In honour of Women’s Month, the National Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS) proudly presents the Women of Impact Series. This series celebrates the outstanding achievements of our female graduates, partners, and project leaders in the Humanities and Social Sciences. We showcase the groundbreaking research, extraordinary dedication, and inspiring visions of these accomplished women. Through their innovative work and unwavering commitment, they have advanced in their respective fields and shaped a more inclusive and diverse future. Join us in celebrating their remarkable contributions and stories.
- Can you please share a brief overview of your research and the significance of it in the HSS space?
My research is primarily focused on racial representation in the Arts Therapy field in South Africa particularly the emergent Drama Therapy modality. Insights from this research have revealed, amongst many other findings, that despite the apparent academic capacity and resilience, progress for Black women is stagnant as Black women are the minority of registered dramatherapists. The significance of this research in the HSS space is that it has assessed transformation in the post-Apartheid South Africa and highlights the role higher education plays in opening the doors of access and moreover advocates for Black dramatherapists to be more visible and supported in publishing the impact of their clinical practice. Furthermore, the research appeals to the next generation of young Black women to consider a career in the Arts Therapies and suggests indigenizing the discipline in order to appropriately respond to the complex socio-political and mental health demands that the country faces.
- How has funding and support from the NIHSS influenced your academic journey and personal growth?
I am very grateful for the funding that I received from NIHSS because it allowed me to focus solely on the research process and develop an in-depth research report because my academic costs were covered. Personally, I grew from attending the various NIHSS workshops that were diverse in the teaching approach and fostered me with the appropriate tools for conducting thorough research. It was also good to know that I was not alone in the challenges I faced during my research journey as I engaged with NIHSS community members who were also on this journey with me.
- What inspired you to pursue your Master’s Degree and what challenges did you overcome during your academic journey?
I was inspired by rewriting my narrative. I was taught by my grandmothers that education is my inheritance. I was inspired by my mother, father, and ancestors to pursue my Master’s Degree with the understanding that the world I live in is not the same as the world they came from but that passion for research and excellence was imbued in me by them- it was their voices that kept me going during my research. I’m inspired by my ancestors’ tenacity to keep going beyond the threshold of knowledge and to find new horizons of being. I am also a lifelong learner and most importantly have always believed in doing impactful work for the communities that I belong to, and a master’s degree would do just that. The discipline is emergent (particularly in South Africa), and my research is multidisciplinary in nature which required the use of Afro-feminist and anthropological lenses and so finding different nests to cultivate my research was a challenge that I had to overcome early on through broadening my academic networks and engaging with different experts. Financial precarity, managing timelines, and maintaining steady progress whilst conducting research at a master’s level were also challenges that kept rearing up.
- What does the celebration of Women’s Month mean to you?
It means celebrating the milestones of progress for all women in South Africa. The saying goes that Women hold up half of the sky and so Women’s Month honours the valuable contributions emanating from Women’s work that signal the significance of upholding the role of women, in all spheres, with dignity and equity.