Kaulirol’iqinga Siwavun’amazimba Hoha Mrs M. Maxeke Mti omde orara wakulo Deborah Bhikica emva kwabavumi Mrs M. Maxeke Ze nengcwaba lamagqwira Libe ndaweninye (Ho, Mrs M. Maxeke, Tall, bitter tree, Deborah’s sister, Give us advice On harvesting crops Glean in the wake of the reapers Mrs M. Maxeke So every witch Drops down dead) These are […]
gender
Posted inEquality
On black excellence: Charlotte Mannya Maxeke
I’ve been reading Zubeida Jaffer’s biography of Charlotte Mannya Maxeke, Beauty of the Heart. I was very excited at the prospect of finally having a book available about a woman who is mostly known through the hospital that is named after her in Johannesburg. Beyond the hospital naming, I doubt she is a household name. […]
Posted inMedia
Approaching women’s month: The misconception about the politically connected women
As we creep towards August the question of women’s empowerment will come to the fore the same way young people become the flavour of the month during June. These conversations will be recycled versions of the conversations that have been happening for many decades in South Africa and will mostly resemble the conversation between Sakina […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, General
Ubuntu and eco-feminism as an antidote to neoliberalism
How many people have noticed that neoliberal capitalism undermines the values of ubuntu (“I am because others are”) as a traditional African practice? And how many know that ubuntu and ecofeminism share some fundamental principles and values? I know of at least one such person, and her work in this regard is extremely significant. In […]
Posted inEquality, Gender violence, Health, Lifestyle
We’re all born naked, everything else is (a) drag
By Pierre Brouard When Caitlyn Jenner recently visited the Academy for Young Writers, an LGBTI-friendly school in a working-class New York neighbourhood, she was expecting some flak. In particular, from two youngsters, living non-binary lives, who had been vocal in their criticisms of her. Caitlyn was privileged, they said, had made disparaging remarks about “men […]
Posted inGender violence
Rape, the South African nightmare
By the time I was in matric three of my friends had told me they had been raped. Not by strangers in some dark alley the way I imagined rape happened. They were raped by people who were in their inner circle: friends, acquaintances. When I was in Grade 11 someone I knew was gang […]
Posted inGeneral, Media, Tech
This is not all that Gyna sapiens (‘thinking woman’) is capable of
How the human species – Gyna and Homo sapiens (thinking woman and man), supposedly – have come down in the world. It does not take a genius to grasp this, although I daresay most geniuses would not waste their time with evidence supporting my statement, above; they probably have better things to do. What I’m […]
Posted inLifestyle, Media
The problem with the Rémy Martin man
Mayihlome Tshwete is the face of Rémy Martin. The billboard is plastered arrogantly in Rosebank (you can’t miss it if you’re driving down Bolton Road). The kind of masculinity advertised by the campaign — “You only get one life. Live them” — features young men such as Tshwete as the “product” of the slash generation. […]
Posted inHealth, Lifestyle, Media
Sex is complex: Gender, HIV and Charlie Sheen’s disclosure
By Pierre Brouard So Charlie Sheen is in trouble again — this time because he has been forced to disclose his HIV status to be one step ahead of the tabloids, and to cut off the money supply to extortionists who had him over a barrel. The competing narratives around his disclosure have been fascinating: […]
Posted inEquality
The problem with ‘buying, swapping and selling’ domestic workers
I recently came across an advert about a domestic worker. The advert was a Facebook post written on a group called “Westville buy, swap and sell”. The group is used by a variety of people wanting to get rid of household appliances. I became uncomfortable when a black woman was made part of the list […]
Posted inEquality, Gender violence
We need to change our attitude toward women, not just rape
One of the rapists in the brutal gang rape of a student in Delhi in 2012 has said the victim was to blame for the attack. “A girl is far more responsible for rape than a boy,” Mukesh Singh said in an interview. “A decent girl won’t roam around at 9 o’clock at night … […]
Posted inGeneral
Back to basics
By Nosipho Sokhela The ultimate male was the kind that telegraphed letters confessing his undying love, the kind of man that would open the door, kiss your hand before diving in for the big one. Confident enough to catch your attention yet humble enough to retain it despite his initial success. Time and again I […]