Sixteen days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children is upon us again this year. As usual it will come and go but very little will change for the majority of women and children in South Africa. The middle class will be a little more aware of the heinous gender-based violence statistics that […]
16 Days of Activism
Posted inEquality, Gender violence, News/Politics
Remembering Mandela the feminist
By Ntombenhle Khathwane As a black woman, like other black women, I have it tough. Especially in the world of business, corporate and academia: black women have to work harder than any other, including black men, to gain recognition, promotion or even entry. Since I left formal employment and started building a business, I have […]
Posted inEquality, Gender violence
‘I am penis, hear me roar’: The threat of lesbianism
Men seem to labour under the misapprehension that sex is about them. This is not a hastily made statement, there is some evidence behind it. Exhibit A: The idea that men think they’re “putting the D” to or “giving it” to someone. The rhetoric gives the impression that the rest of us come to the […]
Posted inGender violence
Kenyan men extend sex boycott
Men supposedly have a new weapon: sex. I am extremely uncomfortable with this because, I thought it was our weapon but according to Kenyan men it is on like Donkey Kong and women in the country are being denied sex. A men’s rights group in Kenya, Maendeleo ya Wanaume, called for a sexual boycott in […]
Posted inEquality, Gender violence, Health, Lifestyle
Can a psychology of ubuntu heal our broken society?
The urgency of activism, although well-intentioned, can hide the ordinary, subtle, even banal nature of how societies become sick. The 16 days of activism, now quickly forgotten, reflected our uneasiness at how things are and had a desire to want to put things right. But change is a process, not an event. Our response to […]
Posted inEquality, Gender violence, News/Politics
Shallow rhetoric, Mandela and personal responsibility
I still vaguely remember the first time I found out who Nelson Mandela was. My parents had an ANC sticker in their bedroom wardrobe that carried Mandela’s face. I did not know anything about him at the time, but it wasn’t until my mother caught me trying to remove the sticker that I would first […]
Posted inEquality, Gender violence
We need to ‘man down’
On the eve of 16 days of activism for no violence against women, Percy Mabandu got his knickers — sorry, XXL boxers — in a knot. “Manhood is under attack”, was the gist of his protestations in his column (“Why give macho men such a hard time?”). He lamented that masculinity — well, the kind […]
Posted inEquality, Gender violence
The role of men during #16Days
*Trigger warning I was shocked to see a tweet by controversial South African blogger Sentletse Diakanyo on the first day of 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence in South Africa. In the tweet Diakanyo says that: “We must not ignore the slaughter of unborn babies during this 16 Days of Activism.” He went on […]
Posted inGender violence
Should we forgive Chris Brown?
On social media this week there has been some outrage at Chris Brown holding a concert in South Africa. In particular the outrage is that this event is taking place during the 16 Days of Activism to end violence against women[i], and that Chris Brown is a confessed perpetrator of domestic violence against pop artist, […]
Posted inGeneral, Lifestyle
Woman beater Chris Brown not welcome in SA
Many South African music lovers will flock to see R&B star Chris Brown perform in December. A man who assaulted pop superstar Rihanna in 2009, she was his girlfriend at the time. Unless you’ve been living under a rock these last few years, you know a few vivid details about the assault. You may have […]
Posted inLifestyle
What does security mean to you?
By Everjoice Win That was the question surrounding this year’s 16 Days of Activism. Militarism, conflict, state-sponsored violence, political violence, were some of the sub-themes we campaigned on. We talked about the big stuff, the big news tickets of the moment. The news coming out of Syria continues to be unbearable. Libya is still on […]
Posted inGender violence, News/Politics
Crime: Are you to blame?
Safety is a difficult thing to contemplate in a country where nowhere is really “safe”. It is hard to pretend that we don’t know. We can’t ignore the high crime statistics, and police commissioner requirements of stomach in chest out. It’s almost impossible to meet anyone who doesn’t know anyone who has been victim of […]