Abstract
The #FeesMustFall movement marked the beginning of a new period of student activism in South Africa. It is just one of many social action movements in which young people have played a central role as organisers and leaders. This research aimed to examine how people have used social action platforms to advocate for social change over time. Humanities assertion of its identity can be demonstrated in social action platforms. Black student identities, for example, were mobilised during the #FeesMustFall protests in 2015 and 2016, to which black women students played notable roles. Women's traditionally subordinate roles in political movements were examined in light of their increased visibility in student leadership roles during the protests. This research looked at how these women students used identities that were not traditionally considered complementing to further the political agenda of the #FeesMustFall movement. The research adopted a narrative approach to decipher the participants' experience-centred narratives. When the thematic analysis approach was used, similar accounts of incidents surfaced. Through thematic analysis, the researcher could see how the degree to which individuals became politicised was heavily influenced by their upbringing, both at home and school; these same institutions also built individuals the skills necessary to assume leadership roles. This is why participants got involved in the #FeesMustFall movement in the ways they did during the protests. These students, shaped by unique experiences, were not afraid to take the lead or challenge unfair policies and procedures on campus or inside the movement's organisational framework. Their very presence on campus helped to reduce police brutality. Overall, the study's portrayed and analysed the experiences of women student leaders in the #FeesMustFall movement and the gender bias that permeates the academic sphere. The results of this study serve as a step forward to the manifestations of student activism and their interactions with university governance in South Africa. The study concludes with recommendations for future research, one of which is a comparative study of student activism and the role of women students in pre- and post-apartheid South Africa.
KEY WORDS: Gendered activism, MbokodoLead, social movement, universities, South Africa.