THOUGHT LEADERSHIP - The African Mirror

Dec

03

2020

OPINION: Somali women’s inclusion in politics is long overdue

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

HODAN S. ISSE and SAGAL B.H. MUSA THERE is little doubt that women in Somalia have played a significant role in keeping the country afloat through decades of conflict and disaster. They are productive contributors to the economy through their petty trades and small businesses. They are often the sole providers for their families, peace builders in communities and caretakers of both the youth and the elderly. And yet while they have played a prominent role in revitalizing the economy and bringing a sense of stability in their communities, they have also paid a heavy price. Many have been forced…

Dec

03

2020

By The African Mirror

African women are leading community responses to COVID-19 crisis

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

NADIA SITAS and ROSE WAMALWA WHETHER you’re an urban resident living in South Africa’s Cape Town or a Maasai tribesperson in rural Kenya, the COVID-19 crisis has highlighted how women are negatively affected by both the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown. But it has also revealed how women are leading many frontline activities - mobilising grassroots relief efforts, as well as carrying out their existing work - both paid and unpaid. While many of the challenges faced by women and other marginalised groups are not new, the COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated food insecurity, gender-based violence and precarious livelihood opportunities, imposed…

Nov

30

2020

By The African Mirror

Large Africa study makes important breakthrough in HIV prevention

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

WOMEN make up more than half of the people living with HIV around the world. Young women between the ages of 10 and 24 are twice as likely to get HIV as young men in the same age group. In East and Southern Africa young women will acquire HIV on average five to seven years earlier than their male peers. SINEAD DELANY-MORETLWE, Associate Professor and Director: Research at the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute I, University of the Witwatersrand Researchers have been working hard to find effective HIV prevention measures. Most notable is the pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) pill known…

Nov

29

2020

By The African Mirror

Mbeki and Obasanjo: case studies in the use of soft power in Africa’s interests

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

THE concept of soft power has been part of the parlance of international relations for three decades. Soft power actors use non-coercive and persuasive means to achieve their objectives. Attraction rather than force is their preferred language. OLUWASEUN TELLA, Senior Researcher, Institute for the Future of Knowledge, University of Johannesburg The application of soft power remains focused on states because of their primacy in international politics. But, the increasing influence of non-state actors dictates a need to review this approach. Non-state actors on the international stage include international organisations, NGOs, multinational corporations, terrorist groups and individuals. It is against this…

Dec

31

2020

By The African Mirror

Farewell “Mshini Wam”, an orator of note, with a razor sharp mind and a quick rejoinder

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

MATHATHA TSEDU ON April 6, 1991, a guerrilla unit of the Azanian National Liberation Army (Azanla), the armed wing of the then exiled Black Consciousness Movement of Azania (BCMA), was in a house in Mahwelereng township in Limpopo when police and army forces surrounded them. A shootout ensued during which a number of cops were killed. One of the unit members was Thabang Mothlodisi, a Polokwane-based trade unionist who hailed from Maokeng township in Kroonstad, whilst the other was Ronald Mashapu Malatji. Motlhodisi, known as “Cobra”, came out of the surrounded house with a grenade without the pin. A policeman…

Dec

31

2020

By The African Mirror

From Belarus to Bangkok, women took to streets demanding change in 2020

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

BEH LIH YI FROM Belarus to Nigeria to Thailand, women played a prominent role in protest movements this year, driven by increasing frustration over the slow pace of political change and inequalities deepened by COVID-19. Whether seeking an end to authoritarian rule or speaking up about police brutality and abortion restrictions, women took to the streets during headline-grabbing demonstrations that sometimes turned violent. "Women always react when things appear to be going out of control, so they are taking to the streets," said Aysha Renna, 23, a student who organised protests in India against a citizenship law seen by many…

Dec

29

2020

By The African Mirror

Why terrorism continues in Nigeria and how to turn the tide

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

FOR ten years, the Nigerian authorities have engaged the terror group Boko Haram in the northeast without making much headway. After what appeared to be some success in 2015 and 2016, there was a resurgence of Boko Haram violence in 2017. SHERIFF FOLARIN, Professor of International Relations, Covenant University This worsened with the emergence of Islamic State in West Africa and, in more recent times, banditry and kidnap gangs all over the northern Nigeria region. Having studied this crisis over the years as a political scientist, my view is that it is rooted in ethnic, religious and partisan politics and…

Dec

27

2020

By The African Mirror

Bobi Wine has already changed the Ugandan opposition. Can he change the government?

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

JUST three weeks into his official campaign for the Ugandan presidency, Ugandan musician and parliamentarian Robert Kyagulanyi (better known by his stage name Bobi Wine) has already been arrested twice. The first came just minutes after his formal nomination in the capital Kampala. Footage streamed by his party showed police smashing the windows of the stationary vehicle Wine and his associates were occupying. SAM WILKINS, Lecturer, RMIT University RICHARD VOKES, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Western Australia Wine was arrested again while campaigning in Luuka district last week. Protests in a number of Ugandan cities have since broken out…

Dec

23

2020

By The African Mirror

How member states and partners impede the African Union’s quest for financial autonomy

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

THE African Union (AU) has developed ambitious plans for the continent, ranging from security to trade. But when it comes to financing these ambitions the organisation is caught between a rock and a hard place. Since the AU does not have an independent source of income, it either has to affront members for their irregular payments or remain dependent on external partners. FRANK MATTHEIS, Researcher, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) UELI STAEGER, PhD researcher, International Relations/Political Science, Graduate Institute – Institut de hautes études internationales et du développement (IHEID) Financing the AU goes to the heart of its pan-African agenda,…

Dec

22

2020

By The African Mirror

The sun will rise

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

MOSIBUDI MANGENA AS the festive season approaches, the mood among most of us might be as gloomy and dark as a cloudy and moonless midnight. With good reason, our spirits might be down. But we also know that clouds do dissipate and the sun does inevitably come out, lifting our spirits as it shines in the sky. Although the now paused Zondo Commission is good in revealing the state of thievery and malfeasance in the country, the downside is a knock on our confidence in those that are in positions of authority. These processions of wrong-doers squirming in the hallowed…