Ruth Murambadoro

Ruth Murambadoro
Ruth Murambadoro in 2025
Born
CitizenshipZimbabwean
EducationPhD in Political Science
Alma materUniversity of Pretoria
OccupationAfrican Feminist Scholar
EmployerMemorial University of Newfoundland
Notable workTransitional Justice in Africa: The Case of Zimbabwe (2020)

Ruth Ratidzai Murambadoro[1] (also known as Ruth Murambadoro) is a Zimbabwean political scientist and African feminist scholar, whose research explores transitional justice, gender justice, and peacebuilding in Africa.[2][3][4]

Murambadoro is currently an Assistant Professor of Gender Studies at Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada.[5]

Early Life and education

Murambadoro earned her PhD in Political Science from the University of Pretoria in 2018, focusing on tradition-based approaches to transitional justice in Zimbabwe.[6][7] She also holds an MA in Political Science (2014), a BA Honours in International Relations, and a Bachelor of Political Sciences from the same institution.[6]

Academic career

Murambadoro joined Memorial University of Newfoundland in 2024 as an Assistant Professor in Gender Studies.[5] She previously served as a Postdoctoral Fellow at York University (2021–2024), affiliated with the Harriet Tubman Institute and the Centre for Feminist Research.[2] From 2019 to 2021, she was a Senior Lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand.[8][9]

She has also been affiliated with Philipps University of Marburg in Germany as a guest researcher at the Centre for Conflict Research.[10]

She has conducted ethnographic studies in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mozambique, and Ghana, where she examined how community-based and tradition-based justice mechanisms operate and how women resist structural violence.[7]

She collaborated with Ugandan scholar and editorial cartoonist Jimmy Spire Ssentongo on African and transnational feminisms through a panel discussion and creative exhibition events hosted by York University’s Centre for Feminist Research in October 2025.[11]

Contributions

Murambadoro received the ASA Presidential Fellowship in 2015 and served as an Emerging Scholar representative on the African Studies Association Board of Directors in 2016.[12]

Murambadoro's book, Transitional Justice in Africa: The Case of Zimbabwe (2020), has been recognized for exploring how justice is understood and applied in African contexts, emphasizing local and community-based approaches to post-conflict reconciliation.[13]

Selected publications

  • Murambadoro, Ruth; Mandizvidza, Wilson, eds. (2022). The PhD Experience in African Higher Education. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781793645371.
  • Murambadoro, Ruth (2020). Transitional Justice in Africa: The Case of Zimbabwe. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9783030480912.
  • “Beyond restorative justice: Understanding justice from an African perspective,” Ubuntu: Journal of Conflict and Social Transformation, 9(1), 2020, pp. 43–69. [14]
  • “‘We cannot reconcile until the past has been acknowledged’: Perspectives on Gukurahundi from Matabeleland, Zimbabwe,” African Journal on Conflict Resolution, 15(1), 2015, pp. 33–57.[15]

See also

References

  1. ^ Murambadoro, Ruth Ratidzai. "Ruth Ratidzai Murambadoro". Canadian Black Scientists Network. York University. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Ruth Murambadoro". York University – Harriet Tubman Institute. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  3. ^ "Ruth Murambadoro, Author at Kujenga Amani". Social Science Research Council. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  4. ^ Philipps-Universität Marburg (2022). "We are pleased to welcome Ruth Murambadoro as a guest researcher!". Centre for Conflict Research. Philipps-Universität Marburg. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  5. ^ a b "Faculty". Gender Studies. Memorial University of Newfoundland. 2024. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  6. ^ a b "On the Blue Couch with Dr Ruth Murambadoro". Odile Mackett. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa: A Stepping Stone for Emerging Scholars in Africa". Social Science Research Council. 20 October 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  8. ^ Murambadoro, Ruth Ratidzai (2024). "ORCID profile". ORCID. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  9. ^ Govender, Kemantha (1 October 2019). "Meet our new staff at WSG". Wits School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  10. ^ Philipps-Universität Marburg (2022). "We are pleased to welcome Ruth Murambadoro as a guest researcher!". Centre for Conflict Research. Philipps-Universität Marburg. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  11. ^ "Mukadzi, Musha, Rugare: Woman, Home, Freedom". Memorial University Gazette. Memorial University of Newfoundland. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  12. ^ "African Studies Association (ASA) Board Member". University of Pretoria – Department of Political Sciences. University of Pretoria. 31 May 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  13. ^ Govender, Kemantha (29 July 2020). "Justice in Africa: what it means to Africans?". Wits School of Governance. University of the Witwatersrand. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  14. ^ Wielenga, Cori; Batley, Mike; Murambadoro, Ruth (2020). "Beyond restorative justice: Understanding justice from an African perspective". Ubuntu: Journal of Conflict and Social Transformation. 9 (1): 43–69. doi:10.10520/EJC-1d589e7a61.
  15. ^ Murambadoro, Ruth (2015). "From Reconciliation to Justice: The Politics of Memory and the Gukurahundi Massacres in Zimbabwe". African Journal on Conflict Resolution. 15 (1): 33–57. Retrieved 8 November 2025.