Africa Thesis Award for Baleseng Maeneche
Baleseng Maeneche (University of the Western Cape) has won the Africa Thesis Award 2024 with a master's thesis on media representation of male perpetrators of violence against women and children in South Africa. Her research challenges dominant narratives and emphasises the need for fair media representation in South Africa.
With a sharp decolonial feminist analysis, Maeneche exposes how the media in South Africa portrays male perpetrators of violence against women and children differently, depending on their race and socioeconomic status.
‘This recognition is more than an award; it is a step towards justice for people whose stories are often ignored,’ says Maeneche. ‘Winning this international award for my master's research is a welcome affirmation, not only for me, but also for the work itself. I come from a country where only certain people are recognised as victims, while so many others are silenced by the daily violence of systems and institutions. That is why this recognition feels like a small act of justice. My research has always aimed to make visible what is all too often ignored – to amplify the voices of those who are overlooked, whose suffering has been normalised.’
About the Africa Thesis Award
The Africa Thesis Award is an annual initiative of the African Studies Centre Leiden that recognises the best master's theses on African topics. The award was established more than 20 years ago to encourage research and writing on Africa and to promote African Studies worldwide.
The prize consists of a sum of 500 euros, publication of the thesis in the ASCL African Studies Collection, and an invitation to present the thesis at a ceremony to be held in the course of 2025.
This year, seventeen master's theses were submitted for the Africa Thesis Award. The theses were all based on independent research related to Africa, and represented a wide range of disciplines.