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Esther Ibanga (born 1961〔(Leader of Nigerian Women's Peace Movement to Receive 32nd Niwano Peace Prize ) - Rissho Kosei-kai. Retrieved September 2, 2015〕) is a Nigerian pastor and founder of "Women Without Walls Initiative". She won the 32nd Niwano Peace Prize for promoting peace among people of different ethnic groups and religions in Jos, Nigeria. Esther Ibanga was born into the family of late Mr. Abumadga Auta Abimiku and Mrs. Mariamu Abimiku on March 31, 1961. She is the seventh of ten children (Eight females and two males). She is from Kagbu; Nasarawa Eggon Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, Nigeria. Her father was a policeman who won many awards for his bravery and honesty way back in the sixties. By his spiritual inclination he was a great man of God who imbibed the culture of prayer into her. She says of him, “My father was a praying man and a prophet. We were born and raised into an atmosphere of prayer. He named me Baban Meche which means great woman.” Her mother Mrs Mariamu Abimiku was a dedicated housewife and industrious trader who is also popularly known as “mama mission” due to her dedicated involvement with her church women fellowship (Zumantan mata) and the regular mission trips she embarked on. She is said to be the disciplinarian of the family. Pastor Esther started her education at St. Paul’s Primary School, Kasuwan Kaji in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State from 1968 to 1973. She had her secondary school education at St. Louis College Jos, Plateau State Nigeria, from 1973 to 1978. Between 1978 and 1979, she enrolled for an advanced level program at the School of Basic Studies Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria where she obtained an Interim Joint Matriculation Board (IJMB) Certificate. Her passion for business led her to obtain a bachelor's degree in Business Administration at the Institute of Administration, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria from 1979 to 1983. In 2001, she obtained a master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. Pastor Ibanga started her work experience in Nation Plan Consortium where she served her country in the compulsory one year National Youth Service Corps program as a young graduate. After her NYSC, she got a job with Jos Steel Rolling Mills where she worked as a Marketing Officer. Her quest for greater opportunities and higher challenges landed her a job with Central Bank of Nigeria as a Senior Supervisor where she rose to the rank of a Manager. Pastor Mrs. Esther Ibanga is the President and Founder of Women Without Walls Initiative (WOWWI). A non-governmental, non-sectarian, all-inclusive organization of progressive Nigerian women from every facet of life. WOWWI was established in April 2010, borne out of a need to respond to the incessant crises that rocked Plateau State Nigeria for over a decade. The organization focuses on six thematic areas: Advocacy, Provision of relief to internally displaced persons and the needy, Training of women in peace building initiatives/activities, dialogues and mediation between warring parties; Developmental projects in under-privileged communities with grievances that became drivers of violence, and women and youth empowerment. Through this platform she has made tremendous progress in restoring peace between the Christian and Muslim communities especially in Jos North; a flash point and volatile community within Plateau State, Nigeria. The idea is to reach out to women, both nationally and internationally, and empower them to fight for, and advance the cause of women-folk, youth and children, irrespective of ethnic, religious or political affiliation. In order to fulfill its vision of “developing a non-violent and all inclusive approach to conflict resolution and peace building in Nigeria, through women who are natural agents of change”, Women Without Walls Initiative has over the years undertaken series of activities to achieve her goals. These activities include conferences (both locally and internationally), economic empowerment program for women, police-community dialogue, campaigns against electoral violence, rallies, etc. In February 2010 she led a peaceful protest march, in response to the Dogon Nahawa ethno-religious crisis that took place in Plateau State Nigeria. Pastor Esther Ibanga led 100, 000 Christian women in that protest. These women marched the streets of Jos to the Government house dressed in black, expressing their grief over the wanton loss of human lives especially that of women and children. The protest brought women to the forefront of the call for peace and to put an end to violence in Plateau State. In response to the protest march done by the Christian women, in March 2010, the Muslim women, led by Hajiya Khadijat Hawaja, now WOWWI’s Financial Secretary, held their own peaceful protest demanding that the killings in Jos be stopped as they too had lost children and husbands to the violent killings. It was on this premise that Pastor Esther Ibanga decided to reach out to the Muslim women enjoining them to come together as one body in the fight for the cause against ethno-religious violence. For the sake of peace it was important to build a community of women with one purpose, which is to advocate for and influence the peaceful co-existence of people among the Christian and Muslim communities. Lending her voice to the voices of many others worldwide, in 2014, WOWWI joined the Bring Back our Girls campaign. In partnership with other women leaders on the Plateau, women from both faiths were mobilized and a protest rally was held, calling on the Nigerian government to expedite the search and secure release of abducted Chibok girls. She also participated in same rally in Istanbul Turkey during an international conference. It is very apparent that this woman is an advocate and activist for a better world. Her actions have shown that she is not relenting on that, not now, and not even in the near future. She has not stopped on campaigning for the release of the Chibok girls. She uses every platform she has as a public speaker in conferences, seminars and workshops, within Nigeria and around the world to advocate for the release of those girls.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Boko Haram: Nigerian woman awarded Japan peace prize for anti terror activism )〕 ==References== 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Esther Ibanga」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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