Oluwafunmilayo J. Para-Mallam, mni
is the Director of Studies and the first female member of Management.
She holds a PhD in Development Studies from the
University of Leeds, UK (2006) and is a Professor of Gender and Development, a Development
Consultant and women’s rights activist. She has served at the National
Institute since March 1989. She was born on 9th December 1963 in the UK where
she attended John Stainer Primary School (1967-1974), London, In 1980, she
graduated with a Grade One Distinction from St Teresa’s College, Ibadan and
obtained a BA (Hons) in French/Portuguese from University of Ife, in 1984, a
Masters of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from University of Jos in 1995 and a
Diploma in Peace and Security from University of Uppsala, Sweden in 2009.
She also has a Masters in Missiology from All
Nations College, UK (2022).
Professor Para-Mallam has travelled widely and
attended conferences and professional training courses in Australia, Brazil,
Burkina Faso, Canada, France, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mali, Poland, South
Africa, Sweden, The Netherlands, UK, and the USA, among others. She is a Ford
International Doctoral Fellow and an alumna of the Senior Executive Fellow of
the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
After joined the National Institute, Kuru in
March 1989 as an Editorial Assistant, she rose to become Principal Editor
before transferring to the Department of Research as a Fellow in 2001. She
became a Senior Fellow in 2004 and in 2011was the first female to be appointed
Professor in the National Institute. In 2013, she became a Member of the
National Institute after participating in the NIPSS Senior Executive Course 35.
In 2015, she became a Visiting Professor at the University of Jos, and a Visiting
Scholar at Columbia University, New York in 2016. From 2016 to 2019, she served
as a Directing Staff in the Directorate of Studies.
Prof Para-Mallam has served as a policy and
leadership trainer, development consultant, resource person and principal investigator
on a number of collaborative projects with State, national and international
Agencies. These include Action Aid, Coalition for Religious Equality and
Inclusive Development (CREID), DFID, Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa
(FARA), Nigeria Defence College, UNESCO, UN Women, UNDP, The World Bank, and
Women for Women International. She has been a guest lecturer and external
examiner at the Institute for Security Studies, Abuja.
Para-Mallam has also been involved in
national/institutional assignments related to policy development such as the
draft Strategic Implementation Framework for the 2007 National Gender Policy,
member, 2007 Gender Electoral Reform Committee, and member technical experts
committee on UNDP Women in Politics programme. She was the lead consultant
responsible for drafting the University of Jos Sexual Harassment Policy (2009),
Women for Women International Advocacy training toolkit for grassroots women
(2016), the National Emergency Agency (NEMA) Gender in Disaster Management Policy
(2016), and the Gender and Health Policy of the Federal Ministry of Health
(2018). In 2020, she chaired the Women and Governance Sub-Committee of the
Technical Working Group that developed strategies on Women Affairs for the
2021-2025 Mid-Term National Development Plan.
Prof Para-Mallam has won a number of
international awards from the Ford Foundation, University of Birmingham,
African Peace Building Network, Evangelical Press Association, among others.
Among her community service, literary, and academic awards and fellowships are
the following: EPA Feature Article Award, Chicago, USA (2001); Ford Foundation
International Doctoral Fellowship (2001); Cadbury Programme Fellowship at the
Centre for West African Studies, University of Birmingham, UK (2006); African
Peacebuilding Network (APN) fellowship grant (2012); and the Ford Foundation
International Fellowships Program Archive Research Award from the Columbia
University, New York (2016). She served as a Visiting Professor, member of
Senate and Lecturer at the University of Jos (2015-2016) and was a Ford
Foundation Visiting Scholar at Columbia University, New York (2016). In July
2020, she was elected Chairperson of the African Women’s Leadership Network
(AWLN) Nigeria Chapter Steering Committee. She is the National Coordinator of
Christian Women for Excellence and Empowerment in Nigerian Society (CWEENS) a
women’s network focused on women empowerment, tackling gender-based violence,
girl-child mentoring and female leadership development.
She has over 70 publications and conference
papers to her credit; over 40 per cent of her publications are published in
peer-reviewed international journals and books. Her publications include:
“Gender Dimensions of Peace and Security: Issues for Nigeria” (2004), “Faith and
Gender Agendas in Nigeria: Conflicts, Challenges and Opportunities” (2006),
Nigerian Women Speak: An Analysis of Government Policy on Women (2007),
“Promoting Gender Equality in the Context of Nigerian Cultural and Religious
Expression: Beyond Increasing Female Access to Education” (2010), “No Woman
Wrapper in a Husband’s House: The Cultural Production of Hegemonic Masculinity
in Nigeria” (2011); Nigeria’s 50 Years of Nation Building: Achievements,
Challenges and Prospects (ed. 2011); Finding Durable Peace in Plateau State
(ed. 2011); “Ethno-Religious Pluralism and its Management in Liberia and Ghana:
Lessons for Nigeria (2012), “Gender Equality in Nigeria” (2017); Gender,
Citizenship and Democratic Governance (2018) and Sexual Violence Against Women
and Girls in Nigeria” (2022). Her research interests include gender and
development policy, gender-based violence, gender, peace and security,
governance and leadership development and public policy.
She is a member of professional bodies and
organisational boards. These include: Life Member of the Nigerian Society of
International Law, Member of the Institute of Directors, Member of the
Federation of Business and Professional Women, Member of the UNICEF Inclusive
Policy Lab, and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Local Government and
Public Administration of Nigeria. In February 2023, she became one of 52
Nigerians appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari to serve on the Presidential
High Level Advisory Committee on Women and Girls Empowerment in Nigeria. She loves
to read, write, dance and dabble into interior decorating.
Prof Para-Mallam is happily married to the Revd.
(Dr) Gideon Para-Mallam; they have five children and two grandchildren. She and
her husband are the founders of the Gideon and Funmi Peace Foundation; they
enjoy mentoring young people, promoting inter-faith dialogue and social action,
and they are Patrons of the National Christian Corpers’ Fellowship (NCCF).
