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South Campus SRC uses conversations to break gender bias

01 June 2023 | Story Danelle Fisher | Photo Supplied

On 24 May 2023, the University of the Free State (UFS) South Campus Student Representative Council (SRC) held the Break the Bias Conversations dialogue at Legae Residence on the South Campus to talk about biases faced by the LGBTQI+ community.

Established in 2022, the initiative aims to educate students on the different issues faced by students on a daily basis. "This dialogue aimed to educate students on a wide range of topics related to mental health, safety, and racial disparities experienced by our students," states Gonste Choane, Senior Officer, Kovsie Support.

The SRC has created a safe space for students to address biases towards the LGBTQI+ community, with topics on awareness surrounding the community, including discrimination, sexual health, stereotypes and stigmatisation, and becoming more aware of conscious and unconscious biases and being willing to question ourselves and others. "There was a need to start dialogues/engagements among South Campus students regarding issues they encounter on a regular basis," added Choane.

The dialogue was attended by South Campus students, the Gender Equity and Anti-Discrimination Office, and associations and NGOs centred around the LGBTQI+ community. "It's important for the university community to be aware of these dialogues in order to provide the necessary support mechanisms that will enhance the academic success of all students," said Choane.

Guest speakers from diverse backgrounds were invited to share their experiences with the students.

“The initiative has successfully managed to open the door for open discussions among students regarding issues they face on a regular basis. The initiative's goal now being growth in collaboration with more campuses. "This dialogue aims to collaborate with other campuses in the future," said Choane.

News Archive

Bring back dignity to our schoolgirls

2015-03-10

A Kovsie student initiative is currently crying out to the community at large to help in realising a dream of helping school learners who come from poor families to gain confidence in their school work and social lives generally.

This initiative by Nkanyezi Talk @UFS aims to do this through the provision of sanitary towels to such learners at the onset of puberty.

“Through research, we have established that some learners face numerous challenges during this stage, with some using socks as a substitute for sanitary towels while others opt for newspapers. This raises a lot of health and psychological concerns,” says project coordinator Bongani Zwane.

According to research conducted by UNICEF in 2013, one in ten girls who cannot afford sanitary towels will miss a week of schooling during the cycle of their period. This is because they fear being ridiculed by other learners, and because their dignity as girls is not being respected. This absence from school also happens because they do not understand what is happening to their bodies.

“What should be a celebration of womanhood becomes a time of shame and embarrassment with dire consequences for the girls’ education as well as their future,” Zwane adds.

“We therefore appeal to everyone to help us realise this dream of making sure that we reduce the number of schoolgirls who do not attend school during their menstruation periods, and restore their dignity by donating sanitary towels.

“Overall, we have already collected more than 1000 packs of sanitary towels. The office of Cornelia Faasen, our acting dean of Student Affairs, has also endorsed the campaign and already donated 600 packs of sanitary towels,” says Zwane.

“We have set ourselves the goal of collecting and donating 10 000 (ten thousand) sanitary towels in total.”

Methods of Donating

Nkanyezi Talk @UFS welcomes any physical donations of sanitary towels and financial donations through their UFS entity number 1/466/08119 only.

For more information on how and where to donate, please contact project coordinator Bongani Zwane at 079 237 5089 or email him to bzwane@workmail.co.za.

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