Gbenro Adesina
Erelu Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi, wife of Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, clocks 57 today, June 6, 2020.
The elegant First Lady of Ekiti State was born on 11 June 1963 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. She is a feminist thinker and activist, writer, social entrepreneur, policy advocate and social sector expert.
She received her Bachelor’s (BA) and Master’s (MA) degrees in History from the University of Ife, now the Obafemi Awolowo University.
While in the University, she became interested in women’s contributions to socio-economic development in south-western Nigeria. This prompted her to continue on to another Master’s in Gender and Society at University of Middlesex, UK.
Adeleye-Fayemi served as the Director of Akina Mama wa Afrika (AMwA), an international development organisation for African women based in London, UK from 1991-2001, where she established the African Women’s Leadership Institute that has trained over 6,000 African women leaders.
She subsequently co-founded the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) – the first Africa-wide grant-making foundation for women, serving as its first Executive Director from 2001-2010.
Adeleye-Fayemi has been associated with a number of international women’s rights and philanthropy organisations, including as co-chair of the International Network of Women’s Funds, president of the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID), and chair of the International Women’s Health Coalition (IWHC). She has also been on the Board of Trustees for Comic Relief (UK).
She is the author of ‘Speaking for Myself: Perspectives on Social, Political and Feminist Activism in Africa’ (2013), the autobiography ‘Speaking above a Whisper’ (2013) and ‘Loud Whispers’ (2017) and many others. She is also co-editor (with Jessica Horn) of ‘Voice, Power and Soul’ (2008), a compilation of images and stories of African feminists.
Erelu Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi also runs an online community, abovewhispers.com and has been described by many as “a woman who extends her ‘wrapper’ to all”.
