Maryam Bukar Hassan, widely known as Alhanislam, a Nigerian poet, human rights advocate, and Pan-African voice, has been named the United Nations’ inaugural Global Advocate for Peace.
Originally from Borno State, her passion for advocacy grew stronger after personally witnessing the suffering caused by the Boko Haram insurgency in her region.
She recently met with UN Secretary General António Guterres and other top officials at the UN Headquarters in New York, before delivering a powerful spoken-word piece titled “Peace is a Verb” at the Central Park SummerStage music festival.
“Peace is not a line we cross. It is a choice that we make over and over and over again. Especially when it feels far away. Especially when it is the hardest,” she told a crowd of over 3,000 attendees.
“Today I speak peace into the bones of this world, into the rubble, into the rage, into the ruins. Because if war teaches us how to shatter, then peace must teach us how to remain, to stay soft, to stay human, to stay.
”Through her platform, Alhanislam continues to advocate for women’s rights and it’s importance, youth empowerment, and community peacebuilding in areas affected by violence and displacement.
