Every woman carries within her a story of courage and sometimes quiet, sometimes bold, but always powerful. This Women’s Month, we celebrate Dr Memory Mabika, whose journey reflects the determination, passion, and leadership that continue to break barriers and inspire generations.
Dr Memory Mabika’s career is distinguished by remarkable achievements across media, academia, and mentorship. With over 30 years of combined experience, she has contributed significantly to both professional practice and scholarly advancement. In the media industry, she worked for a decade, gaining invaluable expertise that later enriched her academic teaching and research. Over the past 20 years in higher education, she has successfully supervised and mentored numerous students who have gone on to become influential professionals in the media and communication sectors, both nationally and internationally.
Dr Memory Mabika, is a distinguished academic and media professional, that hails from Zimbabwe and is currently serving as a Senior Lecturer in the Media Studies section of the Department of English, Media Studies, and Linguistics within the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Education at the University of Venda.
She holds a Doctorate in Social Science (Communication and Media Studies) from the University of Fort Hare and a Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching and Learning from Stellenbosch University, underscoring her commitment to academic excellence. Her research in Media and Society, Indigenous Language Media, and more recently, Artificial Intelligence and media, continues to contribute to scholarly discourse and knowledge production.
In three words, Dr Mabika describes herself as dedicated, insightful, and humble, qualities that reflect both her professional ethos and personal character. Although she had not initially envisioned herself as an academic, her career path was reshaped when she received a Zimba-bwean government scholarship to study at the University of Fort Hare. Assigned a super tutor role, she found herself drawn into teaching and supervising honours students. The passion ig-nited in that first classroom encounter set her on a lifelong academic journey, one that has en-riched not only her life but also those of countless students and colleagues.
As a mentor, she has been particularly intentional in encouraging women to excel in academic spaces without relying solely on gender-based considerations such as quotas. She firmly believes that women can achieve excellence through hard work and perseverance. Her own journey has not been without challenges. Like many women in academia, she has had to navigate the delicate balance between professional and personal responsibilities. At home, she is both a mother and a grandmother, while at work, she carries the weight of teaching, research, and administrative duties.
During Women’s Month, Dr Mabika offers an honest reflection on academic life. She describes it as a “sweet and sour” journey but rewarding in its ability to transform students’ lives but demand-ing in ways that often encroach on personal and family time. To aspiring female academics, her message is both a caution and an encouragement: “Academia is not for the faint-hearted, but with passion, dedication, and resilience, the rewards are profoundly fulfilling even when the role demands much, often at the expense of personal and family time.”
In all that she does, Dr Memory Mabika continues to embody the values of dedication, insight, and humility, leaving behind a legacy of excellence in teaching, research, and mentorship.
Issued by:
Department of Marketing, Branding and Communication
University of Venda
Tel: 082 868 2218 / 082 868 1811
