By Refiloe Makama “Men are never ugly”. Nnu Ego makes this statement in Buchi Emecheta’s novel, The Joys of Motherhood, set during the colonial period in Nigeria. In a scene between two friends, the protagonist Nnu Ego had recently lost her first child, and Ato, her childhood friend comes to comfort her. In a memorable moment, […]
African psychology
Decolonizing the Self, transforming psychology
Dr Shahieda Jansen Right from the start of my career as a psychologist, I struggled with a sense of alienation, with feelings of resistance to the very idea of “being a psychologist”. After qualifying as a psychologist I self-identified as a researcher in health program development for many years. I finally surrendered and ventured into […]
Obituary: Prof Bame Nsamenang, committed humanist and leader in African psychology
It is with great sadness that the world heard of the passing of Professor Bame Nsanemang on February 2018. He was one of Africa’s great psychologists. A doyen of developmental science, whose lifelong commitment to building a discipline responsive to the needs of all of the people of the world, he will be sorely mourned […]
‘A turning point for psychology in Africa’
The Pan-African Psychology Union (Papu) and the Psychological Society of South Africa (PsySSA) will host the first-ever continental psychology congress from September 18 to 21 at the International Convention Centre in Durban, South Africa. “This convening of psychology leaders marks a turning point for the African continent, as a critical hub of psychological thinking and […]
The Khumbul’ekhaya phenomenon as symbolic suicide
By Thirusha Naidu and Andiswa Mankayi One day Mrs Lolo left. It was not a special or a different day. Now it became the day that Mrs Lolo left, perhaps forever. If you met Mrs Lolo on the path to the taxi stop that day you would not have guessed that it would be 30 […]