We are proud to celebrate Prof. Relebohile Moletsane, our FALF-Wits-NRF Chair in Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF), on being awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Education (h.c.) by the University of the Free State on the 11* of April 2026.
Prof. Moletsane is a distinguished scholar whose work has transformed education, gender equity, and rural development in South Africa. Her research has consistently centred on the voices of the most marginalised, particularly girls and young women in rural communities, using Visual participatory methodologies that empower communities to tell their own stories and advocate for change.
Her distinguished career includes serving as the JL Dube Chair in Rural Education at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, where she pioneered new approaches to teaching and learning in under-resourced communities. She later served as pro vice-chancellor for Social Cohesion at (UKZN), building bridges across divided communities through education. Her leadership of the FALF-Wits-NRF Chair in GB VF has positioned her as a leading voice in the fight against gender-based violence and femicide in South Africa.
Prof. Moletsane has received numerous accolades, including the Distinguished Women in Science Award (Humanities) from the Department of Science and Technology (2012), and was an Echidna Global Scholar at the Brookings Institution’s Centre for Universal Education. Her scholarship has influenced policy, inspired practitioners, and transformed countless lives.
She has dedicated her life to ensuring that education serves everyone, not just the easiest to reach.
As FALF, we celebrate her exceptional achievements and look forward to the continued impact of her leadership in shaping a more just and equitable South Africa.
