Fordham Africanist Group Visiting Scholars

Visiting Scholar Profile - Professor Nkoli Ijeoma Aniekwu

Dr. Nkoli Aniekwu - Visiting Scholar at Fordham University, 2022-2023

We are delighted to welcome Professor Nkolika Ijeoma Aniekwu, a Faculty Member of the Department of Public Law, Faculty of Law at the University of Benin, Nigeria, as a visiting scholar for the 2022-2023 academic year. She teaches and researches legal methods and reproductive health law, publishing a book and journal articles. In addition, Dr. Aniekwu has given talks on various topics, including health law, gender, legal research methodologies, international human rights, and post-colonial feminist theories.

In 2010, Professor Aniekwu designed Nigerian universities’ first LLM elective in Reproductive Health and Rights Law. From 2018-2022, Dr. Aniekwu was a Martin Flynn Global Law Professor at the University of Connecticut Law School. While at UConn Law, she spoke on the emerging issues and policy guidelines for reproductive and sexual rights in African legal systems, using Nigeria as a case study. She also presented some evidence on the linkages of AIDS with sexual violence, including intimate partner violence (IPV), in many parts of West Africa.

While at Fordham, Dr. Aniekwu will finalize her book project on Cultural Relativism and Women’s Reproductive Justice in sub-Saharan Africa, using Nigeria as a regional example. The publication addresses important and emerging issues on women’s rights and reproductive health in Nigeria, especially in the post-Roe v. Wade and the global ripple effect stemming from its recent reversal. The project aims to illuminate current legal and policy developments in abortion access and reproductive health care for women.

The Fordham Africanist Group has been graciously funded by Fordham's Global Studies Consortium, Fordham's Office of the Chief Diversity Office, and the Fordham Arts and Sciences Deans’ Faculty Challenge Grants.