Spotlight on: Pelumi Obisesan
We are excited to introduce Pelumi Obisesan as our Scholar in the Spotlight for the month of July 2026. Pelumi recently completed her PhD at SOAS, University of London (congrats!). Her thesis focused on women’s experiences with transitional justice processes in the Lake Chad Basin.
Find out more about Pelumi below and connect via LinkedIn or X.
Tell us a bit about yourself.
My name is Pelumi Obisesan, and I recently completed my PhD in Development Studies at SOAS University of London (awarded June 19). My dissertation, Women’s Experiences with Transitional Justice Processes in the Lake Chad Basin: the Boko Haram Case, examines how women navigate ongoing post-conflict justice processes, through a decolonial feminist lens and applying a co-constitutive intersectional framework grounded in their lived experiences and language. The research advances debates in decolonial, Black feminist, and transitional justice scholarship by centering locally rooted, non-jurisprudential understandings of justice while critically engaging assumptions about the “local.” I am a student member of the British International Studies Association and previously led the Programs Team at the Africa Transitional Justice Legacy Fund. Beyond academia, I am a communications and marketing professional and founder of Teens Going for Gold Network, a non-profit promoting peace education and developing context-specific peacebuilding tools in at-risk communities in Nigeria.
What are your research interests?
Women’s experiences and perspectives with asymmetric warfare, Transitional Justice in Africa, women’s experiences with transitional justice processes, Elections in Africa and women’s elections and political representation, the role of youth and young people in peacebuilding.
Who is your favorite feminist icon?
Can’t really choose. Kimberle Crenshaw and Cynthia Enloe.
What are three sources you would recommend to others interested in feminist IR generally or your research topic in particular?
Bananas, Beaches and Bases by Cynthia Enloe. The text shows how global politics is shaped by everyday gendered experiences.
Belonging and the Politics of Belonging by Nira Yuval-Davis. Central to my research, this text develops a co-constitutive intersectional approach that helps explain how identities and power relations shape experiences of justice.
Decolonization and Afro-Feminism by Sylvia Tamale. This text was key to my research because it contextualizes feminism, justice and agency in an African context.
What’s next for you?
I am excited to build on my PhD by further researching women’s experiences of asymmetric warfare, transitional justice processes, and political representation, particularly through postdoctoral work. I am also keen to contribute to academic and policy conversations by facilitating panels, workshops, and teaching on these themes. Beyond academia, I will continue developing context-specific peace manuals for young people in at-risk communities in Nigeria. Given the rise in insecurity across the country’s geopolitical zones, there is an urgent need to engage youth as active peacebuilders. These manuals are designed to equip young people with practical tools and knowledge to foster peace and support sustainable development within their communities.
The GIRWG „Spotlight on…“ series showcases the exciting research conducted by our PhD student and ECR members. If you want to be part of the series in 2027, please reach out to us via email.
Photo by Marek Studzinski on Unsplash