LIFESTYLE - The African Mirror

Jun

14

2023

My Mogadishu: This photographer’s work is creating a dazzling visual language of Somalia

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

IT is a Thursday afternoon at Lido Beach in Mogadishu and a group of young boys are playing football on the white sands, while fishermen sort out their boats, women vendors sell drinks and snacks and the air is filled with laughter and joyful conversation as the city residents run or stroll along the beach against the beautiful backdrop of a sparkling Indian ocean. Mamadou Omar trains his camera on the scene in order to capture these simple moments of everyday life in Mogadishu. He will post them on his Twitter and Instagram accounts along with the rest of his…

Jun

13

2023

By The African Mirror

Animal Farm has been translated into Shona – why a group of Zimbabwean writers undertook the task

LITERATURE

SINCE independence in 1980, Zimbabwe has in some ways become like Animal Farm. Like the pigs in the classic 1945 novel by English writer George Orwell, the country’s post-liberation leaders have hijacked a revolution that was once rooted in righteous outrage. In Zimbabwe, the revolution was against colonialism and its practices of extraction and exploitation. Author TINASHE MUSHAKAVANHU, Junior Research Fellow, University of Oxford The lead characters in Animal Farm have the propensity for evil and the greed for power found in despots throughout history, including former Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe. Zimbabwe’s leaders have also acted for personal gain. They…

Jun

13

2023

By The African Mirror

Sex, money and love: what South African university students say about romance and dating in a material age

LIFESTYLE

TRANSACTIONAL sex – the exchange of consensual sex for material support like gifts, money or food – occurs on university campuses in many parts of the world. South Africa is no exception. Some scholars have highlighted the importance of understanding transactional sexual relationships beyond seeing it only (or mostly) as a way for young women to mitigate poverty, or because they want to enjoy the advantages of what is perceived as an elite and glamorous lifestyle. It’s more complicated than that. Author PULENG SEGALO, Chief Albert Luthuli Research Chair, University of South Africa We came together as a trio of…

Jun

09

2023

By The African Mirror

Ama Ata Aidoo: the pioneering writer from Ghana left behind a string of feminist classics

LITERATURE

PROLIFIC author and former Ghanaian education minister Ama Ata Aidoo passed away on 31 May 2023 at the age of 81. News of her death reverberated around the world, proof of her towering influence in literary, feminist and political spaces. Aidoo was Ghana’s foremost woman writer and her distinguished career spanned several decades. Her literary contribution places her among the first generation of African women writers of the post-independence era. After independence in Ghana in 1957 she became a leading feminist voice within postcolonial writing. Author ROSE A. SACKEYFIO, Associate Professor of English and Liberal Studies, Winston-Salem State University For…

Jun

08

2023

By PATRICK NELLE FOR BIRD STORY AGENCY

Were Ancient Egyptians Black or White? Netflix’s Queen Cleopatra has revived a century-old controversy

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

"I announce on this day to the media that Cleopatra was not black. Cleopatra was Greek, similar to the queens and princesses of Macedonia. If we look at the scenes in the Egyptian temples, we can see that the pharaohs are depicted and in front of them were Nubian, Libyan, and Asian captives, the king is always completely different from all of them. I am not against black people at all, but here I am just listing the evidence that Cleopatra was not black," renowned Egyptian archaeologist and former Minister of Antiques, Zahi Hawass, wrote on his Facebook page after…

Jun

07

2023

By The African Mirror

Ethiopia’s musicians fled the country after the 1974 revolution – how their culture lives on

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

THE overthrow of Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie in 1974 led to violent conflict that had a particularly heavy impact on musicians. Sing and Sing On: Sentinel Musicians and the Making of the Ethiopian American Diaspora is the first study of the forced migration of musicians out of the Horn of Africa dating from the revolution. The book traces their struggles and what happened to their rich and diverse music traditions when they settled in the US. Ethnomusicologist Kay Kaufman Shelemay talks about her book. Author KAY KAUFMAN SHELEMAY, G. Gordon Watts Professor of Music and Professor of African and African…

Jun

06

2023

By GABRIELLA OPARA, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Taking Nollywood to the next level with Aki and Pawpaw

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

IN 2002, Nigeria's film industry - widely referred to as Nollywood - presented Africa with a comic relief movie called Aki na Ukwa. The film stars Chinedu Ikedieze and Osita Iheme as two mischievous brothers (Aki and Pawpaw) who cause chaos at home, in their village, and at school. It is widely considered one of the funniest films to come out of Africa. It has been over twenty years since the much-loved characters first appeared on screen but now they are making a comeback in the form of a mobile phone game. On April 28, 2023, Play Network Studios announced…

Jun

03

2023

By MELISSA WANJIRU-MWITA

Kenya at 60: how the British used street names to show colonial power

LIFESTYLE

PLACE names, along with other urban symbols, were used as a tool of control over space in many African countries during the colonial period. This strategy was epitomised by the British, who applied it in Nairobi and other parts of Kenya from the late 1800s. Very few African names were used on the urban landscape. This was a strategy to actively alienate the native Africans, who had little or no say in the city’s affairs. Spatially, colonial street names dominated the central part of the city, while African names were used mainly in the peripheral residential neighbourhoods. Author MELISSA WANJIRU-MWITA,…

Jun

03

2023

By ROGER SOUTHALL

Harry Oppenheimer biography shows the South African mining magnate’s hand in economic policies

LITERATURE

IN Harry Oppenheimer: Diamonds, Gold and Dynasty, his outstanding biography of the South African mining magnate who died in 2000, Michael Cardo shows that there is still mileage to be made in the study of dead white males who played a role in the making of South Africa. Based on a remarkable depth of research, it is written in an elegant style which makes for a delightfully easy read. Author ROGER SOUTHALL, Professor of Sociology, University of the Witwatersrand It is rendered the more impressive by the author’s deep conversance with the debates over the relationships between mining capital, Afrikaner…

Jun

01

2023

By ANGE KUMASI, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Côte d’Ivoire: Cosmetic queen strikes gold

BEAUTY AND FASHION

27-YEAR-OLD Mouahié Kouassi is in a hurry to get to her cosmetics store in the upmarket suburb of Cocody in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. She needs to urgently take stock of her inventory and review the sales from the previous week, as she's worried about a possible delay in stock deliveries. "Our production plant is undergoing renovation, and we have taken all necessary measures to ensure our products are still available in our commercial spaces. But I still need to confirm that we have enough remaining stock to fulfil client orders," she explains. Kouassi, who holds degrees in biological engineering and…