Across Nigeria, countless women still find the path to justice blocked by a web of institutional, financial, and social obstacles that make seeking redress an uphill battle. These barriers point to justice systems that too often fall short on responsiveness, accessibility, and survivor-centered care.
It is this gap that South Saharan set out to confront with The Cost of Justice Anthology, a structured advocacy tool developed at the intersection of gender justice, accountability systems, and rights-based policy reform and, alongside it, a bold creative movement that turned survivors’ stories into art
Where It All Began
For over a decade, South Saharan (SSDO) has worked to build a world where women and girls live free from violence, poverty, and discrimination. Our programs in gender equality, education, and women’s rights protection have reached countless communities across Southeast Nigeria.
But when we conducted a baseline assessment on gender-based violence (GBV), the findings were alarming. Behind the statistics were real women living with pain that had been normalized by culture, silence, and shame.
Through community engagements, we documented these experiences and organized them under three defining themes:
- The Cost of Justice: the financial, emotional, and social toll women face while seeking justice.
- Trapped in Silence: the stigma and shame that silence survivors.
- Gatekeepers: the individuals and institutions that enable or perpetuate abuse.
These themes became the foundation of a national storytelling initiative: The Cost of Justice Anthology, developed in partnership with insights from South Saharan’s Sister Guardian Initiative, a women-led protection network supporting survivors of gender-based violence.
From Words to Canvas: A National Call for Stories
In May 2025, SSDO launched a nationwide call for story submissions exploring these themes. The response was overwhelming. We received over 100 heartfelt stories from women, writers, and advocates across Nigeria; raw, unfiltered accounts of what it truly means to fight for justice in a system that too often fails survivors.
Each story was carefully reviewed and fact-checked by a panel of renowned literary judges. From the pool, 15 outstanding entries were selected for publication in the anthology.
But we didn’t want these stories to end on paper. We wanted them to live, to breathe, and to be seen.
The Birth of the Paint-a-thon
Recognizing the power of visual storytelling, SSDO took the next bold step: translating stories into art through the Cost of Justice Paint-a-thon — a creative movement where art and advocacy meet to amplify the voices of women who have endured gender-based violence.
We invited young visual artists to interpret these real-life stories through colour and brushstrokes. Their task was not merely to paint, but to give form to emotions that words alone could not contain.
From this initiative, 15 artists were selected and commissioned to create two artworks each, inspired by the stories in the anthology. Each painting stands as both a tribute and a protest, reflecting pain, resilience, and hope.
We believe that stories have power — the power to heal, to awaken empathy, and to drive change. But sometimes words alone are not enough. Sometimes emotion needs colour, pain needs a canvas, and silence needs a voice. That belief is the spirit the Paint-a-thon was built on.
A Launch Rooted in Global Solidarity
The anthology, together with the commissioned Paint-a-thon artworks, was officially unveiled as part of activities marking 2026 International Women’s Day, held under the global theme “Rights, Justice, Action: For All Women and Girls.”
The launch took place at the United Nations House in Abuja, in partnership with UN Women and with support from the Ford Foundation. The event brought together representatives from government ministries alongside diplomatic and development partners. A signal of the shared commitment needed to move the needle on justice for women and girls.
At the heart of the occasion was a curated art exhibition, where the commissioned artists’ interpretations of the anthology’s stories came to life on canvas. For attendees, the paintings evoked emotion and sparked conversation, offering a deeper, multi-sensory way to engage with themes of resilience, survival, and justice.
Calling for Justice Beyond Rhetoric
Speaking at the event, Ms. Attafuah, UNDP Nigeria Representative and UN Resident Coordinator a.i., urged stakeholders to move beyond rhetoric and ensure that justice becomes a lived reality for women and girls, not just a policy aspiration.
South Saharan’s Executive Director, Dr. Stanley Ilechukwu (MD), echoed this urgency, emphasizing that the anthology brings to light the true human cost of failing justice systems: the stigma, the silence, and the systemic barriers women are forced to endure.
Art as Advocacy
Through this fusion of literature and art, SSDO is launching a movement, one where words and paint become tools for dialogue, healing, and justice. These paintings will travel beyond the walls of the launch event to exhibitions, schools, and community spaces, serving as visual testimonies that challenge silence and inspire reflection.
Together, they carry a message that cannot be ignored: gender-based violence is not just a women’s issue, it is a human issue.
What Comes Next
Beyond the publication and exhibition launch, SSDO plans to host community dialogues, creative workshops, and further art showcases, ensuring that each story continues to spark conversations and inspire change.
By translating lived realities into structured advocacy and visual art, the initiative strengthens policy engagement, informs institutional reform processes, and advances the case for a justice system that is genuinely accessible and accountable to women and girls.
As we transform pain into purpose, we invite advocates and partners to join us because justice is not just a destination. It is a story worth telling, in every form it takes.
