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Toyin Ajao

Toyin Ajao (born 13 July 1978) is a Nigerian scholar, feminist activist, and healing researcher-practitioner whose work focuses on restorative healing, conflict transformation, and Afro-feminist approaches to social change. She is the founder of Ìmọ́lẹ̀ of Afrika Centre (ìAfrika), a non-profit working on the collective wellbeing of marginalised African communities by addressing intergenerational and collective trauma through integrating indigenous and contemporary healing methodologies.

Education

Born in Ikirun, Osun State in 1978, Ajao holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Pretoria, with a focus on conflict transformation and New Media. She received an MA in Conflict, Security, and Development from King’s College London and a B.Sc in Accounting from Obafemi Awolowo University.

Career

Ajao intersects Afro-feminism, healing justice, Ubuntu philosophy, critical consciousness, conflict transformation, and neuroscience in her restorative healing work within civil society, queer and feminist spaces in Africa. She was named one of the “10 African scholars to watch” in 2024 by The Africa Report alongside Simukai Chigudu, and Naminata Diabate. The University of Exeter also recognised her as an “Inspirational Black Scholar” alongside Audre Lorde and Kimberlé Crenshaw during Black History Month in 2024.

Ajao is an alumna and research associate at the African Leadership Centre, King’s College London. Her feminist activism has addressed gender, sexual, and technological rights, as well as women’s leadership. She has worked with organisations such as the Women's Technology Empowerment Centre (W.TEC) and blogged about issues of gender inequality, systemic oppression, and women’s experiences in patriarchal societies, earning her two international awards, including the BlogHer International Activist Award, 2009.

Her research has been published in Routledge, Palgrave, MacMillan, Matatu, Kujenga Amani, and by the African Women's Development Fund, addressing themes such as conflict transformation, citizen journalism, digital activism, mental health policy, LGBTQ+ rights and collective wellbeing in Africa.

She founded Ìmọ́lẹ̀ of Afrika Centre (ìAfrika) in 2020, where she leads projects that incorporate indigenous healing traditions and ancestral knowledge with contemporary restorative strategies to address intergenerational trauma and strengthen community resilience. She bridges activism and academia by interlinking indigenous knowledge, Afro-feminism, peacebuilding, and healing justice.

Publications

See also

  • Funmi Olonisakin – Founding Director of ALC and scholar of leadership and peacebuilding in Africa
  • Fatima Akilu – Nigerian psychologist focused on mental health and countering violent extremism
  • Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi – Nigerian feminist activist, writer, and co-founder of the AWDF
  • Prentis Hemphill – Writer, embodiment practitioner, and healing justice practitioner
  • Cara Page – American organizer and cultural worker in healing justice
  • Naminata Diabate – Scholar of African literature and gender studies
  • Awino Okech – Professor of Feminist and Security Studies at SOAS

References

External links