Will Nigeria Be the Launchpad for Africa’s #MeToo Reckoning?

Will Nigeria Be the Launchpad for Africa’s #MeToo Reckoning?
A young member of the congregation looks at her mother during a morning service at the Saint Charles Catholic Church, in Kano, Nigeria, Feb. 17, 2019 (AP photo by Ben Curtis).

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, Andrew Green curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent.

Can a #MeToo moment that originated in Nigeria’s evangelical community last week spark a regional movement?

It began last Friday when photographer Busola Dakolo accused Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo, who heads the influential Commonwealth of Zion Assembly, of raping her when Dakolo was a teenager. Women took to social media to share their own experiences of rape and sexual abuse by church leaders alongside hashtags that include #MeToo, #ChurchToo and #SayNoToRape. By Sunday, protesters had gathered outside different branches of the Pentecostal church.

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