Godelive Batano Kusimwa

Godelive Batano Kusimwa is a Junior Fellow at the Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies (BIGSAS), University of Bayreuth. Her research focuses on Political Geography with specialized concentration on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Her current project examines the Political Economy of Child Labour in Cobalt Artisanal Mining Zone of Kolwezi, DRC, analyzing how Western clean energy transitions impact child labor dynamics in cobalt extraction zones. Utilizing frameworks of political economy of everyday life in Africa, gender, and child agency, she challenges modern slavery narratives through empirical fieldwork that prioritizes children's lived experiences and positionalities, with particular attention to girls' perspectives in artisanal mining communities.