S (Semkelisiwe) Ncube

Semkelisiwe Ncube is a PhD researcher working at the intersection of public health, human rights, and gender justice. Her research examines how menstrual health injustices persist in conditions of informality, with a particular focus on community and activist mobilization, use of human rights discourse, and governance responses to these claims.

She holds a Master of Public Health, specializing in Social and Behavioural Sciences from the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and has extensive experience in qualitative research on menstrual health experiences in informal settings. Her work is grounded in community-engaged approaches, drawing on her social work training to ethically engage with sensitive topics such as menstruation, stigma, gender, and health.

She contributes to interdisciplinary research initiatives and collaborative networks focused on menstrual health and broader sexual and reproductive health and rights. Her current research with the PERIODS project aims to generate empirically grounded insights that inform more responsive and accountable governance approaches to menstrual health in contexts of informality.