LIFESTYLE - The African Mirror

Sep

2020

Church, anti-abortion groups seen threatening women’s health bill in Kenya

NITA BHALLA ANTI-ABORTION and church groups in Kenya are spreading false information about a bill to tackle teenage pregnancy and maternal death, women's rights campaigners said on Friday, warning that lawmakers could be influenced and vote against it. The Reproductive Healthcare Bill, which is set to be sent to the Senate for debate in the coming days, includes provisions for sex education in schools, assisted reproduction such as surrogacy, and access to safe abortion services when necessary. "If this legislation is not approved, teenage pregnancies, school dropouts, maternal mortality will all get worse," said Stephanie Musho, a human rights lawyer,…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Remembering Achmat Dangor, the South African novelist who redefined identity

LITERATURE

RONIT FRENKEL, Professor of English, University of Johannesburg IN his 71 years, Achmat Dangor was many things to many people, both in South Africa and across the world. He was a lifelong activist and social justice advocate. He was once banned for his political activities in resistance to apartheid. He was a cultural leader at the centre of the Congress of South African Writers, a tireless development organiser and, for six years, the chief executive of the Nelson Mandela Foundation. For me, he was above all an extraordinary novelist and poet who expanded how I think. I was a graduate…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Beyonce reference cut from Bollywood song after racist lyrics storm

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

ROLI SRIVASTAVA A song from an upcoming Bollywood film has been rewritten after social media users criticised the original lyrics as racist for glorifying fair skin and making an inappropriate reference to Black American pop star Beyonce. The offending lyrics, which translated as 'After looking at you fair woman, Beyonce would feel shy', featured in a song from a film called Khaali Peeli, whose director Maqbool Khan swiftly apologised. "(The) lyric in question was never intended racially," Khan said in a statement on Monday, adding that the film's makers were huge fans of Beyonce and had not meant any disrespect.…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Maxhosa showcases Spring 2021 collection at NYFW

BEAUTY AND FASHION

MPHO RANTAO CELEBRATING ten years in the fashion industry, South African label Maxhosa has showcased its upcoming ready to wear Spring 2021 collection for IMG’s New York Fashion Week (NYFW), via a virtual runway show. Participating in NYFW for a third time, the ‘Missoni of Africa’ brand by Laduma Ngxokolo displayed a vibrant collection with the brand’s signature Xhosa-inspired patterns and beadwork on its knits for the men’s and women’s collection. Titled “God’s work is miraculous”, Maxhosa’s latest collection has pieces which do not only cater to the vibrant cosmopolitan fashion enthusiast, but also to the sporty fashion enthusiast, which…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Pope honours priest slain by immigrant; politician urges vendetta

RELIGION

PHILIP PULLELLA POPE Francis has paid tribute to an Italian priest killed by an immigrant suffering from mental illness, while far-right politician Matteo Salvini called for a "vendetta". Father Roberto Malgesini, 51, who cared for immigrants and other needy people in the northern city of Como, was found dead from a stab wound outside his residence on Tuesday morning. A Tunisian immigrant who police said was mentally ill later turned himself in to authorities. Speaking at the end of his weekly general audience, Francis said Malgesini was killed "by a needy person who he himself was helping, a person who…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Actor John Boyega quits Jo Malone role after cut from Chinese ad

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

BRITISH actor John Boyega has quit his role as a global ambassador for the perfume and candle brand Jo Malone after the Black star was cut from a promotional video in China. The original version of the short film, called "London Gent", followed Boyega spending time with friends and family in his home city of London but he was replaced by Chinese actor Liu Haoran and other Black cast members removed in a reshot version. Boyega, 28, best known for his role as Finn in "Star Wars", said the decision to substitute a local actor for him without his consent…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Cardi B calls it quits with rapper Offset

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

African Mirror Reporter IT looks like the end of the road for American hip-hop couple Cardi B and Offset after two years of marriage. Reports from American tabloid Hollywood Unlocked stated that Cardi B officially filed for divorce from Migos’ rapper on September 15, noting that the divorce petition was filed with the Fulton County Superior Court in Atlanta. The petition also showed documents of Cardi B seeking primary custody of their two-year-old daughter Kulture, and for Offset to pay child support According to Cardi and her legal team in the documents, the team stated that the marriage is “irretrievably…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Top Italian designer takes on racism in fashion

BEAUTY AND FASHION

SOPHIE DAVIES STELLA Jean, the Haitian-Italian designer who has just announced a boycott of Milan Fashion Week, says she has suffered racism all her life. But it was only when the 41-year-old encountered it in Italy's mainly white fashion industry that she realised just how unwilling people were to talk about it. Now Jean, whose brightly-coloured skirts and dresses are worn by celebrities including Beyonce and Rihanna, says she can no longer remain silent in the face of what she sees as a rise in racially-charged incidents in Italian fashion. The former model, a protege of Giorgio Armani and the…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Book reveals new, surprising nuggets about Nelson Mandela’s last years in jail

LITERATURE

GAVIN EVANS TWENTY years ago the South African academic Jan-Ad Stemmet met the apartheid era justice minister Kobie Coetsee, who announced he had transcripts of 13,000 pages of recordings of Nelson Mandela’s time in prison. These transcripts of the anti-apartheid struggle icon contained, he said, “bombs, atom bombs” that would blow everything up. The pair began to discuss a book deal but only two days in the 69-year-old Coetsee died of a heart attack and the moment passed. Then, 14 years on, this trove of documents reemerged in an archive at the University of the Free State, where Stemmet taught…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

South African celebrity falls pregnant

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER SOUTH African celebrity Minnie Dlamini-Jones is pregnant with her first child. Dlamini-Jones made the announcement on Twitter, accompanied by a photograph of her cuddlling her tummy. The announcement was made on the birthday of her husband Quinton. She said: “Starting a family with you, Mr Jones is a dream come true and I couldn’t have chosen a better man to be the father of our child. Happy Birthday my love, we’re having a baby! Best D’day present ever, I know, lol@.” She signed off the announcement with a #BecomingMamaJones. #TheJoneses. The announcement elicited a torrent of well…