Hadiza Daret Kasimu
Nigeria

Hadiza Kasimu is a hard-of-hearing woman from Nigeria. She has four years’ experience in various fields in community development and leadership, particularly advocating for the rights of persons with disabilities in Nigeria, especially women and girls with disabilities. Currently, Hadiza is the state chairperson of the Deaf Women’s Association of Nigeria, state coordinator of the Voice of Disabilities Initiative, and women’s coordinator for the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities, Nasarawa State Chapter. She volunteers counseling women and girls in her local community on upright living, gender equity, and financial independence, and engages them in skills acquisition training, marriage counseling, breaking barriers, and securing employment opportunities, as well as encouraging women and persons with disabilities to participate in politics. She holds a certificate course in Business Education. When she returns from the Mandela Washington Fellowship, she hopes to have gained advancement so that her humanitarian service touches people’s lives.