Community Organizing – Ololade Faniyi

Since 2018, I have been involved in various forms of advocacy and activism in Ibadan, Nigeria, and beyond. My work has been marked by a commitment to consciousness-raising, challenging political exclusion, and ending gendered violence against women and girls.

Participating in a march with the Young Women in Politics Forum (Oyo State Chapter), advocating for increased involvement of young women in politics

My involvement began with grassroots and community-facing work through organizations such as SCREAM Initiative, Solve a Problem Initiative, Young Women in Politics Forum Oyo State Chapter, Women’s Research and Documentation Centre (WORDOC) through the postgraduate volunteer network at University of Ibadan. These experiences laid the foundation for my understanding of systemic issues and the importance of community-based action. As my social awareness evolved, I began to engage with transnational movements and discussions.

Co-organizing a brainstorming session on “SAY HER NAME” within the context of the “BLACK LIVES MATTER” movement. “Black Lives” here is framed in line with Minna Salami’s description of international blackness – as a signifier of collective African descent history with non-colonial significance, that is inclusive of #SayHerNameNigeria, #BlackLivesMatter, #SayHerName, #AbujaPoliceRaidonWomen, #JusticeForTina, #EndSARS….

I co-organized and participated in social media live conversations around the dimensions of #SayHerName in Nigeria and the United States, and how they point to an international Blackness and transnational struggle for Black women’s rights.

Speaking at an Instagram Live event on “Female Bodies and the Illusion of Safe Spaces in Nigeria” alongside fellow activists Deborah Adeojo and Jesudunsin Okewumi.

From 2020, my advocacy focused on pressing issues affecting Nigerian women, including political exclusion of Nigerian women, and the illusion of safe spaces for women and girls in Nigeria. One of such discussions with Deborah Adeojo helped contribute to the broader advocacy efforts and floor arguments at the Oyo State House of Assembly that supported a bill passed for the creation of sexual assault referral centers in Oyo State, after years of silence and non-conviction of sexual assault cases. I also spoke across radio and podcasts in Ibadan on the critical disconnection between government interventions of sexual violence and critical feminist intersectional thoughts as well as on why #EndSARS was a feminist issue, which culminated in my master’s thesis, A Herstory of #EndSARS.

Meet our Advisors

As an advisor, I communicate regional strategic priorities, support grantee partner capacity-strengthening-safeguarding processes, and assist FRIDA staff with developing guiding frameworks for supporting feminist organizers in the West, South, East, and Central African regions.

Today, I serve as an African advisor to the global feminist funding organization, FRIDA, the Young Feminist Fund. Altogether, these experiences have deepened my understanding of cultures of solidarity, radical care, intentional documentation, life writing and collective action. They have also fueled my commitment to African feminist public education in service of the communities that nurtured me.

Currently, I gained the opportunity to bridge my activist work with academic pursuits as an Imagining America Publicly Active Graduate Education Fellow, a fellowship that supports me in tying together the theory and practice of reimagining African feminist thought in the digital age.

I continue to do African feminist public education through the new communities I have engaged with, my Twitter discussions, and occasional contributions to media platforms.

I am always eager to connect with fellow organizers, activist-scholars, and anyone passionate about African feminist thought and community organizing. My contact page has all the information on how to reach me!