George Ogola, University of Central Lancashire Africa buried two of its journalists in 2018. One was killed in Somalia and the other in the Central African Republic. According to a report by the Committee to Protect Journalists, 54 journalists were killed around the world in that same year. And in January Ahmed Hussein-Suale Divela, a Ghanaian investigative reporter, became the first African journalist to lose his life in 2019. He was gunned down by two men on a motorcycle in the Ghanaian capital, Accra. Divela was part of a team of journalists – including the well-known undercover reporter Anas Aremeyaw…
Author: Pride Team
Viren Swami, Anglia Ruskin University If you were brought up on a diet of Disney fairy tales, you might be forgiven for thinking that opposites attract. Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, and The Little Mermaid all perpetuate the idea that the ideal partner is someone who has the opposite qualities to ourselves. But it’s not just Disney: the idea that opposites attract has completely saturated the film industry – think of the neurotic comedian who falls for the free-spirited singer in Woody Allen’s Annie Hall, for example. In fact, one study found that almost 80% of us believe in the…
My Darling Daughter, I wish I could tell you that life’s journey will always be smooth sailing. Truth be told, it is not, it has never been and it will never be. That’s why you must gird your lions at an early age and determine for yourself that as you journey through life – its unexpected twists and turns, successes and failures, joys and pains – you will keep on moving and never give up on life and living. Yes, some of the situations you will encounter in life will prove intricate, confusing, and painful sometimes. That is life my…
Stephen Onyeiwu, Allegheny College One of the main reasons newly-elected Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari had been widely expected to lose his bid for a second term was the poor state of the country’s economy. Under his presidency, Nigeria’s unemployment rate more than doubled, from 10.4% in January 2016 to 23.1% in July 2018 In his first four years, Buhari also failed to address poverty. Under his watch, Nigeria overtook India as the country with the largest number of people living in extreme poverty. About 87 million Nigerians, or half the population, live on less than US$1.90 per day. And economic…
Dear Dorothy, I’m heartbroken and confused. My wife and I have been married for 18 years and we have three kids. Last week while my wife was away visiting her parents, I stumbled on her private journal, which she has kept over the years. I have never bothered to know what she writes in her journal but that day, curiosity got the better of me and I sat down to flick through it. I wish I had not. In one of her entries, she said she missed not marrying her first love, the man she lost her virginity to. She…
Bertie Vidgen, University of Oxford The deadly attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in which 50 people were killed and many others critically injured, was streamed live on Facebook by the man accused of carrying it out. It was then quickly shared across social media platforms. Versions of the livestream attack video stayed online for a worrying amount of time. A report by the Guardian found that one video stayed on Facebook for six hours and another on YouTube for three. For many, the quick and seemingly unstoppable spread of this video typifies everything that is wrong with…
Nox Makunga, Stellenbosch University Children’s ideas about what their gender means for their intellectual capacity are formed before they have even turned six. One idea that’s particularly pervasive and dangerous is that, only boys are good at maths and science. Popular media only exacerbates the problem. Research has shown that girls hardly ever see adult women doing jobs that involve science, technology, engineering and maths on television programmes. Children’s programmes also rarely feature women doing anything scientific. These early stereotypes may lead to young girls developing a “fear” of these subjects throughout their schooling. This ultimately limits their career aspirations.…
Ruthellen Josselson, Fielding Graduate University The individual story told in the former first lady’s bestselling memoir is emblematic of the best-case version of women’s development and fulfillment. Penguin Random House Michelle Obama’s “Becoming” can be read in many ways: as a political memoir, as a story of being black and aspiring in America or as a Cinderella story that transports an ambitious black girl from a 900-square-foot apartment to a home with “132 rooms, 35 bathrooms and 28 fireplaces spread out over six floors, and a staff of ushers, florists, housekeepers, butlers and attendants for her every need.” As a…
Claire Smith, Flinders University and Jordan Ralph, Flinders University The destruction of Notre Dame cathedral is lamentable. A wonderful icon has been largely destroyed by fire. However, we should not despair. Part of the reason this loss is so upsetting is because we are immersed in a Western way of thinking that equates authenticity with preserving the original materials used to create an object or building. But not all societies think like this. Some have quite different notions of what is authentic. Iconic buildings such as the Catherine Palace in Russia and Japan’s historic monuments of Ancient Nara have been…
Holy Humour Enough for one Martin arrived at Sunday school late. Miss Walter, his teacher, knew that Martin was usually very punctual so she asked him if anything was wrong. Martin replied no, that he had been going fishing but his dad told him that he needed to go to church. Miss Walter was very impressed and asked the lad if his dad had explained to him why it was more important to go to church than to go fishing? Martin replied, ‘Yes he did. Dad said he didn’t have enough bait for both of us.’ Sunday Quote I…