By: Rebecca Stanton
Monday, February 10th to Friday, February 14th was Anti-Apartheid week at LSE. LSESU hosted a week-long series of events, discussions, and fundraisers to bring the LSE community together to ‘reflect, learn, and discuss’ systems of oppression such as apartheid. The importance of this week is felt by many in the community, with ongoing student action demanding that LSE divest from companies tied to unethical practices.
On Monday, LSESU societies including Grimshaw Society, Palestine Society and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Society hosted an inter-society bake sale outside the Saw Swee Hock building that raised over £1,000 in donations for Muslim Aid for Sudan and Medical Aid for Palestinians.
Later that day was the Right to Protest Workshop, led by a representative from the National Union of Students, about protesting safely as a student. With the significant police presence at on-campus protests last year and the suspension of the LSE 7, it was a relevant and informative session that highlighted the challenges faced by student activists.
Completing this first day was a screening of Tantura, a documentary film about the 1948 forced displacement and massacre of Palestinians living in Tantura by the Israeli military. Incorporating testimonies, documents and archival footage, the conversation after the screening was one focused on the importance of historical memory and forefronting silenced narratives.
On the second day of events, two KCL alumni, Robert Wintemute, a professor of Human Rights Law, and Sari Arraf, a PhD student specialising in histories of apartheid, led a discussion titled ‘Power of Divestment: Breaking Ties with Oppression’.
Wintemute’s discussion centred around a comparison of apartheid in South Africa and Palestinian oppression, emphasising the use of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement as an effective tool of resistance against apartheid in situations where Western governments have not acted to put economic or political pressure on the inflicting power.
Arraf led on from this, focusing on the history of activism against South African apartheid at LSE, a running theme of the week’s discussions. LSE students were among the first in the UK to protest by occupying the Old Building in 1987, demanding that LSE divest from companies in apartheid South Africa. He highlighted the enduring importance of student activism in striving for a system where students are involved in decision making processes that can disentangle universities from violent structures.
On Wednesday, LSE associates Mahvish Ahmad, Muna Dajani, and Akile Ahmet hosted a session on ‘Education Under Occupation’ about the effects that occupation and scholasticide have had on education in Palestine, as well as the role played by UK universities in apartheid systems. The speakers emphasised the reasons why students at LSE should remain involved and vigilant in holding institutions to account.
‘Living Apartheid Live’ took place that evening, hosted by Andrey X, a journalist and activist in the West Bank, and Tony Dykes, a representative of anti-apartheid legacy, and a representative from the Birzeit University in Palestine. Incorporating a discussion of historical activism with firsthand experience of life under occupation in Palestine, the discussions offered a deeply personal lens on the effects of apartheid on everyday life.
Thursday’s events focused on LSE’s history of anti-apartheid activism amongst different generations of students. Looking at LSE Divest campaign archives from the 1970s to the 2024 Encampment was a powerful testament to the university’s long standing tradition of student activism.
One of the event’s speakers was a student from 1984-88 who spoke about his time as a leader of the LSE Divest Now campaign against South African apartheid. He recounted the importance of making difficult decisions and having clear strategies and objectives in the eventual success of the movement.
The week’s events culminated on Friday in a rally for Divestment outside the CBG Plaza demanding that LSE respect the outcome of the 2024 student referendum on divestment.
Asking the week’s organiser Wajiha, LSESU’s Education Officer, about its importance, she reflected,
“Anti Apartheid Week 2025 was always something I wanted to plan in my capacity as Education Officer at the LSESU. With the mounting evidence of apartheid and now genocide in Gaza, educating and informing students about apartheid and systems of oppression and the History of LSE activism, especially following the student activism from the Encampment for Palestine last year, was very important.
I learnt a lot throughout the week, like the real life impacts of scholasticide in Gaza and how the erasure of education and standing against this is actually a shared responsibility of higher education systems and students everywhere, including at LSE. There were interesting discussions on decolonial and post colonial theory and even the now seemingly mainstream idea to “decolonise the curriculum” but with no stance on colonialism in Palestine. The discussion on the LSE Liberated Zone being a space of belonging was also fascinating, especially for students who had otherwise felt excluded on campus or felt they were in opposition to the school.
The other highlight of the week for me was hearing from student activists from the 1980s and 2010s, and looking through archives of those who opposed apartheid in South Africa and called for divestment. The discussion on community organising and resilience in student movements was inspiring and insightful, reaffirming that discussions about Palestine and systems of oppression must continue, and that change can happen when students and people unite against apartheid.”
