SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS - The African Mirror

Oct

21

2025

Rural women farmers in South Africa: how global promises aren’t translating into support on the ground

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

IT is well documented that women small-scale farmers are hard done by in an environment where they farm without security of tenure, which inhibits their ability to raise finance with which to grow their businesses. Recent research adds another dimension to the challenges facing women small-scale farmers. Rural entrepreneurship researchers Sive Zintle Mbangiswano and Zamagebe Siphokazi Vuthela, with independent researcher and their mentor, Dr Elona Ndlovu, have found that even well-intentioned farming projects can leave women behind if they aren’t structured specifically to accommodate women In their study of a citrus fruit project - a public-private partnership in the Eastern…

Oct

18

2025

By CELESTINA ATOM

Nigeria’s Boko Haram rehabilitation efforts ignore the emotional trauma of soldiers: why this matters

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

SINCE 2009, Boko Haram has waged one of the deadliest insurgencies in Africa. Concentrated in north-east Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin, the group has killed more than 35,000 people and displaced at least 2.5 million. Its attacks on schools, markets, religious centres, and entire villages have torn at the fabric of Nigerian society, creating not only a humanitarian emergency but also a profound crisis of trust and cohesion. In 2016, Nigeria launched Operation Safe Corridor, a state-run initiative for low-risk former Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province members who have surrendered or been captured. The programme involves…

Oct

17

2025

By NYASHA KARIMAKWENDA

Rape within marriage is still silenced in South Africa – why women are being failed

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

SEXUAL violence in marriages is a very real issue in South Africa, but remains shrouded in silence and denial. It’s a subject that Nyasha Karimakwenda has researched for many years in various forms, from traditional practices to court judgments. We asked her to outline the issues. What is marital rape, and why should we pay more attention to it? Though marriage rates in southern Africa have decreased over the past decades, marriage is still considered to be an ideal social tool for formalising relationships and building families. But it’s also an environment where spouses can be exposed to different kinds…

Oct

15

2025

By OLASUNKANMI HABEEB OKUNOLA

How disaster-ready are African countries? Study of 5 shows some progress, but also huge gaps

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

WHEN we hear the word “disaster” we often think of floods, droughts or earthquakes – events caused by nature. But what really turns these events into disasters is how prepared we are to deal with them. A flood becomes a disaster when people do not have safe housing, early warnings or emergency support. In other words, disasters often show us what’s missing in our preparation. Yet, with climate extremes becoming more frequent and communities under growing pressure, countries do not have the luxury of time when it comes to disaster planning. I’ve been researching disaster risk governance for over a…

Oct

11

2025

By RASHID SEEDAT

Gauteng’s ‘Coloured’ community feels unsafe: who they are and why they’re discouraged

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE “Coloured” community in Gauteng, South Africa’s economic heartland, continues to face barriers to full economic and social inclusion. Despite progress in post-apartheid South Africa, this historically oppressed community continues to experience significant socio-economic challenges. The term “Coloured” is initially placed in quotation marks to acknowledge its contested nature. Historically, the formation of Coloured identity in South Africa emerged from a complex colonial encounter involving Dutch and British settlers, slaves from South and East Asia and East Africa, and the indigenous Khoi and San peoples. This produced a distinct, mixed group that did not neatly fit into colonial racial categories.…

Oct

10

2025

By CHRISTINA CULWICK FATTI; CHARLOTTE LEMANSKI; FIONA ANCIANO, and MARGOT RUBIN

South Africans are going off the service grid: what happens when citizens replace the state?

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

SOUTH Africa’s constitution promises all citizens access to adequate housing and basic services – water, security, sanitation and electricity. In practice, people from rich to poor experience persistent water cuts, sewage overflows, electricity blackouts and uneven policing. Fiona Anciano, Charlotte Lemanski, Christina Culwick Fatti and Margot Rubin are urban researchers who investigated how and why households in South Africa are going off-grid in almost every way. They speak to The Conversation Africa about the long-term problems that could result from people being compelled to provide their own basic services. How has service delivery failed in South Africa? For low-income households,…

Oct

09

2025

By SAHEED BABAJIDE OWONIKOKO

Boko Haram on the rise again in Nigeria: how it’s survived and how to weaken it

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

ABUBAKAR Shekau, the erstwhile leader of the terrorist group Jama'at Ahl al-Sunna li al-Da'wa wa al-Jihad (JAS), died in 2021. The West African group, also known as Boko Haram, then fell into obscurity while its breakaway faction, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), steadily rose. Early 2025 saw Boko Haram resurging in the Lake Chad region, however, with attacks in Nigeria and Cameroon. Lake Chad is in west-central Africa, in the Sahelian zone. It is located at the conjunction of Chad, Cameroon, Nigeria and Niger. As a security studies scholar tracking Boko Haram, I discuss reasons for this resurgence, its…

Oct

08

2025

By MIRA

The M23 takeover, part 2: Congolese describe domination and defiance in south Lubero

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

“DO you love us?” asked the rebel leader, standing before a group of young congregants during a confirmation mass in a village in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. “No!” the youth shouted back in unison. Surprised by their response, the rebel leader left the room to fume with his troops waiting outside. A stunned parish priest, meanwhile, leaned over and gave his congregants a word of advice: In an area where rebels punish dissent, sometimes it can be better to bite your lip, he said. His caution may have been warranted: In the weeks that followed, the rebels tried…

Oct

04

2025

By KINSAL DIYA

The M23 takeover, part 1: In DR Congo’s Walikale, forced labour and fears of arrest

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE able-bodied are summoned every week to build military camps. Community leaders are given commands under threat of violence. Criminals are carted away, and few ever return. Though the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group seized parts of Walikale territory only a few months ago, residents of this corner of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo say their lives have been transformed. “They are here, and we have no choice but to live with them,” said a local resident. “They sow terror so that they will be listened to." Walikale is one of several territories the M23 has been fighting over during…

Oct

01

2025

By SIBONOKUHLE NDLOVU

What is ableism? Words can hurt people but African culture offers an alternative

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

“YOU speak good English for a Black person.” “Why are the plates not washed when there is a woman in this house?” “Can I touch your hair?” These are some common microaggressions you might have heard before, especially if you’re a Black woman. Microaggressions can be projected to Black people because they are expected to speak perfect English when it’s not even their language. Or because what’s natural hair to them seems exotic to someone from another culture. They can be projected because of sexism that says women in African cultures belong in the kitchen. What are microaggressions? Microaggressions are…