September 24, 2023
Africa: Global Approach to Serious Crimes Is Shifting to Domestic Trials - Here's What I Found in Three African Countries
Domestic trials of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes are considered quicker, cheaper and more responsive to victims' needs than the International Criminal Court's… Read more »
September 18, 2023
Africa: Racial Trauma Has Profound Mental Health Consequence - a Black Clinical Psychologist Offers 5 Ways to Heal
Since European expansion into the Americas, white people have demonized Black people and portrayed them as undesirable, violent and hypersexual. Originally, the intent of this… Read more »
September 08, 2023
Zimbabwe: Election Shows How Ruling Party Has Clung to Power
Few were surprised as, near midnight on 26 August, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission announced incumbent president Emmerson Mnangagwa's reelection in yet another of Zimbabwe's… Read more »
August 24, 2023
Africa: For Minorities, Biased AI Algorithms Can Damage Almost Every Part of Life
Bad data does not only produce bad outcomes. It can also help to suppress sections of society, for instance vulnerable women and minorities. Read more »
August 16, 2023
Uganda: World Bank Freezes Loans to Uganda Because of Anti-Gay Laws. but It Doesn't Mean It's Becoming a Human Rights Watchdog
Many people may be tempted to view the World Bank's recent announcement that it will freeze new loans to Uganda because of the country's vicious anti-LGBTIQ+ law as a harbinger of… Read more »
August 08, 2023
Senegal: Internet Shutdowns - Here's How Governments Do It
Senegal's government has shut down internet access in response to protests about the sentencing of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko. This is a tactic governments are increasingly… Read more »
August 06, 2023
Kenya: Living in Nairobi's Informal Areas Spikes Chances of Having High Blood Pressure
Hypertension, commonly referred to as high blood pressure, is a non-communicable disease that occurs when there is a sustained elevation in the pressure of the blood that flows… Read more »
August 03, 2023
Africa: Dismantling the Myth That Ancient Slavery 'Wasn't That Bad'
As someone who researches slavery in the ancient Mediterranean world, especially in the Bible, I often hear remarks like, "Slavery was totally different back then, right?" "Well,… Read more »
July 29, 2023
West Africa: Military Takeover Is a Setback for Democracy and U.S. Interests in West Africa
The West African nation Niger is under military rule following a coup in which President Mohamed Bazoum was overthrown and held captive by members of his own guard. Read more »
July 30, 2023
Zimbabwe: 'Patriotic Act' Erodes Freedoms and May Be a Tool for Repression
The introduction of the controversial "Patriotic Act" in Zimbabwe will contribute to the erosion of political and civil liberties in a country that has been in the grip of one… Read more »
July 17, 2023
Africa: Actors Are Demanding That Hollywood Catch Up With Technological Changes in a Sequel to a 1960 Strike
For the first time since 1960, actors and screenwriters are on strike at the same time. Read more »
July 19, 2023
Africa: Greta Gerwig's Barbie Movie Is a 'Feminist Bimbo' Classic - and No, That's Not an Oxymoron
The following article contains spoilers for Barbie. Read more »
July 16, 2023
Kenya: Queer Theory Offers New Views On Daily Life - Even On Infrastructure Projects in Kenya
I'll confess I've raised quite a few eyebrows when I've told people about my research linking queer theory and infrastructure development. Read more »
Africa: Africa's Groundbreaking Women's Rights Treaty Turns 20 - the Hits and Misses of the Maputo Protocol
2023 marks two decades since the adoption of the Maputo Protocol. The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (the Maputo… Read more »
June 29, 2023
South Africa: National Health Insurance Bill Has Noble Aims but Leaves Too Much Uncertain - It Needs More Work
South Africa's National Health Insurance (NHI) bill has passed the first hurdle towards becoming law, getting the country closer to its vision of achieving universal access to… Read more »
June 22, 2023
Uganda: U.S. Talks Sanctions Against Uganda After a Harsh Anti-Gay Law
Uganda recently signed an anti-gay bill into law. Called by some the "worst of its kind in the world," the law imposes life imprisonment for same-sex relations while using colonial… Read more »
June 21, 2023
South Africa: Bathrooms Are Political - How Gender-Inclusive Toilets Can Combat Indignity and Violence
A new hate crimes bill is inching closer to the possibility of becoming law in South Africa. The bill entrenches human dignity as a foundational value of the country by providing… Read more »
June 20, 2023
Sierra Leone: African Leaders in Sierra Leone Played a Key Role in Ending the Transatlantic Slave Trade
Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone on the west African coast, was named for the freed slaves who were returned to Africa by British members of the movement to end slavery.… Read more »
June 18, 2023
Uganda: Ugandan Church Waged Rebellion Against Tradition - Today's Homophobic Views Are At Odds With History
On 26 May Uganda's president, Yoweri Museveni, assented to the "anti-homosexuality bill" of 2023. The bill's aim is to protect the "cherished culture of the people of Uganda, (and… Read more »
June 13, 2023
Senegal: Senegal's Internet Shutdowns Are Another Sign of a Democracy in Peril
Senegal's government began blocking several digital platforms - including Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram and YouTube - in certain areas on 1 June. Days later, it extended… Read more »
May 31, 2023
Uganda: Anti-Homosexuality Law Is a Patriarchal Backlash Against Progress
Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni assented to the anti-homosexuality bill on 29 May 2023. The new law legislates, among other things, a five-year jail term for "promoting… Read more »
May 02, 2023
Kenya: Supreme Court Ruling On Gay Rights Triggers a New Wave of Anger Against the LGBTIQ+ Community
The Kenyan supreme court recently struck down a government decision to ban the registration of an LGBTIQ+ community rights organisation, sparking new homophobic rhetoric in the… Read more »
April 29, 2023
Uganda: African Psychologists Warn of Its Dangers of Anti-Gay Bill
Mental health professionals from across Africa, including Kenya, Uganda, Cameroon, Nigeria and South Africa, have signed a declaration against conversion practices that are used to… Read more »
April 25, 2023
South Africa: South Africa Is Scrapping Special Work Permits for Zimbabweans - Migrants Will Be Left Exposed
Hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans have flocked to South Africa to escape economic hardship since the 1990s. The South African government has, since 2010, granted the migrants a… Read more »
April 18, 2023
Africa: Europe Outsourcing Asylum to African Countries Is a Terrible Idea - There Are Alternatives
For 40 years, western governments have entertained ideas of outsourcing asylum processing and refugee hosting to the global south. It is not a new idea. And neither are the… Read more »