By Mighti Jamie * These were my words to Adam Habib in January. They’re still relevant today. Dear Adam Habib One thing Wits can never be is a cold-blooded business, focusing only on the bottom line. One thing Wits can never be is a dream killer. One thing Wits can never be is on the […]
Equality
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
#FeesMustFall shows ‘born-free’ generation anything but apathetic
Defiant. An apt word to describe students protesting against university tuition fees over the last month. From bringing institutions to a standstill, to engaging in several hour-long meetings, disgruntled students have been unwavering in their pursuit of what they see as a fairer financial system for universities. And it went up a notch yesterday when […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
#FeesMustFall and its inherent elitism
In US politics it is often said that when you are young, if your politics is not progressive then you have no heart. However when you are old, if your politics is not conservative then you have no brain. In SA we have conservative voices that are quick to spell out inflation, budgets, costs and […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
#FeesMustFall
Earlier on in the year when University of Cape Town students launched the #RhodesMustFall campaign, I was worried that students were focussing on the removal of statues when there were real issues that could lead to real change that needed to be tackled. I was concerned that while we were busy talking about old symbols […]
Posted inEquality, Gender violence, Health, Lifestyle
Normalising intimate partner violence among Soweto youth
By Matamela Makongoza, Mzikazi Nduna and Janan Dietrich One of the greatest challenges facing young people today is intimate partner violence. This is usually perpetrated by young men against their female partners. For instance, three out of 10 adolescent males in the Eastern Cape reported beating or raping their partners, and this type of intimate […]
Posted inEquality, Lifestyle
Being a dominee in SA today – A letter to my Dutch Reformed ancestors
By Nadia Marais Dear ancestors, I write to you because I hope you might help us following the uproar last week after the Dutch Reformed Church’s General Synod decided to recognise same-sex relationships. On the one hand it is strange that there is such an uproar at all, not only because one of the core […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
#WitsFeesMustFall: Why part-time student work is not the answer
I must commend the Wits students for standing up for a very real issue that affects students across the country. You are my heroes! Some social media commenters have berated the student protesters for not finding part-time jobs to fund their studies. Based on my own student experience at Wits, I cannot agree that it […]
Posted inEquality, Lifestyle
Beauty is neither noble nor obligatory
It is generally understood that beauty is to be desired, it is desirable because it is inherently good. When asked to describe beauty, it is difficult to do so in terms that are divorced from concrete experience. Philosophers have argued about it for millennia. Feminists have tried to reclaim beauty by rebranding it, in this […]
Posted inEquality, General
Of maids and madams: The case for domestic workers
Two weeks ago News24, in partnership with Code4SA, published a tool to calculate a reasonable wage to pay a domestic worker in South Africa. Based on data submitted by users, the news site found that on average a domestic worker in the Western Cape is paid R188.50 a shift, the highest when compared to other […]
Posted inEquality
On assimilation and double consciousness
“In common with many Bombay-raised middle-class children of my generation, I grew up with an intimate knowledge of, and even sense of friendship with, a certain kind of England: a dream England composed of Test Matches at Lord’s presided over by the voice of John Arlott, at which Freddie Trueman bowled unceasingly and without success […]
Posted inEquality, Health, Lifestyle
Urgently rethinking mental health in South Africa
As troops of psychologists flocked into Joburg last month, Emperors Palace morphed into a marketplace of ideas. My everyday work context is a busy public hospital setting, so as I prepared for this annual congress, mental health was on my mind. And it still is, because October is mental health month, and Saturday was World […]
Posted inEnvironment, Equality, Lifestyle
Negotiating my identity as an introvert in an extroverted society
By Magnolia Bahle Ngcobo-Sithole When someone asks me “Who are you?” I often respond by giving my name and surname. If we keep the conversation going long enough I start talking about the work that I do. I may also mention some of my hobbies. The conversation stays superficial and safe. I never talk about […]