Why did #EndSARS go global this fall?

Over the last month, the world has focused on protests against Nigeria’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad, or SARS, a police unit with a history of brutality.

After years of youth-led protest, why did #EndSARS start trending on social media this fall? And what do protestors want? Penn GSE’s Krystal Strong, who has studied youth-led political protests in West African countries including Nigeria, recently explained the movement in Harper’s Bazaar. 

“The movement’s non-hierarchical leadership, feminist organizing, and mutual aid herald a future of youth power and grassroots movement building that fundamentally challenges the patriarchal and highly stratified politics that have long plagued Nigeria’s democracy,” Strong writes.

Read her full piece here.