What is decolonization, and why should feminism be decolonized? In what ways do certain forms of feminism contribute to colonization, dispossession, and exploitation? You are warmly invited to a public lecture followed by a discussion with the distinguished author and researcher Françoise Vergès, who, by examining the history and theory of Western feminism, explores what decolonial feminism is and the possibilities it offers.
The event is held on the occasion of the Czech publication of her book Un féminisme décolonial (Decolonial Feminism) by Karolinum Press, with an afterword by Zuzana Uhde from the Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of Sciences and Vojtěch Šarše from the Department of Romance Studies and the Centre of African Studies (CAFR) at the Faculty of Arts, Charles University.
Date and time: Friday, May 15, 2026, from 16:15
Venue: Faculty of Arts, Charles University, nám. Jana Palacha 1/2, Prague 1, room no. 131
Registration: Due to the change of venue and the increased capacity of the event, we are reopening registration.
The event is free of charge and will be held in English. The capacity of the room is limited, so please register in advance. The discussion will be moderated by Zuzana Uhde.
About the book:
Françoise Vergès opens her book Decolonial Feminism with the question: Who cleans up the world? Her interpretation of decolonial feminism is rooted in the experiences of underpaid and undervalued work that women—most of whom are racialized as “others”—do every day worldwide to keep society functioning. Vergès advocates for decolonizing feminism that is anti-racist and anti-capitalist, challenging Western feminism, which sometimes upholds in the name of women’s rights a civilizing mission and structural injustices tied to colonial histories and present-day racialised hierarchies.
About the author:
Françoise Vergès is currently Senior Fellow Researcher at the Sarah Parker Remond Centre for the Study of Race and Racialization at UCL, London, winner of the Bannister Fletcher Fellowship 2025, and a member of the scientific board of the Foundation for the Remembrance of Slavery. Her latest publications include Making the World Clean; Wasted Lives, Wasted Environment and Racial Capitalism (Goldsmiths Press, 2024).
This event is organized by CEFRES, the Czech Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Sociology, the French Institute in Prague, Karolinum Press, and the Faculty of Arts, Charles University—specifically the Centre of African Studies (CAFR)—in cooperation with the ERA-AREAS project, which supports the development of research and teaching in area studies at the Faculty of Arts, Charles University.
PHOTO: La fabrique/Anthony Francin
