Eight years later, she was dead — Lawyer’s fight against culture of silence

Zainab Oluwabukola Atta, a Kaduna-raised lawyer and Protection Coordinator at the International Rescue Committee in Nigeria, has spent much of her career helping women and vulnerable people navigate violence, displacement, and barriers to justice in northern Nigeria. One case from nearly two decades ago remains difficult to forget, involving a woman who reported experiencing sexual, physical, verbal, domestic, and financial violence. Atta provided free legal advice and explained the steps the woman needed to take, but the woman later told others that the lawyer had done nothing for her. The woman assured her family that she had filed for divorce, but she had not.

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