CAPE TOWN – The University of the Western Cape (UWC) has joined other South African voices in honouring its alumna and staffer the late Dr Diana Ferrus, a stalwart of the women’s movement whose poetry played a crucial role in bringing the remains of Sarah Bartmann, ultimate symbol of the commodification and dehumanisation of African people, particularly women, back to South Africa.
The university officially recognised Ferrus as part of broader International Women’s Day observations, highlighting its commitment to gender justice and the lived realities of students, staff and communities. Her poem “I’ve Come to Take You Home” provided the philosophical and moral underpinnings for the repatriation of Bartmann’s remains from France.
Ferrus, awarded an honorary doctorate from Stellenbosch University for her cultural impact on South African national life, was an administrator in UWC’s Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, and worked within the university’s system nurturing students and mentoring emerging writers.
Dr Fikile Vilakazi-Alberts, Director of the university’s Gender Equity Unit (GEU), said this year’s International Women’s Day theme “Give to Gain” represented “a global invitation to acknowledge the politics and practice of reciprocal generosity so opportunities, voice and power multiply for women and gender-diverse people.”
The GEU, founded by the late Dr Rhoda Kadalie in 1993, is currently focused on strengthening gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) programmes on campus, honouring a 100-day challenge to end this in higher education.
UWC’s Department of Women and Gender Studies marked its 30th anniversary last year and currently houses two five-year Andrew W. Mellon-funded projects. These include Critical Food Studies, led by Prof Desirée Lewis, and New Imaginaries for an Intersectional Feminist, Queer Project on Gender and Sexual Justice, led by Prof Tamara Shefer.
Vilakazi-Alberts also coordinates QueerDubs, initiated in 2025, which provides a platform for UWC staff to engage in and support queer activism on campus.
Other notable achievements include Prof Marion Keim’s appointment as the UNESCO Chair in Sport, Development, Peace and Olympic Education — the first UNESCO Chair in sport in Africa — and Prof Marla Trindade’s election as a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa.
Prof Robert John Balfour, Rector and Vice-Chancellor, emphasised gender justice remained integral to building a responsive, inclusive and socially just university.
