On 19 November 2015, Daniel faced the difficult decision to leave his home country, Burundi. At that time, he was in the final year of his undergraduate studies in health sciences, specialising in midwifery at the National Institute of Public Health. With only four months of internship left to complete his bachelor’s degree, Daniel was arrested and subjected to intense interrogation at a rural hospital where he was interning. Fearing for his safety, he decided to flee. His journey spanned nine days, during which he crossed through three countries before finally settling in his host country. He left behind his father, brother, and sister, who remain in Burundi to this day.

Human Rights Defender of the month: Iman Ahmed Abdikarin

20 August 2024

Iman Ahmed Abdikarin was born in Italy on 12 May 1997 and returned to Mogadishu, Somalia in 1999. However, the situation in Mogadishu at the time was dire due to the chaos and violence that had plagued the country since the collapse of its central government in 1991. The civil war, which began with the ousting of President Siad Barre, created a power vacuum and intense clan-based warfare. The country was divided into various fiefdoms controlled by warlords, with no effective central authority to govern. Civilians, like Iman and her mother, faced constant threats to their safety, including bombings, gunfights, and looting.

Human Rights Defender of the month: Peter Michael Madeleka

25 July 2024

For four years, Peter Michael Madeleka built a career as a corporate lawyer, deeply engrossed in the intricacies of corporate legal work. Human rights law was far from his focus—until a life-altering event in 2019 changed everything.
In 2019, Peter was unjustly arrested and charged with money laundering, leading to nearly two years of incarceration with his wife, Jamila Ilomo. Peter was wrongfully convicted due to a coerced plea bargain with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). He later petitioned the High Court of and the court ruled in his favor, overturning the conviction and recognizing the illegality of the plea bargain. This pivotal case inspired Peter to transition from corporate law to human rights advocacy, focusing on justice and protecting others’ rights.

Human Rights Defender of the month: Elizabeth Chyrum

25 June 2024

Elizabeth Chyrum, also known as Elsa Chyrum, is an Eritrean human rights activist based in the United Kingdom (UK). For the past 26 years, she has been instrumental in raising awareness about the human rights abuses faced by Eritreans, including arbitrary detention, torture, and forced conscription, both within Eritrea and among Eritrean refugees and migrants.

Human Rights Defender of the month: Asmahan Abulsalam

30 May 2024

As a child, Asmahan’s childhood was scarred by the violent practice of female genital mutilation (FGM), then popular in Somali culture. Girls as young as seven years were subjected to the violent practice often against their will, and young Asmahan was revolted by it.
“I witnessed very young girls aged between seven and ten years undergoing this harmful practice (FGM), conducted using rudimentary tools, which usually left long effects on these girls’ bodies. By all intents, it was a violation of both their bodies and their rights, and even at that early age, it didn’t sit well with me,” she says.
As she grew up, the social injustices against women would only grow more evident. In addition to FGM, girls were rarely taken to school. Instead, child marriages were frequent, and young girls would be married off before their first teenage birthdays, often to older men, where they would go on to lead lives blighted by systemic socio-cultural discrimination and abuse.

Human Rights Defender of the month: Apollo Mukasa

30 April 2024

Apollo Mukasa’s journey into activism is deeply rooted in his commitment to advocate for the rights of persons with disabilities (PWDs). As the Executive Director of Uganda National Action on Physical Disability (UNAPD), Apollo is a driving force behind initiatives aimed at combating discrimination among PWDs. UNAPD was established in 1998 as a platform for voicing concerns of persons with physical disabilities to realise a barrier free environment where they can enjoy their rights to the fullest.

Human Rights Defender of the month: Leon Ntakiyiruta

31 March 2024

As a child, Leon wanted to be a magistrate – whom he saw as agents of justice. Born in 1983 in Burundi’s Southern province, he came of age at a time of great social and political upheaval in the East African country. In 1993 when Leon was barely 10, Burundi was besieged by a civil war that would last for the next 12 years until 2005, characterized by indiscriminate violence and gross human rights abuses in which over 300,000 people are estimated to have died.In 2012, still struggling to find her footing in Kampala, Aida was introduced to DefendDefenders, where she was introduced to the organisation’s resource center, and assured, it (the center) would be at her disposal whenever she needed to use it.

Human Rights Defender of the month: Aida Musa

29 February 2024

In August 2011, Aida crossed into Uganda, pregnant, and barely able to communicate in another language other than Arabic. The transition was a difficult one, she says: “It was my first-time outside Sudan, and yet I did not know any other language. The first months were very difficult.”
In 2012, still struggling to find her footing in Kampala, Aida was introduced to DefendDefenders, where she was introduced to the organisation’s resource center, and assured, it (the center) would be at her disposal whenever she needed to use it.