Globally, women and girls in sport are underrepresented in sport science research, while African women are nigh invisible. This limits the evidence available to inform clinical interventions, policies and budgets that are relevant to the specific socioeconomic, religio-cultural and environmental contexts that African women and girls live and play in. Hence African women and girls in sport rely on information on injuries, recovery and training that is generated without their bodies or circumstances in mind. Dr. Nonhlanhla S. Mkumbuzi is a sports medicine researcher deep diving into how to transform the fact that Female African athletes (and other systemically marginalised groups) are near invisible in sports science literature. In Nonhlanhla’s own words, “it's not ok and it needs to change.”

Her research emphasises the intersectionality of gender, race, socio-economics, culture, and biology inside the athletic performance and rehabilitation of female African athletes. She’s taking our stage, with the intention of inspiring action and changing the way female African athletes are viewed in sports. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx