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09 April 2025 | Story UFS Division of Student Affairs | Photo Supplied
SRC Graduations
Seventeen Campus Student Representative Council members are set to graduate during the week of 7 April 2025.

As the University of the Free State (UFS) commemorates the April 2025 graduation season, a group of student leaders is preparing to cross the stage not only as graduates but also as individuals who helped shape student life on our campuses.

The Office of Student Governance is celebrating 17 members of the Campus Student Representative Council (CSRC) who are graduating during the week of 7 April – a proud moment for the office and the broader UFS community.

These graduates have carried the responsibility of student leadership while staying committed to their academic journeys. Their names now join the long list of student leaders who’ve helped shape campus life and still crossed the finish line with their degrees in hand.

From Qwaqwa Campus, we celebrate Nomvuyo Nungu, Xolani Ntimane, Qhama Mqulo, Ayanda Madiba, Anele Mcineka, and Lebohang Mateka. From Bloemfontein Campus, we celebrate Martin Nyaka, Boikanyo Moleko, Portia Mtawarira, Ogorogile Moleme, Moses Davis, Oratile Lentsela, Naledi Mathakhoe, Siyabonga Dludla, Aphiwe Mbutuma, and Paballo Taoana.

Their contribution reflects the pillars of Student Affairs – student success and student development – and their legacy extends beyond office terms and meeting rooms.

Special recognition goes to those who also served on the Institutional SRC (ISRC): Nomvuyo Nungu, Martin Nyaka, Qhama Mqulo, Xolani Ntimane, and Ogorogile Moleme, whose leadership extended across all UFS campuses.

“To all current and aspiring student leaders, let this be a reminder: academic excellence and leadership can go hand in hand,” says Pholla Mbalane, Acting Head of Department for the Office of Student Governance. Continue to serve and lead, but never lose sight of your academic goals. Balance is not just possible, it is powerful.” 

Congratulations to our UFS leaders of the future!

News Archive

Societal perceptions of women in politics in Cameroon must change
2017-08-30

 Description: Prof Atanga readmore Tags: Prof Lilian Atanga, University of Bamenda, Faculty of Humanities, Centre for Africa Studies, political participation of women 

Prof Lilian Lem Atanga presented a lecture,
Gender, Discourse and Cognition and Implications on
Political Participation, 
as part of the First Humanities
and Gendered Worlds Lecture 2017.
Photo: Charl Devenish


Women have not internalised the fact that they can participate on an equal footing in politics with men. This is one of the conclusions made by Prof Lilian Lem Atanga in a study of the political participation of women in Cameroon.
“There still is a strong belief that women can’t deliver the goods (in areas such as politics),” Prof Atanga said. According to her, stereotypes were still entrenched in Africa and a lot had to be done to change societal perceptions of the role of women in politics.

Poor representation of women in politics
Prof Atanga, an associate professor at the University of Bamenda in Cameroon, was guest speaker at the First Humanities and Gendered Worlds Lecture 2017. The lecture was hosted by the Faculty of Humanities and the Centre for Africa Studies (CAS) at the University of the Free State (UFS) in the Equitas Auditorium, Bloemfontein Campus, on 3 August 2017. The title of the research fellow’s lecture at the CAS lecture was Gender, Discourse and Cognition and Implications on Political Participation.
She noted that although there had been a marked increase in the political participation of women in Cameroon, it still was insufficient. Of the 24 million people in the country, 52% were women but only 20% of the senators and 31% of parliamentarians were women. 

Gender-segregated roles affect participation 
And there are many reasons for this. “A lot more women still believe in gender-segregated roles and this affects their political participation.” Many men also don’t approve of women’s political participation.
In her study Prof Atanga found that stereotypes were also emphasised in the way the media in Cameroon reported on the roles of women. 

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