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Dr. Olaitan Olusegun is a lecturer in Medical Law and Human Rights at Obafemi Owololo Univeristy in Nigeria. She was an Africa Oxford Initiative (AfOx) Law Faculty Visiting Fellow 2023-24 at the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights at the University of Oxford, where she was a member of Somerville College.

Dr Olaitan Olusegun

The focus of Dr. Olusegun’s research has been access to justice for women, children and those living with disabilities in Nigeria. During her fellowship, she examined the rights of children with albinism in Nigeria’s legal framework.

“Initially, my research proposal was on the broad spectrum of disability rights,” she says.  In fact, it was only after consulting with her collaborator, Professor Tarun Khaitan at the University of Oxford, that she narrowed the scope of her research and redirected to studying the legal rights of children with albinism.

“Dr. Olusegun was extremely collegiate and working,” Professor Khaitan said. “She fully immersed herself in the academic life at Oxford and made the most of her visit.”

Dr. Olusegun asks, “can albinism be considered a disability?” “Children with albinism can walk, they can talk, and they can do everything everyone else does,” she explains. Yet they may need sunscreen, regular eye exams, and specific accommodations in classrooms, which often leads to children with albinism being classified as individuals with disabilities to ensure they receive the necessary support.   

 

Read the full story on the Africa Oxford Initiative website.