OPINION
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Now that the Makoko floating school has fallen
The construction of the Makoko floating school in 2013 was some of the best news to emerge from the Lagos slum. Now that the school has collapsed, what is next for the community?
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Ozwald Boateng unveiled his new 'Africanism' collection at Arise Fashion Week in April 2018. “I wanted to push that connection between my cultural roots and my design to the forefront, and I felt that there was a way that I could create an African aesthetic, but in a very modern way,” he wrote in Vogue.
Women don't want to be reduced to ceremonial roles; they believe they can add value in making decisions.
The football world cup offers a useful chance to consider the apparent division between North and sub-Saharan Africa.
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Most African staple foods are plant based yet the notion of being a non-meat eater is deemed “un-African”, “bourgeois” or “finicky” by many. If you are thinking of making the change, here are some of the things you can expect as a new vegetarian in an African city.
What do Africans really think about having a common language? For many Kiswahili is the answer to having a common language on the continent, but how feasible is it, particularly for non-Swahili speaking countries?
Ivorian hair artist, Laetitia Ky has used her hair to speak out on rape, sexual assault and harassment. She shaped her hair to speak on the #MeToo movement. Her hair portrayed a man lifting the skirt of a woman. Laetitia's poignant expressions are when she uses her hair to highlight women rights issues.
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- sex & relationships
- New in Sex & Relationships
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Sex and pleasure are often so much more than what cis-heteronormativity and even homonormativity teaches. Kgothatso Motshele explores how we can look at our bodies and pleasure through a different lens.
In this open and honest conversation with two women Bel South explores the various faces and forms of queer love from the experiences of two women, and interrogates their subjective realities, living and loving in South Africa.
Black women across gender lines are pushing back against the gaze of patriarchy, policing and respectability by owning their bodies and exploring pleasure on their own terms. Ntombizikhona Valela explores how women are defining for themselves a pleasure aesthetic that centres on their humanity and reclaiming ownership of their bodies.
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What does being a non-monogamous, bisexual woman living in Ghana mean? How do I live out my love life? One woman honestly shares her experiences in this philosophical exploration of what love is, what it can be, how it can be felt or expressed outside the norms of what love has been made to be.
Wairimũ Mũrĩithi writes on womxn’s pleasure (or not) in Kenya’s public imaginary.
The case of pleasure and sex in Northern Nigeria is not a matter of forced conservatism or a robotic followership to a certain doctrine. It is an in-built self-censorship mechanism, and the people are comfortable with it as a way of life.
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- investigative
- New in Investigative
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Wider access to technology has increased possibilities to share stories via digital means.
Women now make up a sizeable share of football audiences, but unless decked out in short shorts and cropped jerseys, they are barely visible in the media.
The persistence of Sam Nzima's June 16 photograph is remarkable. The shadow in the photograph can be read as a metaphor for the rich debate that this image continues to bring to the surface.
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If we do not change our attitude to mental health issues and suicide, the stigma will make people suffer in silence and ultimately result in more death and suffering, says Joyline Maenzanise.
In remembrance of those killed during the Biafran War from 1967 to 1970, and others who died over the years in the struggle for an independent state of Biafra, the secessionist Indigenous People of Biafra organised a sit-at-home protest, which shut down economic and social activities in the South-East and South-South regions of Nigeria, writes Patrick Egwu.
Sexual harassment is so entrenched that it has become part of the social fabric of Nigeria. It is time to speak out, says Promise Okwuchukwu.
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- New in Interviews
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51 years ago, the federal government of Nigeria engaged in a bloody civil war with the secessionist Republic of Biafra. In this exclusive interview with This is Africa, Christopher Ejiofor, a former top military adviser during the war recalls the bitter memories of the war and how they lost everything. He talks about how the British colonial set-up caused the war and the current agitation by the Indigenous Republic of Biafra
Dr Richard Munang is a climate change and development policy expert. Here he talks about his latest book.
Fatou Kandé Senghor is a Senegalese artist and filmmaker. She talks about the pan-African icons of her youth, the icons of Senegalese society, and the difficulties of passing on their lessons to her daughters in the digitalised and globalised 21st century.
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UN Resident Coordinator Siddharth Chatterjee has one of those CVs that will blow you away. Sneak a peek at his Twitter bio and you will see what we are talking about. Ex Indian Special Forces. Ex Red Cross. Princeton alumnus. And a presiding don of the opinion pages at Huffington Post and Reuters. We’re sure you see what we are talking about. He’s a man worth paying attention to. We’re glad he recently spared a few minutes to sit down for an interview with Dr Diana Wangari who brings us the scoop.
“The Facebook post is important because it is instant.” Stella Nyanzi and the making of a social media icon
Kọ́lá Túbọ̀sún interviews A. Igoni Barrett on the Graywolf Press Africa Prize and the role of literary prizes
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South African comedian, Trevor Noah's book Born a Crime is being taught in some U.S. schools. The book was also made into an audio book, and it's available to all high school students in Newark, New Jersey. Could South African students also benefit if the book is adopted into the curriculum?
Senegal claimed the first African win at the 2018 FIFA World Cup guided by their manager, Aliou Cissé, who is the only black coach at this year’s World Cup. Here are 10 interesting things you need to know about The Lions of Teranga (Les Lions de la Teranga) coach.
2018 is the 18th year of the World Refugee Day event, run by the United Nations Refugee Agency as a declaration that the world supports and stands with refugees. The day also marks the launch of the ‘With Refugees’ petition, which will state the needs and potential rights of refugees to allow every one of them the opportunity to thrive and succeed – as these people did.
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The contestation and valid claim that Asamoah Gyan and not Cristiano Ronaldo is the first football player to score at nine major international tournaments has sparked heated debate on social media. Gyan was the first player to reach the mark in 2015, but that fact is not widely known. The debate raises the question: Why do Africans, and the media not celebrate their own?
Brian Gitta, a 24-year-old Ugandan software engineer and the 2018 winner of the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, proved that solutions can come from personal experience and our day-to-day struggles. After missing university lectures due to chronic malaria, Gitta developed Matibabu, a device that tests for malaria without a blood test.
The recent appointment of Siyamthanda Kolisi as the first black captain of the Springboks after 127 years, 478 tests and 60 white captains in South African rugby heralded a new chapter. Last week, Springboks prop Tendai Mtawarira became the first black South African to earn 100 caps. Is South African rugby becoming more diverse and inclusive?
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