Professor Makhosazana Xaba, who received an honorary doctorate from the University of Pretoria, delivers her keynote address to the graduates
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The University of Pretoria (UP) has conferred an Honorary Doctorate on Associate Professor Makhosazana Xaba, an award-winning poet, short story writer, essayist and editor, in recognition of her outstanding contribution to literature, feminist thought and cultural activism in South Africa.
The honorary degree was conferred during the Faculty of Humanities graduation ceremony this month, as part of UP’s autumn graduation season, during which more than 12,000 students will graduate.
Xaba’s literary career spans poetry, fiction, biography, and editing, with her writing known for its profound exploration of gender, memory, healing and transformation. Her poetry and short stories are widely celebrated for amplifying the voices and experiences of women in South Africa.
Professor Kevin Thomas, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at UP, described Xaba as an exceptional literary scholar. Her short story Running and other Stories has been analysed in literary and academic journals and theses and is taught at more than five South African universities, and universities abroad such as Rutgers, Hawaii University and Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
“She has served as a judge for numerous poetry competitions – most recently the 2021 Brunel International African Poetry Prize. Her poetry has been translated into six languages. She has featured in numerous anthologies and has been a writing fellow at institutions for health and social and economic research,” Thomas said.
Xaba meanwhile commented that literature allows us to reimagine ourselves and to tell the stories that shape and challenge us. “I am honoured to receive this recognition from the University of Pretoria, whose commitment to scholarship, creativity and social justice resonates deeply with my own journey as a writer and scholar. This recognition affirms the power of words to build more inclusive and compassionate societies,” she said.
Xaba was born in Greytown, KwaZulu-Natal, and is a trained midwife and psychiatric nurse. As an anti-apartheid activist, she went to Angola to be trained as an uMkhonto weSizwe MK soldier and then went into exile in Zambia in 1986.
Following her return to South Africa in 1990 as a member of the ANC’s women’s section task team, she worked as a broadcaster at Radio Freedom, as well as with various local and international NGOs.
She has also worked with media organisations in the areas of women’s rights, gender, and anti-bias training, and violence against LGBTQI communities. Her literary body of work spans more than two decades and includes critically acclaimed poetry collections.
Xaba’s academic and literary achievements have earned her national and international recognition. She is the recipient of the 2014 South African Literary Awards (SALA) Nadine Gordimer Short Story Award for her short story collection Running and Other Stories, and her poetry has been translated into multiple languages.
She holds honorary positions at various academic institutions, including being a Fellow at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Studies, where she is working towards a collection of historical short stories of the 19th century focusing on the geographical area that was later claimed as Natal in 1910.