Staff Reporter
University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) staff member Dr Phumelele Basi has completed a PhD in Gender Education at the age of 25, making her the youngest doctoral graduate at the university’s Autumn graduation.
Basi’s doctoral study, titled “Negotiating Heterosexual Relationships on Campus: Female Students’ Sexual Practices, Desire, Pleasure and Risk at a South African University”, was completed in two years and approved without corrections.
The achievement follows what UKZN said was a “consistent record of academic excellence”, including cum laude and summa cum laude distinctions throughout her undergraduate and postgraduate studies.
Basi was raised in Hlokozi, a rural community on KwaZulu-Natal’s South Coast. Her academic journey, according to the university, reflects resilience, intellectual curiosity and a commitment to understanding gender and social justice in contemporary society.
She initially intended to pursue science education, but her academic path changed after she encountered gender studies during her undergraduate studies. She became interested in how gender is shaped by cultural norms, social expectations and lived experiences, later developing a focus on identity, relationships and power.
That interest deepened during her master’s research, which examined the links between social media, gender, sexuality and power in shaping ideas about beauty and self-worth. The study later led her to explore how young Black African women negotiate and express their sexualities within higher education institutions.
Her doctoral research challenges dominant narratives that frame young women’s heterosexual relationships mainly through risk and vulnerability. Instead, Basi’s work presents a more nuanced account of the pressures and pleasures that shape these relationships.
Through interviews and participatory workshops with female students, the research found that socio-cultural expectations, economic realities and institutional environments influence experiences of desire, agency and harm. Basi said she hopes the work will help inform interventions that promote gender equality and safer campus environments.
She was mentored and supervised by leading scholars, including Professor Deevia Bhana, who supervised both her master’s and PhD studies.
Basi currently works as a research assistant, a role the university said continues to strengthen her academic skills while allowing her to contribute to ongoing scholarly projects.
She now plans to pursue postdoctoral studies with the South African Research Chairs Initiative Chair in Gender and Childhood Sexuality and build a career in academia through teaching and research in Gender Education.
Her advice to aspiring scholars is to “embrace the process, remain resilient in the face of challenges, and recognise the transformative potential of knowledge”.
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