South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and rebel commander Riek Machar signed a ceasefire deal on Friday after coming under growing international pressure to end ethnic fighting that has raised fears of genocide, the Mail & Guardian reported
African identities A Love Letter to Nigeria
What does it mean to be Nigerian at a time of so much uncertainty? Am I grateful to be a Nigerian? Yes. Would I wish to be anything else? No. Do I love my country? Well, it’s complicated. And here’s why.
Lifestyle Madagascar’s ‘cursed’ twins taboo
In some rural areas in southeast Madagascar, if a woman gives birth to twins, she is expected to abandon them as they bring an evil curse on her family and the surrounding community
Politics and Society Sauti Sol’s “Nishike”: objectifying women?
Lifestyle The politics of negro gals’ hair
Why are we still putting chemicals in our hair? It’s 2014, black people have supposedly shaken off the chains of mental slavery, yet when it comes to black women’s hair we have division. Reaction in Nigeria to my natural hair: ‘Is this your hair? Chineke!’
Arts, Culture and Sport Why do so many African writers leave?
Arts, Culture and Sport Marikana film shows life is cheap in SA
As South Africans go to the polls, “Miners Shot Down”, a new film about the Marikana mine massacre (in which 112 miners were shot by police and 34 died), is screening around South Africa. The timing couldn’t be worse for the ANC.
Lifestyle Decolonising the mind: The misunderstanding of traditional African beliefs
There are few religions as globally misunderstood as African traditional religions. Whether it is being wrongly labelled voodoo, juju or witchcraft, indigenous African faith systems tend to be associated with darkness, animal and human sacrifices, violence and general backwardness
