Black women have stood by black men, marched with them, nurtured and guided them, only to be later 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 SA.

The irony is that universities are supposedly spaces for knowledge production, acceptance, and collective engagement. The painful irony 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 SA Students’ Organisation, which was rooted in Black Consciousness ideology. Today discourses on de-coloniality 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, even in the hallowed halls of universities...