Runway to Feminist Justice

Feminist Centre for Racial Justice

The Runway to Feminist Justice Podcast series discusses topical issues at the intersection of feminism and racial justice. This series of podcasts is developed by the Feminist Centre for Racial Justice, which is hosted at SOAS, University of London. For more information about the Feminist Centre, please go to our website: www.thefeministcentre.org

  1. Sep 21

    Episode 45: 10 Questions with Professor Dzodzi Tsikata

    10 Questions with Feminist Academics In this series we engage 10 feminist academics around 10 questions within and across their disciplines that are important for all to consider at this historical juncture.  Bio Dzodzi Tsikata is Distinguished Research Professor of Development Studies at SOAS University of London. She spent thirty years at the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) at University of Ghana rising through the ranks from Junior Research Fellow to Research Professor of Development Sociology. Between 2016 and 2022, she was Director of the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana, and before then, Deputy Director and Director of the Centre for Gender Studies and Advocacy (2005-2012). She is currently an Adjunct Professor at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana.  Her research in the last 30 years has been centred on the gendered labour relations of agrarian and urban informal economies, the trajectories of African social policy regimes and gender and development policies and practices. She has led pan-African research teams to study these subjects, engaged in extensive fieldwork across Ghana and undertaken occasional field visits in Kenya, Tanzania and Zimbabwe over the years. She is currently the Principal Investigator of a pan-African research, networking and advocacy project, the Gender Equitable and Transformative Social Policy for Post-COVID-19 Africa (GETSPA), which is now in its second phase.  Dzodzi is a leading member of several independent global South capacity building, research, and policy advocacy networks, including the International Development Economics Associates (IDEAS), the Agrarian South Network, Third World Network Africa, and the Network for Women’s Rights in Ghana. She is the Managing Editor of the pan-African journal, Feminist Africa and a member of the editorial collective of Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy. She is currently a board member of the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), the Development Network DAWN, and Africa Journals Online (AJOL) and the Centre for Democracy and Development in Abuja. She is a Fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences. Credits Produced by: The Feminist Centre for Racial Justice Host: Vasiliki Vita Sound design, editing, production: Music: Grateful by audiolibraryinfinite from Pixabay

    Episode 45: 10 Questions with Professor Dzodzi Tsikata
  2. Sep 7

    Episode 44: 10 Questions with Dr. Ida Hadjivayanis

    10 Questions with Feminist Academics In this series we engage 10 feminist academics around 10 questions within and across their disciplines that are important for all to consider at this historical juncture.  Bio Ida Hadjivayanis is an academic at SOAS University of London where she lectures on Swahili studies and Translation. She has translated Dhulma (2025) and Peponi (2022), the Swahili translations of Theft (2025) and Paradise (1994) by the Nobel laureate, Abdulrazak Gurnah. Ida’s publications explore Swahili literary translations, norms of translating prose in Swahili and translocality of Swahili speakers in diaspora. She has collaborated with Salha Hamdani on a memoir : Salama binti Rubeya : Memories from the Swahili Coast / Salama binti Rubeya: Simulizi kutoka Mwambao wa Bahari ya Hindi which launches on August 23, 2025 in Zanzibar. The book offers a lived perspective of those who are often excluded from historical narratives, showcasing how the everyday person was impacted by historical forces. Ida has also translated Alisi ndani ya nchi ya Ajabu (2015) and Poems for the Penniless (2019), a collaboration with the Tanzanian academic, Issa Shivji. Her extensive public speaking engagements explore various themes including the reality of multi-lingualism in Africa, decolonisation in translations, the unequal encounters on the Indian Ocean and the place of Swahili as a global lingua-franca. Ida Hadjivayanis is the co-founder of the annual SOAS Baraza Swahili Conference. Credits Produced by: The Feminist Centre for Racial Justice Host: Vasiliki Vita Sound design, editing, production: Ellan A. Lincoln Hyde Music: Grateful by audiolibraryinfinite from Pixabay

    Episode 44: 10 Questions with Dr. Ida Hadjivayanis
  3. Aug 24

    Episode 43: 10 Questions with Dr. Yolande Bouka

    10 Questions with Feminist Academics In this series we engage 10 feminist academics around 10 questions within and across their disciplines that are important for all to consider at this historical juncture.  Bio Dr. Yolande Bouka is the Canada Research Chair on Afrofeminist Thought and Political Transformation, and an Associate Professor of gender and politics and international relations at Queen’s University in Canada. She is also the co-director of the  Research Network on Women, Peace, and Security.  Prior to her academic appointment, she worked as a researcher at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in the Conflict Prevention and Risk Analysis Division, focusing on Africa’s Great Lakes Region. Her research focuses on gender, political violence, and race and international relations. The key questions driving her multidisciplinary research agenda is how vulnerable groups and individuals understand and navigate structural and political violence and how these experiences influence the social and political landscapes of conflict-affected societies. Her current research is a multi-sited historical and political analysis of female combatants in Southern Africa. She is also finalizing her book manuscript provisionally titled In the Shadow of Prison: Transitional Justice and Carceral Politics in Africa, which, based on years of interview and archival research, explores the role of prisons and incarceration in transitional African societies looking at Rwanda as a case study. Her research has received support from the Fulbright Scholar Program, the American Association of University Women, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.  She is the recipient of the 2021 International Studies Association (ISA) Feminist Theory and Gender Studies Section (FTGS) Early Career Community Engagement Award. Credits Produced by: The Feminist Centre for Racial Justice Host: Awino Okech Sound design, editing, production: Ellan A. Lincoln Hyde Music: Grateful by audiolibraryinfinite from Pixabay

    Episode 43: 10 Questions with Dr. Yolande Bouka
  4. Jul 27

    Episode 41: 10 Questions with Dr. Kuziwakwashe Zigomo

    10 Questions with Feminist Academics In this series we engage 10 feminist academics around 10 questions within and across their disciplines that are important for all to consider at this historical juncture.  Bio Dr. Kuziwakwashe Zigomo is a Teaching Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and Lecturer of Politics and International Relations of Africa & Migration at SOAS, University of London. Prior to joining SOAS, she was Lecturer of International Relations of the Global South at the University of Kent. She holds a PhD in Political Science from the Department of Politics and International Relations at Royal Holloway, University of London, a Master of International Studies in Peace and Conflict Resolution from the University of Queensland (Australia), and a Bachelor of Arts in Media and Communication Studies & Marketing from Monash University (South Africa). Dr. Zigomo is an interdisciplinary, decolonial, and intersectional feminist scholar. Her research interests include elite politics, religion, gender politics, authoritarianism and military regimes, migration, conflict, and peacebuilding, with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa. Her research sits at the intersection of gender, religion, and politics, examining how religious imaginaries and ideas reconfigure gender identities in authoritarian and patriarchal contexts, as well as in the context of migration. Her broader research agenda explores other dynamics of religion and state formation, militarisation, securitisation, identity politics, and institutions in the Global South. She is currently working on a book project funded by a British Academy Leverhulme Grant which investigates the role of religious women in navigating political transitions in Zimbabwe. This work builds on an article published in the Journal of Ethnic and Racial Studies, where she investigates the influence of transnational Pentecostal religious beliefs on women’s political participation in Zimbabwe. Kuziwakwashe also produces policy-relevant research and cutting-edge analysis on contemporary issues relating to women and political participation, violence, democracy, and elections in Africa. She has been invited to speak to various stakeholders and policymakers at events hosted by Amnesty International, Accountability Lab, and Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA). Credits Produced by: The Feminist Centre for Racial Justice Host: Vasiliki Vita Sound design, editing, production: Ellan A. Lincoln Hyde Music: Grateful by audiolibraryinfinite from Pixabay

    Episode 41: 10 Questions with Dr. Kuziwakwashe Zigomo
  5. Jul 14

    Episode 40: Spotlight: Nina Chizungu Activist in Residence 25/26

    In this episode, we talk to FCRJ's Activist in Residence Nina Chizungu, who has developed a living feminist archive documenting how women in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi move from surviving conflict and gender-based violence to leading, organizing, and shaping governance in their communities. We explore why Nina's project, From Survival to Governance: Women of the Great Lakes on the Frontline, centres this shift from victimhood to leadership, and how photography, storytelling, and audio narratives allow women to document their own experiences on their own terms. Nina discusses the sensitivity required to navigate the deeply intertwined political histories of the Great Lakes region, and how co-creating narratives with women activists and survivors keeps safety, consent, and agency at the centre of the process. Bio Nina Chizungu is a Congolese feminist, researcher, and human rights defender with over a decade of experience advancing gender equality, racial justice, and peace across Africa’s Great Lakes region. She currently serves as Program Director and Gender Expert at Sote Pamoja RDC, where she leads regional initiatives promoting women’s leadership, inclusive governance, and social justice in post-conflict contexts.  Her work bridges feminist research, advocacy, and creative s  torytelling, amplifying the voices of women activists and survivors from the DRC, Rwanda, and Burundi. Nina has authored policy briefs, convened regional dialogues, and co-produced feminist podcasts with Protection International Africa, contributing to shaping policy and practice on gender and peacebuilding.  She holds a Master’s degree in Law and advanced certifications in Leadership and Governance from the Uongozi Institute (Tanzania). Nina’s work embodies a deep commitment to feminist knowledge production as a pathway to justice, resilience, and sustainable peace in Africa.  Credits Interviewee: Nina Chizungu Interviewer: Nadia Asri Produced by: The Feminist Centre for Racial Justice Sound design, editing, production: Samuel Oduor Music: Grateful by audiolibraryinfinite from Pixabay

    Episode 40: Spotlight: Nina Chizungu Activist in Residence 25/26
  6. Jul 6

    Episode 39: Spotlight: Tamara Isaac Activist in Residence 25/26

    In this episode, we talk to FCRJ's Activist in Residence Tamara Isaac about her project on language justice across South–South migration, bringing together experiences from Haiti, Brazil, and beyond. Tamara explores how language intersects with race, gender, legal status, and disability to shape migrants', and particularly Black women migrants', access to rights and services. She discusses what it means to design spaces that centre participants' preferred ways of communicating, and how the toolkits, training resources, and policy recommendations coming out of her project aim to shift how service providers, advocates, and policymakers think about language justice. BioTamara Isaac is a Haitian lawyer, language justice practitioner, and published poet with 14+ years of lived migration experience across Haiti, Costa Rica, and Brazil. She specializes in intersectional advocacy supporting Black immigrants and marginalized communities through trauma-informed, community-centered approaches. Tamara has worked with over 10 international NGOs including AfroResistance, Fenomenal Funds, and the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, providing translation, interpretation, and language coordination services across five languages. Currently based in São Paulo, she serves as a Caribbean and Central America Political Violence Researcher at a non-profit organization while maintaining her independent language justice practice. Her creative work includes several published literary works exploring migration, language, and Black diasporic experiences. Tamara holds a law degree, with a dissertation focused on refugee protections in Costa Rican immigration law.  Credits Interviewees: Tamara Isaac Interviewer: Nadia Asri Produced by: The Feminist Centre for Racial Justice Sound design, editing, production: Samuel Oduor Music: Grateful by audiolibraryinfinite from Pixabay

    Episode 39: Spotlight: Tamara Isaac Activist in Residence 25/26

About

The Runway to Feminist Justice Podcast series discusses topical issues at the intersection of feminism and racial justice. This series of podcasts is developed by the Feminist Centre for Racial Justice, which is hosted at SOAS, University of London. For more information about the Feminist Centre, please go to our website: www.thefeministcentre.org