Twentieth-century political thinker and fighter against colonialism and imperialism, Frantz Fanon, left an indelible mark on history.
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Leo Zeilig, School of Advanced Study, University of London
For the revolutionary Frantz Fanon it was not enough to celebrate the achievements of decolonisation. It was necessary to educate, to strain at the limits of national freedom and to provoke debate.
There are very few spaces in which girls can discuss menstruation or ask questions about it.
Reuters/Zohra Bensemra
Menstruation is a fact of life – but in many parts of Africa, it’s something that young women dread. A South African research group is working to change this.
Mobile phones have many benefits. But they can also interrupt classes and distract pupils.
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Researchers and policymakers need to talk to each other. If they don’t, important research will merely gather dust and policies might do more harm than good.
So much more can be achieved if African researchers work together.
EPA/DANIEL IRUNGU
There are a number of stumbling blocks to intra African collaboration. These must be addressed to ensure that research is not duplicated and that findings are shared.
Burkina Faso is among the African countries that have experienced popular protests in recent years.
Ahmed Yempabou/EPA
Grassroots protesters are questioning the logic of export-led ‘growth’ and renewed fiscal austerity pushed through the ‘Africa rising’ narrative. They want policies that meet their basic needs.
Apartheid sought to divide blacks and whites in all spheres of life.
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South Africa’s Constitution enjoins government to act “reasonably” in ensuring that basic socioeconomic rights are progressively realised. But the government has limited resources.
Zimbabwean migrants’ journey to South Africa is fraught with danger. But the emptiness of life in their country makes it imperative to risk life and limb to seek a better life across the river.
The closure of bank accounts of companies in South Africa associated with the Gupta family in the country has raised questions.
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Through developing their technological skills, South Africa’s local municipalities can increase their capacity to compete with markets in neighbouring countries.
Ethiopians reading newspapers in the capital Addis Ababa. The country’s media is among the most repressed on the continent.
Reuters/Tiksa Negeri
Press freedom has changed little in the past decade. If the African Union is to commit to the principles of democracy, it needs to do more to uphold freedom of expression and protects its journalists.
Crowds cheer as Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe arrives to address the country’s Independence Day celebrations in Harare.
Reuters/Philimon Bulawayo
Namibia’s new elite has used “affirmative action” for self-enrichment, while the majority of the population remains excluded from its the wealth. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe’s socio-economic woes continue.
The South African rand is the 18th most traded currency in the world.
Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko
A violent attack on a female student at one of South Africa’s prominent universities was not an isolated incident. It told a universal tale of how patriarchy still rules.
Investment in science and innovation is needed to help build Africa.
Kate Holt/Africa Practice/Flickr
Successful economies are led by innovation and driven by knowledge. For Africa to advance, it needs to make more substantial investments in its research and development sector.
Sathima Bea Benjamin was seldom recognised during her lifetime as a performer.
Ian Bruce Huntley
Robin Kelley, University of California, Los Angeles
It took ages for one of African jazz’s hidden masterpieces to be reissued. Still today, four decades later, 1976’s ‘African Songbird’ tells volumes about the politics of the time.
Dean Faculty of Health Sciences and Professor of Vaccinology at University of the Witwatersrand; and Director of the SAMRC Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit, University of the Witwatersrand