When I heard that pupils at Pretoria Girls’ High School were being subjected to racism and told to suppress their ‘blackness’, I felt a sense of sadness and despair. The young students claimed African hairstyles such as afros, bantu knots, dreadlocks and braids were banned while chemically straighten hair was deemed as acceptable. How can … Continue reading
As a journalist I am constantly reminded of how lucky and blessed my life is, but at time it is very easy to lose perspective. The Women in the World two-day Summit, which took place at Cadogan Hall last Thursday and Friday, was an enlightening dose of reality. By the end I was emotionally drained, … Continue reading
The campaign to end Female Genital Mutilation (FMG) has taken a positive step in the right direction after British Prime Minister David Cameron unveiled new measures to crackdown the practice in England and Wales. Describing it as a “cruel, barbaric practice”, Cameron has ordered ministers to rush through new powers before schools break up next … Continue reading
The play Sense of an Ending, which was recently showing at Theatre503, explored the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide that killed an estimated 800,000 people in three months. The murders were committed along ethnic lines by army, police and a trained militia in the name of a racist ideology known as Hutu Power – extremists sought to slaughter … Continue reading
