Mary Izobo

Mary Izobo is an International Human Rights Lawyer, Gender Advocate and Governance Expert. Driven by her passion to achieve democratic equal rights for all within her lifetime, she pioneered the legal unit and was the Legal Advisor of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), an organ of the African Union (AU), and has worked for the United Nations (UN), the African Union Commission (AUC), the Pan-African Parliament (PAP), the Institute for Strategic Litigation in Africa (ISLA) and the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA). She has consulted for various multi-national corporations and governments inter alia, the Federal Republic of Nigeria where she supported the establishment of Nigeria’s National Governing Council and the development of Nigeria’s Country Review Self-Assessment Report. She possesses vast knowledge in practical and diplomatic legal experience in statute drafting and electoral observation having provided legal and technical expertise to several countries in Africa.

She is the Founder of the Amazon Leadership Initiative (TheALI). TheALI, a non-profit organization, that empowers women and girls, provides support networks, mentorship, career guidance, education and capacity development to alleviate gender inequality in line with aspiration 6 of the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063 and Goal 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2030. TheALI envisions a world where everyone has equal rights and opportunities and has partnered with several organizations across continents in a bid to achieve gender equality and equity in Africa.

Ms Izobo has received various academic awards and won various accolades in recognition of her work. Some of these include the Kaduna State Honours Award for public service in Nigeria, an SPE Award of Recognition for her honourable achievements as one of the 60 Pathfinders being celebrated as thriving women in the spirit of Nigeria’s 60th Independence and Africa’s Top Legal Millennial – The Amazon of Women’s Rights by the People’s Accolade Law Magazine (PALM). She has recently been nominated by the Transdisciplinary Agora for Future Discussions (TAFFD) for the Future Certificate of Excellence in the Futurist Activist category for her work in the field of human rights particularly in the quest for the attainment of gender equality and equity in Africa.

She believes that education lies at the heart of gender equality and as an ardent advocate for self and academic improvement, Ms Izobo is currently studying for a Doctor of Laws (LLD) with a focus on international governance. Before that, she obtained a Master of Laws (LLM) in Rule of Law for Development from Loyola University Chicago, United States of America, and another Master of Laws (LLM) in Human Rights and Democratization in Africa from the University of Pretoria, South Africa. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA Hons) in French Language from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria; a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom; and a Barrister at Law (BL) from the Nigerian Law School, Abuja, Nigeria.

More of Ms Izobo’s work can be found on her LinkedIn page below: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maryizobo/