Amina Salahu

A Nigerian grassroots organizer who mobilized women to combat colonial land policies

Amina Salahu (1912–1989) was a fearless Nigerian activist whose grassroots efforts reshaped land rights in colonial Northern Nigeria. Born in Kano, she witnessed British colonial policies that stripped local communities of their landholdings. In the 1930s, she organized the Women's Land Defense League, uniting Hausa women to resist forced evictions and reclaim ancestral farmlands. Her tactics included sit-ins, letter-writing campaigns to colonial authorities, and public protests, which pressured the government to revise land laws in 1946.

Salahu's leadership inspired similar movements across West Africa. She later co-founded the National Council of Nigerian Women, advocating for women's political representation. Though overshadowed by male-led independence movements, her work is now celebrated in academic texts like Feminist Histories of Nigeria. A documentary, Amina's Land, recently brought her story to global audiences.