internet access - The African Mirror

Jul

2021

Internet restored in eSwatini

KIM HARRISBERG NO WhatsApp, Facebook or Twitter. Cases of internet shutdowns in Africa are on the rise. Uganda imposed a blackout in January, Nigeria banned Twitter in June and two weeks ago eSwatini – a tiny landlocked nation in Southern Africa where recent protests against the absolute monarch have turned violent – became the latest country to curtail internet access. Unable to check in on his family and communicate with his clients, consultant and human rights activist Melusi Simelane decided to sue the government for the shutdown. Simelane’s case, the first of its kind in eSwatini, was dropped on Thursday…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

Debt to personal data: Five threats to digital rights in Africa in 2020

NEWS

KIM HARRISBERG and NITA BHALLA FROM internet blackouts to contact tracing apps, digital rights across Africa were spotlighted in 2020 as millions of people were forced online to work, study and socialise amid lockdowns to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus. Rights advocates and research groups raised concerns that measures enacted to curb the spread of the virus allowed governments and hackers to start clamping down on other rights, too. Since 2010, internet access has improved in nearly all 54 African countries, according to the Mo Ibrahim Foundation 2020 report on African governance. But with increased access comes greater…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Tech-savvy women could beat COVID-19 job blues in the Arab world

SCIENCE, TECH AND INNOVATION

BAN BARKAWI AS COVID-19 swells the ranks of unemployed women in the Arab world, surging demand for digital skills could help many of them find work in a region where only one in four women has a job. The pandemic has taken an especially heavy toll on retail, tourism and hospitality jobs traditionally held by women, but experts say those able to retrain could tap into growth areas like digital marketing, e-commerce and online customer support. "This is a tremendous opportunity. These are areas where you can reskill someone relatively quickly," said Jasmine di Florio, senior vice president at Education…