{"id":5042,"date":"2025-06-19T22:53:54","date_gmt":"2025-06-19T22:53:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ijssass.com\/journal\/be-your-sisters-keeper-personal-experience-of-travelling-a-lonely-journey-in-academia\/"},"modified":"2025-06-20T03:19:55","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T03:19:55","slug":"be-your-sisters-keeper-personal-experience-of-travelling-a-lonely-journey-in-academia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ijssass.com\/journal\/be-your-sisters-keeper-personal-experience-of-travelling-a-lonely-journey-in-academia\/","title":{"rendered":"Be Your Sister\u2019s Keeper: Personal Experience of Travelling a Lonely Journey in Academia"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This article was originally published as: <strong>Be Your Sister\u2019s Keeper: Personal Experience of Travelling a Lonely Journey in Academia<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Original Article Link: <a href='https:\/\/journals.dut.ac.za\/index.php\/ajims\/article\/view\/1429' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Read Original Article<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Download PDF: <a href='https:\/\/journals.dut.ac.za\/index.php\/ajims\/article\/view\/1429\/948' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Click Here to Download PDF<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Abstract<\/h2>\n<p>Neoliberal universities are farcical and absurd places where black women are marginalised intentionally or unintentionally to discourage them and others from significant accomplishments on the academic ladder. Black woman marginalisation takes variegated forms, and it has its roots in patriarchy and identity confusion. Whilst access is created by the system, there is very little support to enable black women to survive and succeed as they climb the bureaucratic ladder in neoliberal universities. The journey is worsened when one climbs the ladder and leaves sisters behind who choose to be \u2018campers\u2019 in these universities. Be your sister\u2019s keeper is a biblical term that speaks to the fact that we need to practice ethics of care among ourselves. This is a qualitative self-study that I narrate my thirty-eight years of lived experiences, and it reflexively evaluates my lonely journey in academia. I use this platform toconscientisemy African sisters about the challenges that they are likely to encounter in neoliberal universities. Caring for one another is an African term rooted in \u2018ubuntu\u2019 African philosophy that has prevailed over the ages. I argue that as black women, we need to create spaces where we can offer another not only a shoulder to cry on but encourage each other to navigate the academy and its mazes. I am convinced that my experiences and personal journey in academia add a voice to novice academics who must still navigate the bureaucratic ladder. I discuss cultural stereotyping and patriarchy, workplace oppression, and gender-based violence (GBV).<\/p>\n<h2>Authors<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Duduzile Mzindle (Durban University of Technology, South Africa)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Keywords<\/h2>\n<p>African philosophy, career development, gender identity, neoliberal universities, Ubuntu<\/p>\n<h2>References<\/h2>\n<p>References not available for this article.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This article was originally published as: Be Your Sister\u2019s Keeper: Personal Experience of Travelling a Lonely Journey in Academia Original&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[124],"tags":[1588,2153,1589,1590,1591,1592],"class_list":["post-5042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","tag-african-philosophy","tag-ajims","tag-career-development","tag-gender-identity","tag-neoliberal-universities","tag-ubuntu","wpcat-124-id"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.8 - 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