The Cost of Justice: An Anthology of Women’s Voices and Resilience in Nigeria is a storytelling and advocacy project that amplifies the lived experiences of women confronting gender-based violence (GBV) and harmful traditional practices (HTPs) across Nigeria.
Despite legal protections, many survivors face steep emotional, financial, and social costs in their pursuit of justice. This anthology brings together powerful creative nonfiction under three core themes:
Cost of Justice
Trapped in Silence
Gatekeepers
To amplify these realities, we launched a national call for stories and received over 100 submissions. Fifteen of these will be published in the Cost of Justice Anthology. To give these stories deeper visibility, the PAINT-A-THON will bring them to life through 2-D art, creating a powerful platform where art drives dialogue, healing, and advocacy against GBV.
From silence to justice
The Cost of Justice
The monetary, emotional, and social price women pay when they pursue redress.
Gatekeepers
People or institutions (family elders, police, courts, religious bodies, health services, employers, etc.) that enable or excuse harmful practices.
Trapped in Silence
The weight of stigma, shame, and community pressure that deters survivors from speaking out.
Prompt
A grieving widow is cast out of the home she built with her husband after his death. Accused of killing him, she is forced to drink the water used to wash his corpse to “prove” her innocence. Denied the right to attend his burial, she watches from afar as her children, beaten and rejected, are kept from saying goodbye to their father or entering their family house.
Using the above prompt, create an original 2-D artwork (excluding photography & digital graphics). The piece should capture the cruelty of oppressive traditions and the silent strength of a woman fighting for dignity amidst grief and injustice.
