In the Village Where Silence Was Law, A New Voice Emerged.

There are villages where silence becomes a way of survival. Places where pain is passed down like inheritance—quiet, unchallenged, normalized. Oriuzor Village in Ezza North LGA, Ebonyi State, has known such silence. But something remarkable happened when HerRise Foundation visited this resilient community. That silence cracked—and voices rose.

Backed by the Voices Against VAWG project with support from the Nigerian Women Trust Fund, our mission was clear: to bring the conversation about Gender-Based Violence (GBV) to the heart of rural communities, starting with honest, human dialogue.

The numbers are staggering. Globally, one in every three women has experienced physical or sexual violence in her lifetime—most often from someone she knows. Here in Nigeria, the 2018 National Demographic and Health Survey revealed that 30% of women aged 15–49 have experienced physical violence. Yet behind these statistics lie deeper truths—unreported cases, systemic silence, and a cultural web that often traps women in cycles of abuse with nowhere to turn.

Oriuzor was no exception. And yet, as we gathered with villagers—elders, parents, young people—we didn’t encounter resistance. We encountered readiness. Readiness to listen. To ask hard questions. To unlearn. And slowly, to speak.

Our team facilitated open discussions in the local dialect, grounding global issues in local reality. We didn’t come as outsiders to instruct, but as partners in dialogue. We shared survivor-centered messages: that seeking help is not shameful, that silence protects no one, and that every woman and girl deserves to feel safe in her own home and community.

What stood out most wasn’t just the willingness to engage—it was the depth of it. Men asked how they could better support their wives and daughters. Mothers, some emotional, shared how fear had shaped their own girlhoods. Young women stepped forward with curiosity and conviction. There was laughter, tension, release—and above all, hope.

These are the moments that defy statistics. Because change isn’t always loud. It doesn’t always wear a badge or arrive with a speech. Sometimes it begins in small village squares, where people gather under a tree to talk about what was once unspeakable.

And that’s exactly what Oriuzor did. They talked. They listened. They began to see. We didn’t just witness a sensitization session—we witnessed a shift. A reawakening. And maybe, just maybe, the beginning of a new tradition—where protection replaces silence, and healing begins where harm once hid.

HerRise Foundation will continue to walk alongside communities like Oriuzor. Because the future we fight for—one free of violence, stigma, and fear—will be built not only in city halls or conference rooms, but in the quiet bravery of villages finding their voice