Mary Slessor

Mary Slessor was a woman of conviction. Letting little stand in her way, she defied the odds of her humble beginnings. She became the first female magistrate in the British Empire and a highly respected social reformer in Nigeria, where she championed women’s rights.

Mary Slessor was born in Gilcomston, a suburb of Aberdeen. When she was aged 11 her alcoholic father lost his job and the family moved to Dundee where Mary was sent to work as a weaver, becoming the family’s principal breadwinner. Largely self-taught, Mary became a volunteer teacher at her local United Presbyterian Church, and it was there that she was given the opportunity to travel as a missionary.

In the late 1870s she set out for Nigeria, where she learned the local language and immersed herself in native culture. Some local belief at the time held that twin births were the result of a coupling with evil spirits, and twin babies were often left to die. Alongside local reformers and in defiance of this belief, Mary first adopted twins soon after her arrival in Nigeria.

In 1892 she was appointed vice-consul in the remote villages of the Okoyong people where she worked tirelessly through the native court and gained a reputation for tackling injustices, particularly on behalf of women.