Posted inGender violence

Rape — sex or power?

Rape happens every day in South Africa. It is estimated that each year about half a million rapes occur, but only 1 in 9 of these is reported. With roughly 24 million women in South Africa this presents women with a scary picture. It means that if you are a woman and you live to the […]

Posted inGeneral

Words and action

Everyone knows the saying about “sticks and stones” but I’m beginning to become disillusioned with the ending. South Africa is a place where freedom of speech is highly valued among all people and the right to tell your story is something empowering and powerful. But how do we then stop people when they’ve said too […]

Posted inNews/Politics

SpeakZA: Bloggers for a free press

Last week, shocking revelations concerning the activities of ANC Youth League Spokesperson Nyiko Floyd Shivambu came to the fore. According to a letter published in various news outlets, a complaint was laid by 19 political journalists with the secretary-general of the ANC, against Shivambu. This complaint letter detailed attempts by Shivambu to leak a dossier […]

Posted inNews/Politics

Indefensible indignity

A choice between two terrible options is not really a choice for many people. When those terrible options pose a danger to your life and your dignity they can make even the most proud buckle with the weight of the decision. What am I talking about? Many of you will know that earlier this year […]

Posted inLifestyle

Take some freaking responsibility

Enough! Enough of all the pussyfooting, slippery tongue-sliding circumlocution. Enough of the fall backs to culture, ancestry, age, wisdom, the struggle, the party and the legacy of apartheid. Enough of the misuse of taxpayers’ money. Enough of the failure to speak when appropriate and necessary and enough of the propensity and frequency with which inappropriate, […]

Posted inNews/Politics

No porn please

There are many reasons why DSTV should not have a porn channel, none of which have to do with morals. The debate about morals lands up with sex being a sin or at least frowned upon, and the idea of watching other people having sex is almost outlandish if not only a bit rude. But […]

Posted inNews/Politics

Finding solutions

The Rubik’s cube is one of those puzzles that many people want to throw against the wall. It seems solution-less, until someone comes along and shows you how to do it. Have you ever faced a problem and had no idea how to solve it? One of those things you feel completely overwhelmed by and […]