Nelson Mandela University’s Centre for Women and Gender Studies (CWGS) has been recognised nationally by the Human Science Research Council for its scholarly efforts towards social justice.
The centre was launched in 2019 and became the first gender scholarship entity in the Eastern Cape.
The programmes and assistance offered by the centre saw it scoop the award in the team category, ahead of the University of Johannesburg and Rhodes University.
CWGS interim director Professor Babalwa Magoqwana thanked among others, the leadership of NMU for affording them the freedom to pursue their scholarship.
“To the leadership of the most dynamic African university … thank you for allowing us to go wild with the vision of centering African women’s intellectual histories in the academy and across the African continent.
“[We thank] the team from the Centre for Women and Gender Studies, the students who have worked so hard to make sure that we hold the project together, the chair for African Feminist Imaginations, Professor Phumla Gqola, the collaborators from [several universities] and the whole community of black women around the world who have lent a hand in this particular project.”
Annually, the award acknowledges scholars who made an outstanding contribution to the social sciences and humanities through their research.
This year, the awards aimed to recognise research excellence under the social justice theme.
For the team category, nominees needed to demonstrate their contribution to SA’s understanding of social justice scholarship.
CWGS was recognised for its work with the chair of African Feminist Imaginations foregrounding “African women’s often-forgotten power and leadership in society” and the “spotlighting of African women’s biographical and intellectual histories while developing a gender intellectual corridor in the Eastern Cape with Rhodes and Fort Hare Universities”.
The team collaborated with various activities, including the Dr Brigalia Bam Archive Project with the faculty of humanities; and the Author Fridays Series which brings together authors, academics, researchers and students to engage critically on topics relating to gender.
A significant part of CWGS’s work is to empower postgraduate students from across the Eastern Cape through its annual summer schools and writing workshops.
