By Sandra Banjac The first time we are confronted by an image of a malnourished child we are crippled by guilt and deliberate over ways to help. The second time we see the same type of image we pause, ponder and then flip the page. The third time we turn the page without second thought. […]
Reader Blog
On our Reader Blog, we invite Thought Leader readers to submit one-off contributions to share their opinions on politics, news, sport, business, technology, the arts or any other field of interest.
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Posted inLifestyle, News/Politics
Qiniso Dialogues: Will you join us?
By Shaka Sisulu “Where do I begin?” This was my first thought when I sat down to pen this reflection on my involvement and experience with the Qiniso Dialogues. It’s a common enough question and so I had an answer at the ready “from the beginning”. So what is Qiniso? Well, for starters it’s the […]
Posted inLifestyle
The jewel of Poole Street
By Alex Searle At first glance, Poole Street is nothing special. It’s a slightly better area than some of the other dreary avenues in Ysterplaat, but not by much. There are no lampposts so walking around at night is not easy. Only the ugly power cables hang in the air alongside the pavements like giant […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Mngxitama and the whiteness debate
By Max Rayneard I’m a white South African, admittedly seated in a coffee shop in upstate New York where I teach African anglophone literature to American students, but wanting desperately to be home. I agree with Andile Mngxitama’s characterisation of whites “dealing” with complicity as something akin to a pastime: something one does now and […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The sperm collectors: Men in Zim are afraid, very afraid
By Jane Madembo A few months ago, in an article published in The Guardian, I wrote about my experiences using public transport in Zimbabwe. Specifically I talked about how women were victims of sexual harassment and rape by male motorists in Zimbabwe. But a few days ago I woke up to the shocking news that […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Why SA should call for a tax to bail out global health at the G20
By Dr Prinitha Pillay and Nonkosi Khumalo When the Group of 20 (G20) nations, including South Africa, meet in France from November 3-4, one of the key items on the agenda will be a proposal for a financial transaction tax that would generate revenue to address the debt crisis stemming from the global recession. News […]
Posted inNews/Politics
SA should acknowledge Kosovo’s independence
By Hannine Drake My recent announcement that I was planning to spend my upcoming vacation in Kosovo was mostly met with curiosity as well as some enthusiasm from the “developed countries are for the weak” crowd. One of the popular responses, apart from “why”, was: “Is it even a country?” But what may initially seem […]
Posted inLifestyle
The X Factor: Simon Cowell’s new TV tumour
By Alex Searle It’s all about the talent, as they say, and it’s out there. Somewhere in the dark cobwebs of the American landscape, the next big thing is waiting to emerge from the abyss. It won’t take long to find a plump, bleary-eyed, straw-eating teenage mother with crocodile skin and reedy hair to be […]
Posted inGeneral
How I fell out of love with SA cricket
By Muhammad Choonara I was seven years old; I remember Clive Rice and his team being paraded around Kolkata with garlands around their necks. Millions of Indians took to the streets to welcome the South African cricket team. I had no idea what cricket was, we grew up in a soccer home, Chelsea, Man United […]
Posted inGeneral
Road to Purdah-tion
A news dramatisation by Alex Searle Although you are a fully qualified doctor, sharia law dictates that a woman’s place is at home. Your children are waiting to be picked up from school but you are not allowed to drive. The rancid sweat beneath your abaya (women’s covering) offends your husband’s friends. They don’t care […]
Posted inGeneral
Dubai, a desert apartheid
By Jared Sacks The glittering city-state of Dubai is the modern Babylon of global capitalism, with one of the highest economic growth rates and per capita incomes in the world. Boasting two of the largest malls, the largest man-made island, the tallest building, and the only self-proclaimed seven-star hotel in the world, it is Las […]
Posted inGeneral
Political organisations have a place in SRCs
By Amanda Ngwenya Kate Wilkinson’s Thought Leader article that SRCs are for students not politicians provides a good platform off which to make the case for the inclusion of political organisations in Student Representative Council (SRC) elections because it posits the classical fallacy that attends the debate. The fallacy being that political organisations further some […]