Martha Farrell Fellowships

Background

Dr Martha Farrell was director of PRIA’s gender programme and campaigned tirelessly for women’s rights, gender equality and adult education.

In 2015, while in Afghanistan to lead a gender training workshop, she was among 14 people killed in a Taliban attack. The Martha Farrell Foundation was set up in her memory to continue her work.

The Martha Farrell Memorial Fellowships draw on the Foundation’s expertise to offer staff members from an ACU member university training and support so that they can introduce an effective anti-sexual harassment initiative at their home university.

Eligibility

Open to professional and academic staff of ACU member universities in East and West Africa: Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda, and Asia: Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and the Maldives

The Fellowships

The fellowships offer an online training programme delivered by the Martha Farrell Foundation. As part of the application, applicants will need to submit a plan of work showing how their home institution can address the issue of sexual harassment on campus. The training received will offer practical solutions and advice for the development and implementation of the plan.

Six months after completing the training, the fellow will submit a detailed report showing how the training has enabled them to put their action plan into effect. Fellows are also required to share one of the outputs from their work with other ACU member universities.

Value of Fellowship

Fellows will receive free access to the training programme and follow-up online support from the Martha Farrell Foundation. In addition, each fellow will receive a grant of GBP £1,000 in order to support the implementation of their initiative.

If you have any questions that are not answered here, please email acufellowships@acu.ac.uk

‘Before my fellowship work, nobody talked about this heinous act openly. Now every stakeholder in the Institute of Education and Research, University of Dhaka, has been concerned about this matter. After the awareness campaign, they know the types and nature of sexual harassment and what they have to do if they face any incidents.’

- Mojibur Rahman, Martha Farrell Fellowship recipient and Associate Professor at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Meet the Fellows

Martha Farrell fellow Gina Oduro sits down at a desk signing papers

Dr Georgina Oduro

University of Cape Coast, Ghana

Georgina Yaa Oduro (PhD) is the current Director of the Centre for Gender Research, Advocacy and Documentation (CEGRAD), University of Cape Coast (UCC), and a senior lecturer with the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. Dr. Oduro has been involved in outreach and advocacy work in the area of gender and sexual harassment issues at the UCC and beyond - including the training of both students and staff on sexual harassment and gender related issues. She was a Takemi Fellow in International Health at the T. H. Chan school of Public Health, Harvard University, USA during the 2016/2017 academic year where she researched sex work among marginalised youth in Ghana. Her research interests include gender, violence, marginalized youth, mixed-race identities, ocean culture and heritage and embodiment.

Dr Fatmatta Taqi

University of Sierra Leone

Dr. Fatmatta Taqi (nee Cole) is an academic and an advocate who is passionate about the empowerment of women and girls and strongly believes that education and relevant knowledge are key ‘changers’ of any situation. Dr. Taqi is the Director of Academic and Career Advisory and Counselling Services (ACACS), and the Students Complaints Centre at the University of Sierra Leone, and also a lecturer in the Department of Language Studies and the Institute for Gender Research and Documentation (INGRADOC) at Fourah Bay College. With a passion for gender parity, equity and inclusion, Dr. Taqi is the immediate past president of the renowned 50/50 Group of Sierra Leone and serves in various capacities within other organisations.

Dr Scholastica Omondi

University of Nairobi, Kenya

Dr. Scholastica Omondi is the Associate Dean, School of Law, Kisumu Campus at the University of Nairobi, Kenya. She holds a PhD in Law, a Masters in Sociology and a Bachelors in Law all from the University of Nairobi. The PhD thesis in Law examined the 'Implications of the Adversarial Criminal Trial on the Special Needs of Child Victims of Sexual Abuse in Kenya'. She has just completed a second PhD study in Sociology and is currently awaiting the assessment of the thesis at Kenyatta University in Kenya. The PhD thesis is on 'The Socio-cultural and economic determinants of Accessing Justice by Victims of Spouse Abuse in Kenya'. She previously worked as a State Counsel, Magistrate and Judge in Kenya. She is a researcher and consultant in socio-legal issues. As a lecturer, she teaches courses such as gender, criminal law, children rights, evidence, victimology, criminal justice and human rights amongst others. Dr Omondi mentors students and has published several journal articles as well as books in these areas.