Posts tagged South Africa

Arbitration case between athlete Caster Semenya and the IAAF centres on eligibility to compete based on testosterone – but there are other factors in play.

Mandisa Mfeka joined the South African Air Force in 2008 and earned her wings a year after starting flying school in 2010. Now she is South Africa’s first black female combat pilot.

Thando Hopa, a South African model, lawyer and activist, is on the April cover of “Vogue Portugal” for their “Africa Motherland” edition. The magazine stated that the issue is an ode “to origins” and to “Africa, as the birthplace of mankind”.

African penguins, known for their irregular markings and loud call, are in sharp decline. The species has gone from a population of more than a million at the beginning of the 20th century to being endangered. South African bioscientist Patrick Mafunda is using in-vitro fertilisation to help the species survive.

Internationally renowned dermatologist and University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Dean of Clinical Medicine, Professor Ncoza Dlova, has collaborated with US scientists to uncover the gene that is the major cause of permanent hair loss among women of African descent.

The United Nations Human Rights Council has adopted a resolution tabled by South Africa to defend Olympic gold medallist Caster Semenya’s right to participate in sports. The world champion is currently challenging proposals by the International Association of Athletics Federations to restrict natural testosterone levels in female athletes.

Professor Mashudu Tshifularo has conducted the world’s first surgical process using 3D-printed middle-ear bones.

The recent evidence of a violent relationship between two well-known South African musicians should be a wake-up call to us as a society to revisit what we consider to be “healthy masculinity”, says Lineo Segoete.

While South African struggle icon Winnie Madikizela-Mandela received a worthy statue befitting of her legacy, Burkina Faso’s former revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara whose statue was unveiled on the 2nd of March 2019 wasn’t so lucky. #Sankara’s statue recently unveiled has no resemblance to the celebrated Burkinabé leader. Many have asked if the infamous Rasta was involved.

A collection of prison letters provides a peek into the suffering of South African liberation hero, Robert Sobukwe.