Dimpho Takane

Dimpo Takane obtained a BA in politics, philosophy and economics (2015) and a BA honours in philosophy cum laude (2016) from UJ. She is enrolled for an MA in philosophy at the same institution, working in African philosophy, with a focus on African feminism.

In her current research, Takane has embarked on a project to decolonise “gender”. Unlike most contemporary African feminists, who are trying to eradicate gender oppression using an already constructed Western feminism approach, Takane tries to locate a precolonial African conception of gender, which she thinks should be the basis of African feminism, shaping and informing the struggle of African feminists. Takane hopes that her research will help Africans (particularly women) to acknowledge their worth and realise the extent to which the patriarchal systems of colonialism have recreated and reinterpreted the meaning and purpose of African cultures.

Takane was named the best philosophy honours student at UJ in 2016. She is a beneficiary of the Global Excellence Scholarship, and organised a discussion session between UJ philosophy postgraduates and former president Thabo Mbeki.

She has had the opportunity to present her research at several conferences, including a UJ postgraduate symposium (October 2016), UCT’s postgraduate conference on African philosophy (August 2016), and the “Decolonising Feminism” conference organised by the Wits Centre for Diversity Studies (August 2016).