Iyom Josephine Anenih (born 6 July 1948) is a

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

n politician who was appointed Minister of Women Affairs on 6 April 2010, when Acting President

Goodluck Jonathan Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan (born 20 November 1957) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. He lost the 2015 presidential election to former military head of state General Muhammadu Buhari and ...

announced his new cabinet.

Biography

Born in

Sokoto Sokoto (Hausa language, Hausa: ; Fulfulde, Fula: , ''Leydi Sokoto'') is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the extreme northwest of the country. It is bounded by Niger, Republic of the Niger to the north and west for 363 km (226 m ...

in 1948, she moved frequently as her father, a civil servant with the Public Works Department, served postings in States all over

. She was born into a Christian family. She completed her secondary education at

Queen's College, Lagos Queen's College, Lagos, is a government-owned girls' secondary (high) school with boarding facilities, situated in Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria. Often referred to as the "sister college" of King's College, Lagos, it was founded on October 10, 1927, when ...

. Studying Law, she received a B.Ed, LLB, and B.L. from the

University of Ife Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) is a federal university in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1961 and classes commenced in October 1962 as the University of Ife by the regional government of Western Nigeria, which w ...

(1974/75) and the University of Benin. Her husband,

Tony Anenih Anthony Akhakon "Tony" Anenih (4 August 1933 – 28 October 2018) was a Nigerian politician who was Minister of Works and Housing in 1999. Early life Anenih was born in Uzenema-Arue, Uromi, in 1933. He joined the Nigeria Police Force in Benin ...

(1933–2018) was appointed Minister of Works in 1999 in President

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo (; ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian former army general, politician and statesman who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 200 ...

's first cabinet. She was the chairperson of the Federation of Women Lawyers from 1994 to 2000, and was the first National Woman Leader of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) from 1999 to 2005. In April 2002, she said that implementation of the

Sharia Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...

legal system in

Kano State Kano (Hausa language, Hausa: ) is one of the 36 States of Nigeria, states of Nigeria, located in the Northern Region, Nigeria, northern region of the country. According to the national census done in 2006, Kano State is the List of Nigerian st ...

had ensured the promotion of women's rights as dictated by Islam. She was a Special Adviser on Women Affairs to President Obasanjo until 2006. She was one of the founder of the ''Women Foundation Nigeria (WFN)'', an organization that helps Nigerian women in exchanging views on global women's issues and to help empower women in politics. She is a member of the ''Gender Electoral and Constitutional Memoranda Committee'', which aims to incorporate women's perspectives in Nigeria's Electoral Laws and reforms.

References

Living people 1948 births Federal ministers of Nigeria Gender equality National Working Committee people Women's ministers of Nigeria Queen's College, Lagos alumni Obafemi Awolowo University alumni University of Benin (Nigeria) alumni People from Sokoto 21st-century Nigerian politicians 21st-century Nigerian women politicians Women government ministers of Nigeria {{Sokoto-politician-stub