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The Centre for Gender and Africa Studies (CGAS) at the University of the Free State (UFS) has partnered with the Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM) in Mozambique, and Uppsala University in Sweden, on a five-year research project. 

Funded by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), the project supports gender-sensitive research and gender mainstreaming in higher education. “Gender Studies is becoming a more notable academic field because of its potential to transform social relations and promote social justice,” said Dr Nadine Lake, programme director in Gender Studies at the CGAS. 

Dr Lake says “gender studies provides a critical lens for any investigation of education, politics or the economy”. Her involvement in the project includes postgraduate supervision, gender studies teaching and workshops on gender-based violence.

A workshop held from 29 to 30 May at the Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo marked the beginning of the project titled: ‘Gender Mainstreaming: Developing Competencies in Higher Education for Gender Equality, Peace-Building and Gender-Sensitive Research.’ The project’s primary objective is to create an enabling environment for gender-sensitive research in different knowledge domains toward a research-led university with a primary focus on UEM. 

Additional project objectives include:
• The development of research methods and gender studies courses at UEM; 
• The establishment of a master’s programme in Gender Studies; 
• PhD training workshops for staff from UEM and; 
• Research outputs in collaboration with staff from the UFS and Uppsala University