Professor Kalpana Hiralal: Women in the anti-apartheid struggle

This talk explores unchartered historical terrain, highlighting the contributions of Indian women in the struggle towards non-racialism and equality in South African society. It shifts the focus of post-apartheid liberation stories which have been dominated by the journey of the ANC to other political organizations who collectively played a significant role in South Africa’s road to democracy. In this presentation, Hiralal argues that the struggle against apartheid was a collective endeavor and that the involvement of Indian women in the liberation struggle which has scant representation in literature was significant. Her talk presents a fresh perspective on the history of South Africa in which the participation of Indian women against apartheid and colonialism is examined within a gender and political framework.
At this talk we will launch Professor Kalpana Hiralal’s recent book, Sisters in the Struggle –Women of Indian Origin in South Africa’s Liberation Struggle 1900-1994 (Volume 1).

Professor Shadreck Chirikure: Can archaeology and heritage enable sustainable development in Africa

The African Union’s Agenda 2063 pivots the continent’s development on culture and heritage. Often, colonial practices suppressed knowledge of Africa’s culture and heritage, creating Africans with little pride in their culture and heritage. Shunned by some Africans in the post colony, a few companies owned by non-Africans make business out of Africa’s heritage or to use colonial jargon, Africa’s ‘backwardness’. This raises questions on whether archaeology and heritage can be genuine anchors for Africa’s development, or they remain firm conduits for extractivism rooted in the colony and sustained by coloniality after independence.