Hellen Beyioku-Alase

Hellen Beyioku-Alase holds a Bachelor's degree in Guidance and Counseling from the University of Abuja, Nigeria. a passionate deaf woman and a strong voice in the disability community in Nigeria, Hellen is an award-winning disability rights activist and an advocate with over 10 years of experience in implementing projects and creating inclusion and awareness, particularly around sexual and reproductive health and rights of women with disabilities expressly deaf women and girls in Nigeria. She currently serves as the Executive Director of the Deaf Women Aloud Initiative (DWAI), an NGO aiming at amplifying the voice of Deaf women in Nigeria as well as raising awareness among general populations on sensitive issues that affect deaf women and their children. Hellen also serves as the National President of the Deaf Women Association of Nigeria (DWAN) with Headquarters in Abuja. Hellen Beyioku-Alase is an alumnus of the Mandela Washington Fellowship (2021), under the leadership in Civic Engagement at Drexel University, Philadelphia USA. She also served as the Welfare Secretary of the Mandela Washington Fellowship Alunmi Association of Nigeria (MWFAAN). She is a graduate of Disability, Sexuality and Rights Online Institute (DSROI), 2020, an Online Disability Institute, and 2016 Alumni of Women’s in Leadership and Disability (WILD) at Mobility International, USA. A lover of women, girls, and the vulnerable, Hellen is passionate about sensitive issues that affect Deaf Women and children with Disabilities, particularly maternal health care, and sexual and reproductive health rights. She has been conducting efforts to integrate and mainstream sign-language accessibility into the larger, non-disabled Nigerian society. Through Hellen’s exemplary work, she has successfully empowered and implemented projects aimed at improving access to healthcare, inclusive services delivery and information for the Deaf community. Through Hellen’s years of remarkable services and contributions to the development of deaf women and girls, she was nominated to participate as a panellist at the Global Disability Summit (GDS) under sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR) which was held in London in July 2018. She was also an Executive Member of a Ministerial committee on FCT’s Emergency Maternal, New Born, Child & Adolescent Health Plus Nutrition Activities in 2021. Outside of disability advocacy, Hellen is a multiple gold medalist at national sports festivals, including the 2012 Eko National Sport Festival, where she won Gold medals in shot-put and javelin and Silver in Discus throw. At the 2021 National Sport Festival, in Edo State, Nigeria, Hellen Beyioku-Alase won Gold in shotput. Over the past decade, Hellen has tirelessly worked towards amplifying the challenges of Deaf Women in accessing Health Services, Which predominantly hinges on communication barriers. Through her work at DWAI, she had a chance to develop the first Sign language Glossary on sexual and reproductive health—hard books that have been distributed in hospitals around Abuja, FCT, and Nigeria. In recognition of her numerous achievements, Hellen was featured by the US Department of State publication in light of her tireless efforts in sensitizing and mobilising deaf women to vote at the 2023 General Election. Her works have helped many Deaf women make informed decisions about their healthcare, heralding a development of the female gender with disabilities in the world’s most populous black nation.