Shireen Hassim is an South African political scientist, historian, and scholar of gender studies and African studies. She is a Professor in the Department of Political Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, where she is also affiliated with the Institute for Social and Economic Research. In 2019 she became a Canada 150 Research Chair in Gender and African Politics, beginning a seven-year term in the Institute for African Studies at Carleton University. Hassim was the first black woman full professor of political science in South Africa.