United Nations Women reported that traditional cutters in Sierra Leone have pledged to abandon and advocate against FGM which is still not illegal in the country. This added support will contribute to the clampdown on initiation ceremonies by the secret societies that uphold the practice.
Restrictive norms
Politics and Society U.S-Zambia diplomatic ties strained over Zambia’s 15-year jail sentence of gay couple
Zambia’ s High Court recently passed a decade and a half long jail term to two men for engaging in sexual relations “against the order of nature”. The move was highly criticised by the U.S Ambassador to Zambia Daniel Foote, who said he was ‘horrified’ by the ‘oppressive’ decision.
Lifestyle The world’s first Vagina Museum opens in London
The world’s first physical vagina museum has been opened in London to educate and inform people about gynaecological anatomy while providing a space in which to hear about and discuss the taboo subjects surrounding female bodies.
Lifestyle South Africa’s city of Johannesburg holds first official black queer ball
South Africa has joined the fray of ball room culture; an originally American countercultural phenomenon rooted in necessity and defiance. In the late nineteenth century members of the underground LGBTQI+ community in large cities organized masquerade balls in direct defiance of laws and as a means to find community and belonging.
Politics and Society Guarding empty shells: Imprisoning national consciousness in relics of the past
The symbols and rituals of power of colonial regimes that brutalised black Zimbabweans before independence are still hallowed in the free country. Farai Mudzingwa wonders why such a scenario persists in a nation where a phrase like “Zimbabwe will never be a colony again” is an integral part of the national lexicon.
Lifestyle Google “African Children” and then “American Children”. The results will surprise you
This Is Africa recently did a simple experiment. We did an image search for “African children” on Google. The results were eye-opening especially when compared to Google searches for “American children” and “European children.” While the other two searches yielded images of cheerful, happy children, the image search for “African children” turned up many disturbing images of starving, distressed and yes, even gun-toting minors. Is this the real Africa or does Google need to play an active role in changing how the world sees the continent?