Resisting Anti-Gender Ideology and Feminist Backlash

Hosted by the SARChI Chair in Gender Politics at Stellenbosch University - At the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Studies (STIAS) 12-13 October 2026

Background and Rationale

The SARChI Chair in Gender Politics at Stellenbosch University produces multidisciplinary research on women’s activism and mobilisation, gender justice policy, reproductive health, gender-based violence, and broader feminist political analysis, serving as an institutional home for critical engagement with the contemporary antigender movement. Recent scholarship has shown that anti-gender actors operate through transnational networks and increasingly target feminist gains, sexual and reproductive rights, and the rights and recognition of LGBTIQ+ communities, including trans and gender-diverse people. This conference responds to the urgency of these developments by creating an interdisciplinary platform for scholars, activists, policymakers and artists to share grounded research, analyse the current backlash, and imagine effective strategies of resistance and solidarity.

The conference will explore how anti-gender discourse and mobilisation shape public debate, law, policy, educational institutions, religious spaces, media ecologies, and everyday life. Particular attention will be given to how backlash politics affect struggles for feminist freedom, reproductive justice, the prevention of sexual and gender-based violence, and the dignity, safety, and citizenship of trans and genderdiverse communities. By bringing these conversations together, the conference aims to deepen South African, African, and global dialogue on authoritarianism, populism, democratic backsliding, homophobia, transphobia and a backlash against feminism and gender justice at a moment of intensifying contestation.

Submission Guidelines

• Each submission should include a title, author name(s), institutional or organisational affiliation, email address, and a short biographical note of 80–100 words.
• Abstracts should clearly state the central argument, research question, methodology or approach, and relevance to the conference theme.
• Please indicate the thematic area most relevant to your submission.
• Selected papers may be considered for inclusion in a special issue, edited collection, or post-conference publication project, subject to a separate review process.
• Presenters are expected to cover their own travel and accommodation unless otherwise indicated by the organisers (a few scholarships will be given to scholars from other African countries where the need arises).

Important Dates

• Abstract submission deadline: 15 July 2026
• Notification of acceptance: 30 July 2026
• Registration opens: 1 September 2026
• Conference dates: 12-13 October 2026

Submission and Enquiries

• Abstracts and enquiries should be sent to Prof Amanda Gouws ag1 sun.ac za or Ms Jean Cilliers jcc sun.ac za 
• Subject line: Conference Abstract Submission 2026
• For further information, please contact: Dr Marion Stevens marionstevens iafrica com