Ololade Faniyi

Public Scholarship

For The Republic, I wrote about why a decolonial African feminism matters. From our pre-colonial ideas on gender to today’s tech exploitation, we must build lifelines for our futures from the legacies of our foremothers. Read my/our manifesto
In this interview, I discuss my writing process for “An African Feminist Manifesto”, my influences, & current work on African feminist digital cultures.
In this article for The Republic’s independence issue, I unpack the concept of ‘femocracy’ and state feminism in Nigeria. How do these structures reinforce patriarchy? How can we reimagine truly transformative feminist politics?
At MozFest Kenya in September 2023, I facilitated a session on “African Feminism in Big Social Data”. Presenting alongside my activist-colleague and convener of the #WomensMarchZambia movement, Ann Holland, we highlighted how automated content moderation mechanisms on social media platforms can become tools for bigoted people to put African activists in harm, underscoring the need for a feminist reimagination of AI-driven platforms. Through the lens of the #womensmarchzambia, we talked through what it means to adopt a “technic of radical care” – a participatory method for activists to navigate the complexities of digital activism and platform politics.
Is the rise of women directors the key to more authentic storytelling in African cinema? Are we witnessing a new era of feminist storytelling in Nigerian film? What impact could the increasing number of women directors have on the future of Nollywood? I share my thoughts on this in this article.
How does “Black is King” fulfill or make a statement of aspiration for international Blackness? I share my thoughts with the South African magazine, Culture Review.

Press Comments

I spoke with Audrey Brown and Felix Kiprono (OdipoDev Kenya Femicide Database) on the BBC “Focus On Africa” podcast about the rising cases of femicide across Africa and the importance of filling gaps in data and justice for the murders of women and girls across the continent. (Timestamp 21:25).
I spoke with Line Sidonie Talla Mafotsing at New Lines Magazine about Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti’s legacy. I discussed my collaborative research on generational links between historical and contemporary Nigerian feminist movements, highlighting persistence of feminist generational parallels of radical care and class solidarity between AWU’s activism and contemporary organizations like the Feminist Coalition during End SARS protests.
I spoke with Shalom at OkayAfrica about the policing of queer and trans bodies in Nigeria, following the unjustified arrest of Nigerian trans woman and social media personality, Bob Risky. I discuss the repercussions of queer exceptionalism amid Africa’s recently reinforced anti-feminist and heteronationalist projects.
I spoke with Dennis at Pulse about the trend of male skit makers dressing as women for comedy and how this promotes harmful stereotypes about women, and contributes to a culture of toxic empathy. While cross-dressing certainly has historical traditional & spiritual roots in Nigeria, it is current manifestation in Naija comedy is blatant mockery.
NPR Goats & Soda Asked, I Answered: How Should Beyoncé Portray Africa In ‘Black Is King’?