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Black men take a page out of their own oppression to marginalise black women in higher education

12 May 2022 | Story Nombulelo Shange | Photo Andre Damons

adnombulelo5 copy — Nombulelo Shange is a lecturer in the department of sociology at UFS and Chairperson of the University of the Free State Womxn’s Forum.

Opinion article by Nombulelo Shange, Lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the University of the Free State and Chairperson of the University of the Free State Women’s Forum.

If black men have faced the worst of fates, then black women have also placed their lives and bodies on the line. Black women have stood by black men, marched with them, nurtured, and guided them, only to be rejected and oppressed by them. Even while mired in racial-patriarchal oppression, black women still find ways to thrive. One of the places where we see this tragedy play itself out in the most vulgar of ways is within higher education in South Africa.

The irony of this is that universities are supposedly spaces for knowledge production, acceptance, and collective engagement. The unspeakably painful irony of this is that universities have been spaces in which black men have made important strides in advancing democracy. Black men were, for example, leaders in the South African Students’ Organisation, which was rooted in Black Consciousness ideology. Today discourses on decoloniality often echo statements by luminaries such as Steve Biko. So it hurts that those black men have not learnt to value the contributions and leadership of black women at every step of the blood-stained march to freedom, even in the hallowed halls of universities.

At every turn black women in higher education have to navigate tremendous obstacles in order to make it to senior positions. Many move to other industries, hoping to find acceptance. Others reluctantly give up such ambitions and find meaning in junior roles.

Black female leaders facing challenges

It is worth thinking of this when remembering how, in 2014, Prof Nthabiseng Ogude was pushed out of office after only serving two years of her five-year contract as vice-chancellor of Tshwane University of Technology. She was portrayed as being aloof, not engaging with unions and not being close to students.

The University of Cape Town’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof Mamokgethi Phakeng, has also been met with misogynistic attacks that included having her qualifications questioned. Few lauded her professorship, and fewer commented on the patriarchal obstacles she would have had to overcome to progress in the manner she has. Despite the questioning of her qualifications, Prof Phakeng has managed to cement UCT’s top ranking among universities on the continent.

More recently, the University of South Africa’s first black woman leader, Prof Puleng LenkaBula, has been placed at the fore of the hit list of sexists at universities in this society that too often loves to see black women in pain. Just a little over a year ago, we celebrated her appointment as the first black female vice-chancellor. Her resilience led her to smash the patriarchy that has left black women out for almost 150 years. A little over a year later, there are calls for her to step down, based on issues that are not unique to her or her leadership. Amidst challenges arising from Unisa’s and higher education’s apartheid legacy of systemic exclusion, are problems related to NSFAS and student funding.

I agree that we have to hold our leaders to high standards and those who promise to bring much-needed transformation should be held to even higher standards. But it is bizarre to me that people think a 150-year complex history of structural injustice and exclusion can be changed almost overnight now that a black woman is in leadership. These same unrealistic expectations are seldom placed on black men, at least not as quickly.

A lot of the violence directed at Prof LenkaBula is coming from breathless black men who hurl innumerable slurs about her “menopause” and insults about the “slay queen” who they say must be removed from power. Yet, we know these strategies well. History is full of notes on men discrediting women by claiming they are irrational, fragile, emotional and incapable of making decisions because we are “so burdened by our menstrual cycle or menopause”. History is also full of injustices faced by beautiful and powerful women who are necklaced alive. Note this as we observe that the enduring resilience of Prof LenkaBula led to more hypersexualised vitriol, further illustrating how normal the sexual objectification of women is, even at our highest citadels of education, even from men who are her subordinates.

Black men must account for their actions pushing women further to the margins

If it is hurtful that black men are prominent in these attacks. It is calamitous that black men use trade union structures to pull black women down. Their new kind of black-on-black violence is frightening, where black men take out their angst on black women in the workplace and other social spaces.

Even amidst all these attacks, Prof LenkaBula and her stalwart colleagues at Unisa have kept the academic ship sailing. She has captained the institution to winning the Excellence for Research Impact award at the 2022 Zairi International Awards hosted in Dubai. This makes me think it matters to honour this good woman leader’s achievements, here in her home.

But in the moments when we acknowledge the successes and excellence of black women, we should interrogate and rethink our societies. We must question why black women have to be so strong in the first place.

In particular, and sadly, black men must account for the ways their actions push us further to the margins so that we have to have superhuman strength to survive and succeed. This feels treacherous when one would think black men would show solidarity and support for black women, with whom they share a history of fighting against unjust systems. They must reflect on why they take a page out of their own oppression to marginalise and inflict trauma on black women. They must find and uproot the self-hate that leads them to refuse to recognise the excellence of black women. They must deworm themselves of the things that make them treat black women with such hate and disdain.

I still dream that we can see all womanist leaders, such as Profs Ogude, LenkaBula and Phakeng, as the important symbols and changemakers they are. Perhaps then, they and all of us, will be met with more honesty and grace than we are giving them.

News Archive

Eye tracker device a first in Africa

2013-07-31

31 July 2013

Keeping an eye on empowerment

"If we can see what you see, we can think what you think."

Eye-tracking used to be one of those fabulous science-fiction inventions, along with Superman-like bionic ability. Could you really use the movement of your eyes to read people's minds? Or drive your car? Or transfix your enemy with a laser-beam?

Well, actually, yes, you can (apart, perhaps, from the laser beam… ). An eye tracker is not something from science fiction; it actually exists, and is widely used around the world for a number of purposes.

Simply put, an eye tracker is a device for measuring eye positions and eye movement. Its most obvious use is in marketing, to find out what people are looking at (when they see an advertisement, for instance, or when they are wandering along a supermarket aisle). The eye tracker measures where people look first, what attracts their attention, and what they look at the longest. It is used extensively in developed countries to predict consumer behaviour, based on what – literally – catches the eye.

On a more serious level, psychologists, therapists and educators can also use this device for a number of applications, such as analysis and education. And – most excitingly – eye tracking can be used by disabled people to use a computer and thereby operate a number of devices and machines. Impaired or disabled people can use eye tracking to get a whole new lease on life.

In South Africa and other developing countries, however, eye tracking is not widely used. Even though off-the-shelf webcams and open-source software can be obtained extremely cheaply, they are complex to use and the quality cannot be guaranteed. Specialist high-quality eye-tracking devices have to be imported, and they are extremely expensive – or rather – they used to be. Not anymore.

The Department of Computer Science and Informatics (CSI) at the University of the Free State has succeeded in developing a high-quality eye tracker at a fraction of the cost of the imported devices. Along with the hardware, the department has also developed specialised software for a number of applications. These would be useful for graphic designers, marketers, analysts, cognitive psychologists, language specialists, ophthalmologists, radiographers, occupational and speech therapists, and people with disabilities. In the not-too-distant future, even fleet owners and drivers would be able to use this technology.

"The research team at CSI has many years of eye-tracking experience," says team leader Prof Pieter Blignaut, "both with the technical aspect as well as the practical aspect. We also provide a multi-dimensional service to clients that includes the equipment, training and support. We even provide feedback to users.

"We have a basic desktop model available that can be used for research, and can be adapted so that people can interact with a computer. It will be possible in future to design a device that would be able to operate a wheelchair. We are working on a model incorporated into a pair of glasses which will provide gaze analysis for people in their natural surroundings, for instance when driving a vehicle.

"Up till now, the imported models have been too expensive," he continues. "But with our system, the technology is now within reach for anyone who needs it. This could lead to economic expansion and job creation."

The University of the Free State is the first manufacturer of eye-tracking devices in Africa, and Blignaut hopes that the project will contribute to nation-building and empowerment.

"The biggest advantage is that we now have a local manufacturer providing a quality product with local training and support."

In an eye-tracking device, a tiny infra-red light shines on the eye and causes a reflection which is picked up by a high-resolution camera. Every eye movement causes a change in the reflection, which is then mapped. Infra-red light is not harmful to the eye and is not even noticed. Eye movement is then completely natural.

Based on eye movements, a researcher can study cognitive patterns, driver behaviour, attention spans, even thinking patterns. A disabled person could use their eye-movements to interact with a computer, with future technology (still in development) that would enable that computer to control a wheelchair or operate machinery.

The UFS recently initiated the foundation of an eye-tracking interest group for South Africa (ETSA) and sponsor a biennial-eye tracking conference. Their website can be found at www.eyetrackingsa.co.za.

“Eye tracking is an amazing tool for empowerment and development in Africa, “ says Blignaut, “but it is not used as much as it should be, because it is seen as too expensive. We are trying to bring this technology within the reach of anyone and everyone who needs it.”

Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director: Strategic Communication

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