Rahmat Abisola Abdullahi is a young Nigerian female politician, businesswoman and advocate for women in politics. She is the current Secretary of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).  After four years in the private sector as an accountant, Rahmat joined politics in 2014 as an inaugural member of the APC Young Women Forum (AYWF). In 2015, she won the primary election, becoming the APC flagbearer for councilor. Her role in mobilizing women during the 2015 general election in Abuja contributed to her appointments as Senior Special Assistance on Tenement and Monitoring in 2016 and Supervisory Councilor for Education, Sports and Social Development in 2017. She was appointed as the first female Council Secretary of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) in 2019.

In 2020, she founded the She-for-She Africa Initiative. She is a mentor to aspiring female politician, including through the Nigeria Women Trust Fund (NWTF) and Gender Centre for Empowerment Development (GenCED). She has also served in political and government committees including the APC Presidential Campaign Committee, AMAC Advisory Committee (2019) and the AMAC Committee on Revenue Compliance and Monitoring (2017).

IVLP Impact Award Project: Gender and Education Parity Advocacy Project (GEPAP)

The Gender and Education Parity Advocacy Project (GEPAP) addressed girl's education in the North Central Region of Nigeria by equipping young development advocates and activists from the communities in the region with the necessary skills to promote gender and education equality in their communities. Through advocacy, research, and community engagement, the project created a more inclusive environment for girls in the region and empowered them to reach their full potential.

At a stakeholder's workshop, leading NGOs in the gender and education spaces learned about the experiences of young girls in the north central region of Nigeria.  The Speaker of the House of Representatives and Minister of Youth Development attended an event where research on gender disparity was presented. The success of the program is further exemplified by the endorsement from the Prince of Tudun Wada.

“Deeply insightful, educative and transformative, as it equipped me with the necessary skills and exposure, I needed to execute the Gender and Education Parity Project. I was exposed to advocacy visits, community engagement techniques, social entrepreneurship, and capacity building.” – Project Participant

IVLP Exchange Experience 

Rahmat participated in the IVLP Project Women in Politics and Civil Society I, organized by the U.S. Department of State and American Councils for International Education in partnership with WorldDenver, Lincoln Council for International Visitors, Vermont Council on World Affairs and GlobalPittsburgh.

Rahmat's exchange experience led to the development of her IVLP Impact Award Project: "My participation in the IVLP program is one of the testaments of how education can transform and give meaning to the life of girls anywhere in the world."

U.S. Communities Visited

Denver, CO; Washington, DC; Pittsburgh, PA; Lincoln, NE, Burlington, VT

"The [IVLP] program inspired many things in me, especially women's leadership, but the priority for me is [to help] every Nigerian girl get an education [which will be] the ladder to fulfilling their potential." - Rahmat Abisola Abdullahi

Country: Nigeria 

Click here to go back to the IVLP Impact Awards Main Page