Monique Kwachou, PhD
Feminist-Education Researcher, Youth worker, and Freelance Writer
Professional Summary
Monique Kwachou is a Cameroonian feminist researcher and writer with a deep passion for education and youth work. She has over ten years’ experience working at the intersection of gender, higher education and youth development within academia and the NGO sector. Her research interests revolve around African-feminist thought, engendering, decolonizing and improving [higher] education for African development. Her doctoral research focused on the capacity of higher education to enable the substantive empowerment of Cameroonian women. Monique’s work as a youth development practitioner has underscored proactive strategies for addressing youth development issues in Cameroon.
Relevant Career Experience
Research Associate
University of Bristol, United Kingdom
March, 2023 - Present
Responsibilities:
- Undertaking multidisciplinary research and publishing on the Creative Lives of Francophone African Countries
- Conceptualizing and implementing Participatory Action Research
- Facilitating the planning and implementation of research workshops, colloquiums and exhibitions
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Higher Education and Human Development Research Group, UFS- South Africa
April, 2021 - Present
Responsibilities:
- Undertaking research and publishing on higher education, with a focus on human development and social justice.
- Supervising student research projects
- Facilitating the running of research group activities such as seminars
Gender Studies Instructor (Part-time)
University of Buea
November 2015 - March 2018
Responsibilities:
- Research and preparation of undergraduate feminist studies course curricula.
- Reviewing department curriculum for decolonizing curriculum project.
- Lecturing,assessing students work,invigilating examinations, etc.
Students' Affairs Officer (Full-time)
University of Buea
May 2016 - March 2018
Responsibilities:
- Supporting the role of Director of Students' Affairs
- Coordinating or facilitating the implementation of student welfare projects, sexual harrassment policy, outreach projects (such as campus open days), student executive elections and more
- Providing student counseling, advocating on behalf of students with disabilities, first responder for student complaints
Founder and Executive Coordinator
Better Breed Cameroon
2013 - Present
Responsibilities:
- Coordinating the conception, planning, implementation and evaluation of quarterly youth development projects in Cameroon
- Providing research consultancy services through Betterment Briefs Unit and advocating for youth issues initiatives at local and national level.
- Product conception and overall management of Memorabilia (social enterprise) unit
Freelance Writer/Content Creator
Assorted Platforms
2010 - Present
Responsibilities:
- Have served as content creator for instiutional social media accounts
- Have done content writing and blog management of personal blog since 2012
- Have facilitated university administration in corporate commmunication and the development of outreach/promotional material such as institutional newsletters for students/young people
- Have written and published fiction, creative nonfiction, editorial pieces and poetry for publications such as This is Africa, Africa is Country, Bakwa Magazine, The Caine Prize for African Writing and more
Educational Background
Ph.D in Development Studies
University of the Free State, South Africa
March 2018 - Feb 2021
M.A in Education, Gender and International Development
UCL Institute of Education, London
September 2014 - October 2015
Certificate in Creative Writing
City University, London
January 2015 - April 2015
BSc. Womens Studies and Sociology (double major)
University of Buea
2008 - 2012
Relevant Skills, Publications & Affiliations
Selected Publications
Academic Research
Kwachou, M. (Forthcoming). How A Cameroonian University Is Unintentionally Producing African-Feminists, and Why It Must Be More Intentional. Critical African Studies
Kwachou, M. (2020). Cameroonian women’s empowerment through higher education: an African-feminist and Capability Approach. Doctoral Thesis, University of the Free State, South Africa.
Kwachou, M. (2015). Engendering Cameroon one Feminist at a Time? An Exploration into the Influence of Studying Women and Gender Studies on Past and Present Students of the University of Buea. Master’s Dissertation-UCL Institute of Education
Kwachou, M. (2016) 'When Your Teachers Fail You: The Necessity of Improving Teachers Training for Quality Education in Cameroon' In Young African Leaders Journal on Development, Vol. 1, pp. 105 - 113.
Creative Writing
Kwachou, M. (2019). ‘Lifesavers’ In Of Passion and Ink: New Voices from Cameroon. Bakwa Books
Kwachou, M. (2015). ‘The Brides Gift’ In It Wasn’t Exactly Love. Farafina Trust Publishing, Nigeria
Kwachou, M. (2011). ‘Seeing Grey’ In Summoning the Rains and Other Stories. FEMRITE Uganda Press
Kwachou, M. (2011). ‘Afritude’ In To See the Mountain and Other Stories. New Internationalist, UK
Kwachou, M. (2010). Writing Therapy: A Collection of Poems. Langaa RPCIG, Cameroon
Selected Professional Affiliations
Anglophone Cameroon Writers Association
Cameroon Chevening Alumni Association
Moremi Initiative for Women’s Leadership in Africa (MILEAD) Network
Society of Gender Professionals African-feminist Initiative
South African Education Research Association (SAERA)