Nigerian wins US fellowship

Omowumi Omole, an Interdisciplinary Humanities doctoral candidate at the University of California, has been awarded the 2026 Dean’s Dissertation Fellowship from the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts. The fellowship, valued at $27,000, will support her dissertation fieldwork and data collection in Lagos, Nigeria. Omole's dissertation examines how Pentecostal marriage teachings shape women's political subjectivity, particularly their views on laws meant to protect them from violence.

Her ethnographic study follows women through marriage classes at two Lagos churches and examines churchgoers' attitudes towards issues such as bodily autonomy and reproductive rights. In addition to her work in Nigeria, Omole has conducted research among Nigerian diaspora congregations in Dallas, Texas, and plans to continue the study at a church in Houston to see how the same teachings are embodied abroad.

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.