Rahmat Abisola Abdullahi is a young Nigerian female politician, businesswoman and women in politics advocate with experience in the public and development sectors. 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) established by today's ruling party in Nigeria, the All-Progressives Congress (APC), to increase the involvement of young women in politics. 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 later Supervisory Councilor for Education, Sports and Social Development in 2017 at the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC). She was appointed as the first female Council Secretary of AMAC in 2019.

Rahmat has been committed to increasing women's inclusion in politics and leadership. In 2020, she founded the She-for-She Africa Initiative to drive this mission. She is a mentor to aspiring female politicians. She has mentored thousands through active politics and women-centered organizations including 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 empower them to reach their full potential. The project featured a series of trainings on promoting gender equality in education, best practices for achieving gender equality, and visits to schools for community engagement reaching over 1,500 people. The project improved gender equality outcomes for young women and girls in the North Central region of Nigeria.

Rahmat received 474 applications for her project, initially designed for seven people and worked with local organizations to expand the implementation of her project and reach more young girls in her region. She also held a stakeholder's workshop where 20 participants learned about the experiences of young girls in the north central region of Nigeria. Among the attendees were leading NGOs in the gender and educations spaces. Rahmat also conducted research on gender disparity. The Speaker of the House of Representatives and Minister of Youth Development were present at the research launch event. The success of the program is further exemplified by the endorsement from the Prince of Tudun Wada.

Impact Awardee Rahmat Abdullahi announcing her project to stakeholders in her community

Project partners speaking on the importance of gender equality in education

Stakeholders offering perspectives on achieving better outcomes for girls in the north-central regions of Nigeria

“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 was a participant 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.

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