Zainab Olaitan
Post-Doctoral Fellow
She/Her | PhD (Pretoria University); MA (Pretoria University); BSocSci (Cape Town University), BSc (Lagos University)
International Relations
Political Studies
Queen's University
Robert Sutherland Hall, 409
Biography
Dr. Zainab Monisola Olaitan is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Centre for International and Defence Policy. Her research focuses on Afrofeminist thought, gender and representation, and the women, peace and security agenda in Africa. She holds a PhD and MA from the University of Pretoria, a BSocSci (Hons) in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from the University of Cape Town, and a BSc (Hons) in Political Science from the University of Lagos. She is a Research Associate at the Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation (IPATC) at the University of Johannesburg. Dr. Olaitan is the author ofWomen’s Representation in African Politics: Beyond Numbers (2024) and the lead editor of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Women in Africa and the Caribbean: Linking the Two Regions (2025), both published by Palgrave Macmillan. She is a 2022 Margaret McNamara Education Grants (MMEG) recipient in recognition of her impactful research on women, a 2021-2023 University of Pretoria Doctoral Research Scholarship recipient, a 2019 Mastercard Foundation Scholar and 2018 Mandela Rhodes Scholar.
Teaching
- POLS 261 - International Politics (Fall 2025)
- POLS 485 - Seminar in Women and Politics (Winter 2026)
Selected Publications
Olaitan, Z.M., & Isike, C.A. 2019. The Role of the African Union in Fostering Women’s Representation in Formal Peacebuilding: A Case Study of Sierra Leone. Journal of African Union Studies, 8(2), 135-154.
Olaitan, Z.M. 2022. A Modern History of Statelessness and the Socio-Political Question. Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 36(1).
Olaitan, Z.M. 2023. Feminist Rethinking of the Representation of African Women in Peacebuilding: A Theoretical Analysis. African Journal of Gender, Society and Development, 12(1), 185-207.
Olaitan, Z.M. 2023. The Representation of Women in African-led Peace Support Operations. Journal of International Peacekeeping, 26(4), 393-410.
Olaitan, Z.M., & Isike, C. 2024. Gender Quotas as a Mechanism for Engendering Political Transformation in Africa. The African Review, 52(4-5), 388-408.
Olaitan, Z.M. 2024. A Gendered Analysis of the Wave of Coups and Terrorism in the Sahel. Journal of Central and Eastern European African Studies, 4(2), 88-112.
Olaitan, Z.M. 2025. Reimagining feminist thought from the prism of decoloniality: towards a decolonial relational feminism. Politikon, 1-18.
Olaitan, Z.M., and Taiwo, M.B. 2025. Navigating Political Fragility: The challenges of women peacebuilders in militarised political contexts in Africa. African Solutions Journal, 6(1), 1-23.
Olaitan, Z.M. 2026. Pan-Africanism and Feminism: Possibilities for African Women’s Liberation in the 21st Century. Pan-African Conversations, 2(1), 99-118.
Olaitan, Z.M. 2022. Enlightenment Ideas and Colonialism. In Africa’s Radicalisms and Conservatisms, vol. 2, edited by E. Etyiebo, O. Katsaura & M. Musemwa. Brill Publishers; Leiden. Pp 310-326.
Olaitan, Z.M., & Oloruntoba, S.O. 2023. Beyond Reaction: (Re)-Imagining African Agency in the Decolonization of Knowledge. In Decolonizing African Pedagogies: Knowledge Production, Epistemic Imperialism, and Black Agency, edited by N. Andrews & N. Khalema. Springer; Geneva. Pp 31-53.
Olaitan, Z.M. 2024. The Role of Gender Budgeting in Mainstreaming Women in Peacebuilding in Africa. In: Ojo, T.A. (eds.) Gender-Responsive Budgeting in Africa. Sustainable Development Goals Series. Springer, Cham, pp. 85-96.
Ojo, TA & Olaitan, ZM. 2024. Fourth Industrial Revolution and gender-responsive budgeting in South Africa: Policy challenges and alternatives,’ in B Ndzendze, A Singh & S Timm (eds.), The 4IR and the Humanities in South Africa: Perspectives on innovation, power and potentialities, AVARSITY Books, Cape Town, pp. 3–18.
Olaitan, Z.M. 2024. Using Digital Technology to Address Gender-based Violence in South Africa. In African Women in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, edited by TA Ojo and B Ndzendze. London: Routledge.
Olaitan, Z.M. 2025. An African Feminist Analysis of the Impact of Menstrual Taboos in Abrahamic Religions on Women and Girls in Africa. In Harmful Practices and Human Rights: An International Perspective, edited by E. Durojaye, S. Nabaneh, and J. Bond. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.
Olaitan, Z.M., and Adegalu, F. 2025. Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Women: A Descriptive Analysis. In Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Women in Africa and the Caribbean: Linking the two regions, edited by ZM. Olaitan, TA Ojo, and S. Maxwell, pp. 23-39. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.
Olaitan, Z.M. 2025. Women’s Representation in Peace Support Operations: A Gendered Approach Towards Silencing the Guns in Africa. In Silencing the Guns: Reassessing the Agenda and Reassessing Prospects, vol. 2, edited by N. Erameh, N. Breakfast, and E. Ubi, pp. 205-223. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.
Olaitan, Z.M. 2025. African Union and the Development of a Continental Gender Quota. In African Women in Governance: Policies and Stakeholders Participation, edited by T.A. Ojo and O. Oyekanmi. UJ Press.
Olaitan, ZM. 2026. Re-Imagining the Parliamentary Women’s Caucus as a Social Movement for Addressing Gender-based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) in Africa. In Social Constructions of Gender-Based Violence in African Cities, edited by TA Ojo, T. Raniga, S. Konlan. African Minds.
Olaitan, Z.M. 2024. The Relevance of African Indigenous Knowledge Systems for Development in Africa. AIKRN Policy Brief Series 3.
Olaitan, Z.M., and Oloruntoba, S.O. 2025. African Indigenous Knowledge Systems and the African Start-Up Ecosystem: Partnership for Impact. AIKRN Policy Brief Series 4.
Olaitan, Z.M., and Zuva, A. 2025. Protecting the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Women in Africa and the Caribbean. CSRGC Policy Brief.
Oloruntoba, SO., and Olaitan ZM. 2024. African Communities have a lot of knowledge to share: researchers offer alternatives to Eurocentric ways of doing things. The Conversation Africa, August 5.
Olaitan, ZM. 2024. 2024. Protecting the rights of women in South Africa – a call for feminist leadership. University of Pretoria. August 8.
Olaitan, ZM. 2024. Indigenous Knowledge-based entrepreneurship and the informal economy in Africa: Rethinking the grammar of economic policy. Africa Indigenous Knowledge Research Network, August 12.
Olaitan, Z.M. 2025. A Modern Take on the Relevance of Gender Quotas for Substantive Women’s Representation in African Politics. Liberation Alliance, April 29.