The pros and cons of student dating in universities are the highlights of Dr Phumelele Basi’s research in her doctoral studies recently awarded by the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN).
By being awarded a PhD in Gender Education, Dr Basi (25) from Hlokozi, on the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal, made history by being the youngest student of all academics to graduate this year.
The title of her research is “Negotiating Heterosexual Relationships on Campus: Female Students Sexual Practices, Desire, Pleasure and Risk at a South African University”, which took her only two years and she passed with honors.
Narrating what motivated him to research this, Dr. Basi said that it is because he always thinks and has different opinions on how people of different genders treat each other using the ideas of cultural practices, adaptation and being pushed by the circumstances of their past in their lives.
“I am very strong in doing my master’s research where I was researching the situation of people who always want to have opinions about the lives of others, and always want certain things to happen in a certain way. That led me to continue researching how women deal with the love relationships they enter when they are in higher education institutions,” said Dr. Basi.
In his research, he looks at how young women become weak and depressed in their love with men, and then he reveals the advantages, disadvantages and dangers of such love – with the aim of encouraging the increase of gender-equal and safe relationships.
He said that he will not stop here as he is already planning to continue his education in partnership with the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChi) to continue researching something related to gender.