Next month in Norway a ‘human zoo’ will open, a re-enactment of the voyeurist exhibitions of Africans that took place during the colonial era. The organizers aim to spark discussions on the legacy of racism and colonialism, but have they overlooked the pain and humiliation this may bring to Africans worldwide, and the danger of the resurgence of racial stereotyping?
Lifestyle A Nigerian gay rights activist in exile
Michael Ighodaro is a Nigerian activist and LGBTQ rights advocate based in New York City. In response to the anti-gay law passed by President Goodluck Jonathan in Nigeria, Ighodaro helped organize a Global Day of Action in protest of this law. The protest in NYC was held on March 7th. Protests were also staged in front of Nigerian consulates in many cities all over the world. I spoke to Ighodaro before the March 7th protest.
Politics and Society Mali militants “kill” French hostage
France has in a statement vowed to “do all to uncover the truth… and will not leave this unpunished” after Islamist group claimed to have killed captive French citizen, according to AFP
Politics and Society West Africa’s soaring mortality rates
Nowhere else in the world is maternal mortality and the low use of contraceptive higher than in West Africa, says Malian Dr. Cheick Touré who is also diretor of IntraHealth – Mali.
Lifestyle What good is tradition if we lose a penis?
Recently a young South African man lost his penis. The member in question was lost during an initiation ritual and when he attempted to ask the elders what to do about it (raising the matter in a public forum) he allegedly received a beating.
Politics and Society In pursuit of Al Shabaab, Kenya is back to 1984
The Kenyan government has thrown a security cordon over a part of the city of Nairobi most populated by the Somali. Why? Because al Shabaab operates from Somalia and therefore its face in Kenya is Somali-like. The Kenya state really has no reason to take the country back to 1984 by profiling such an integral community in the country.
Politics and Society Bad Aid: How a World Bank private financing scheme is bleeding Lesotho dry
Last week the organization I work for – the Consumers Protection Association – published a joint report with Oxfam that shows how a health public–private partnership (PPP) is draining the budget of the Ministry of Health and diverting scarce resources away from primary healthcare services in rural areas, where death rates are rising and where three-quarters of the population live.
Politics and Society Enough! No more unfair cash charges for Africans!
Money transfer operators have been siphoning money from African migrant workers and diasporans with little comeback for years – but Western Union and Moneygram, who dominate around two-thirds of African pay-out locations, are finally finding themselves at the end of some cold, hard scrutiny.
Lifestyle Ways of life part 1 – original affluence
We are taught to believe that our modern lifestyle – which thrives on egoism, competition and inequality – is an improvement on the past. But considering the facts of the history of the human race, we may learn a thing or two from our egalitarian past.