June 2026

How fashion design is helping make invisible women's health conditions visible

Can clothing tell the story of a condition that leaves no visible scars but profoundly shapes the lives of millions of women?

That question is at the heart of a research study by two academics from Nelson Mandela University who are using fashion design to explore the lived experience of endometriosis, a chronic condition affecting an estimated 190 million women worldwide according World Health Organisation.

Micaela Scholtz and Mieke Janse van Rensburg

Mieke Janse van Rensburg and Micaela Scholtz , from the Department of Visual Arts recently presented their collaborative research at the 12th World Women's Studies Conference, held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, under the theme "The Power of Dialogue: Abolishing the Conditions of Voicelessness,” an endeavour which earned them the prestigious Superlative Presenter Award.

Their paper, "Unveiling the Unseen: Intersection of Fashion Design and Artmaking to Enhance an Autoethnographic Narrative Through Dialogue and Trauma-Informed Design", investigates how fashion might function as a tool for representing the lived experience of endometriosis.

While fashion is often viewed primarily as clothing, the researchers argue that it can also serve as a powerful form of communication and self-expression.

"Fashion holds a compelling duality: it's deeply personal, yet inherently social. It operates as a visual language that people instinctively decode, making it a powerful vehicle for identity, representation” said Janse van Rensburg.

The project emerged from a long-standing desire by the two colleagues to collaborate across their respective disciplines. Janse van Rensburg, a fashion designer, approached Scholtz, a designer-artist who was diagnosed with endometriosis in 2012, after identifying an opportunity to respond to a conference call for papers.

Mandela academic appointed research advisor at University of Oldenburg

Director of the Centre for Community Technologies at Nelson Mandela University, Professor Darelle van Greunen, has been appointed Research Advisor for International Networking at the University of Oldenburg, Germany.

Prof Dr Katharina Al-Shamery (Vice President, Academic Career Paths, Equal Opportunities and International Affairs, University of Oldenburg), Prof Muki Moeng (DVC Learning and Teaching, Nelson Mandela University), Prof Dr Darelle van Greunen, Prof Dr Karsten Speck (University of Oldenburg).

This prestigious appointment highlights Prof van Greunen’s excellence as a researcher and her commitment to advancing technology as a catalyst for human development, inclusion and social transformation. Her work demonstrates how innovative, human-centred approaches can address complex societal challenges.

The appointment is expected to create new opportunities to strengthen Africa–Europe collaboration, expand international research networks, and open pathways for postgraduate students and emerging researchers to participate in globally connected scholarship.

Legal Scholar calls for Urgent Reform to South Africa’s Rape Laws

Recent Master of Laws graduate from Nelson Mandela University, Moi-Sui Ah Goo, is challenging one of the entrenched assumptions in South Africa’s criminal justice system: what constitutes consent in rape cases.

Master's graduate Moi-Sui Ah Goo together with Executive Dean of Law Professor Lynn Biggs

“South Africa's rape laws are in urgent need of reform,” says Ah Goo whose ground-breaking Master’s research, Abolition of the Defence of Subjective Consent: Towards an Affirmative Consent Model for Rape, argues that the legal system should move away from a framework that focuses on what an accused person claims to have believed.

"The law should require more than a claimed belief that someone consented, it should demand a clear and unequivocal ‘yes’," explains Ah Goo who will be admitted as an advocate on 24 July.

A clear and unequivocal ‘yes’

At a time when the nation is searching for more effective responses to sexual and gender-based violence, Ah Goo's research is among the first Master's dissertations in South Africa to comprehensively examine the affirmative consent model (ACM) within the context of rape law.

Under the ACM model, consent is not assumed from silence or passivity, nor from previous sexual history, or a lack of physical resistance. Instead, consent must be actively sought and maintained throughout the sexual interaction through words or conduct that positively indicate agreement to engage in sexual activity. It needs to be clear, voluntary, conscious and ongoing.”

Mandela University’s Prof Janine Adams one of 29 experts contributing to the Starfish Barometer 2026

Through her expertise in the protection and restoration of coastal ecosystems Nelson Mandela University’s Professor Janine Adams has contributed to the Starfish Barometer 2026.

“The starfish barometer provides an overview of the ocean state, identifying where global actions are urgently needed” said Distinguished Professor Adams, the DSI-NRF South African Research Chair in Shallow Water Ecosystems at the University.

She also represents the Institute for Coastal and Marine Research and Department of Botany.

Drawing on the latest peer-reviewed science and international assessments, the report highlights accelerating ocean change, rising societal and economic impacts, and a widening gap between human pressures and protection efforts.

The Starfish Barometer 2026, an international scientific assessment of the relationship between the Ocean and Humanity, has been published earlier this month in State of the Planet.

First launched at the third United Nations Ocean Conference in 2025, the 2026 edition has grown into a global, multidisciplinary scientific effort, bringing together 29 experts from 14 countries across oceanography, climate science, ecology, economics and social sciences.

Read more: Nelson Mandela University News