Professor Deevia Bhana of the School of Education was awarded a UKZN Fellowship during an autumn graduation ceremony in recognition of her distinguished achievement as an academic and contribution to the research field of gender and sexuality.

‘It is real honour and privilege to be awarded the fellowship,’ said Bhana. ‘It is in recognition of research excellence and provides further impetus for improving our tools to make safety, gender equality and sexual well-being a priority for children and young people, increasing collaborations with global partners and ensuring the development of the next generation of scholars in the field.’

The Department of Science and Innovation and National Research Foundation (DSI/NRF) South African Research Chair in Gender and Childhood Sexuality, Bhana is known for her work in large international fields of study, crossing the sociology of childhood and youth studies with particular focus on gender and sexuality across the young life course.

As a Research Chair, Bhana is actively involved in supervising a large cohort of students and has a significant impact in building the research profile of the next generation of young scholars in the fields of gender, childhood sexualities and schooling.

An elected member of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAF), her research has been recognised through several awards including the Human Sciences Research Council/USAf Medal in Social Sciences and Humanities in 2022.

Bhana is a B1 NRF-rated researcher.