Prof Siphokazi Magadla scoops yet another prestigious recognition for groundbreaking book about women combatants

Associate Professor in Political and International Studies at Rhodes University, Siphokazi Magadla has been named a joint winner of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) Humanities Book Award in the Established Scholar category, marking the fourth accolade for her acclaimed book, Guerrillas and Combative Mothers: Women and the Armed Struggle in South Africa.

This recognition follows a Vice-Chancellor’s Book Award, a National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (NHISS) Humanities and Social Sciences Award, and a place on the University of Johannesburg Prize shortlist for South African Writing in English – all within a year.

Prof Magadla's award-winning book, published by the University of KwaZulu-Natal Press and Routledge, has been recognised for its depth, originality, and impact in re-examining the roles of women in South Africa’s liberation movements.

Her most recent ASSAf Humanities Book Award honours works that develop new understandings of significant topics in the field. According to ASSAf, the prize is awarded to books that are “noteworthy in their contribution to developing new understanding and insight of a topic in the Humanities.”

In Guerrillas and Combative Mothers, Prof Magadla brings to the fore the often-overlooked narratives of women who participated in South Africa’s armed struggle between 1961 and 1994. Her research explores the experiences of 40 women combatants—from those who received formal guerrilla training in uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) to those involved in Pan Africanist Congress’s (PAC) armed wing, APLA and township-based self-defence units.

The book challenges longstanding narratives of militarism and gender, illustrating how these women transformed and democratised South Africa’s liberation movements. Prof Magadla highlights how their contributions were not only about national freedom but also about gender justice, laying the foundation for women’s rights in post-Apartheid South Africa.

Reflecting on the book’s widespread recognition, Prof Magadla expressed her gratitude, stating:

“The ways in which this book has travelled since its publication in February of 2023 have affirmed my view of intellectual work as village work. This is because the making of the book was nourished by the sustained and joyful engagement by a community of women scholars and activists across Africa and the diaspora. Upon its publication, they created spaces for it in their communities to be discussed and reviewed. One of the stories I will never forget is how a friend transported the book through her son’s schoolbag, who then gave it to the child of the producer of Bongiwe Zwane’s SAFM Weekend View, and that is how I ended up doing an hour-long interview with Bongiwe.”

This ASSAf award, too, is testament of interdisciplinary community building. The book was nominated by Professor Sioux Mckenna of the Rhodes University Centre for Postgraduate Studies.

Prof Magadla’s research continues to resonate beyond academia, shedding light on critical issues of gender, militarism, and social justice. Her work stands as a powerful historical record and a call to action in the ongoing fight for equality.

To find out more about the book’s other commendations, please visit:

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