University of Nairobi

WELCOME TO: THE AFRICAN WOMEN STUDIES CENTRE (AWSC)

A Centre of Excellence in Feminist Research, Scholarship and Policy Advocacy for Africa’s Social, Political and Economic Transformation.

BRIEF BACKGROUND HISTORY

The African Women Studies Centre (AWSC) is a multi-disciplinary Centre of the University of Nairobi committed to promoting African women’s experiences and worldview in research, scholarship, policy advocacy, and capacity building. The vision of AWSC is to be a Centre of excellence committed to promoting African women’s experiences and worldview in research, scholarship, policy, and institutional development. The Centre has made great progress towards the realization of this vision.

OUR CORE VALUES

OUR VISION

To be a Centre of excellence committed to promoting African women’s experiences and worldview in research, scholarship, policy, and institutional development.

OUR MISSION

To promote intellectual inquiry by and on African women through research, teaching, publication and dissemination; and to engage with policymakers, women’s organizations, civil society organizations, government agencies, and other strategic partners to bring African women’s perspectives and experiences into development processes and scholarship in Kenya, the region and globally.

MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR

PROF. WANJIKU MUKABI KABIRA, PhD, EBS, CBS,

The University of Nairobi African Women Studies Centre (AWSC) recognises that African women experiences have not been part of mainstream knowledge development and have often not been a source of public and “legitimate knowledge” that guides development on our continent. These experiences and knowledge have not been utilized to shape, order and name our world.

Our focus is, therefore, to bring the African women’s knowledge to visibility, through academic and policy debates in our academic institutions and other fora at the national and regional levels. In addition, we take cognisance of the important linkage between women of Africa and those of African descent living in other parts of the world.