In Niger, some things are not spoken about. Wahaya - the practice of domestic and sexual slavery - is one of them. Yacouba Ibrahim Oumarou decided to speak anyway.
He is an activist, artist, rapper and author. On stage he is Sage Soldat - the Wise Soldier. And that is exactly what he is. Armed with a microphone, a master's degree in Arts and Culture, and an unshakeable belief that art can dismantle oppression, Yacouba takes the fight against slavery and forced labour into spaces where policy papers never reach - into communities, into culture, into the hearts of young people who have grown up believing this is simply the way things are.
It is not the way things have to be.
Through his work with the local NGO Timidria and as a Senior Rights Expert with the Global Forum of Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent, Yacouba documents forced labour, challenges traditional forced occupations, and exposes slavery practices that have persisted for generations. When he joined TIP's Rights Experts Programme, he gained the human rights language and advocacy tools to take his community's lived experience all the way to the UN Universal Periodic Review for Niger - submitting evidence, speaking at the session, and helping secure official recommendations for change.
Between advocacy sessions, he teaches orphans to write, to sing, to perform. Because he knows that dignity begins when you find your voice.
Through TIP's training, I learned how to collect evidence from my own community and turn our lived experiences into a structured report - and into action.Yacouba Ibrahim Oumarou Senior Rights Expert, Niger
When you give a Wise Soldier the right tools, the whole community advances.