Stories about Citizen Media from January, 2022
Russia rose to second place globally in Twitter content removal requests
Russia came in second place after Japan and accounted for 25 percent of global Twitter takedown requests in January-June 2021. Most requests targeted content that allegedly violated local laws against suicide promotion.
Seed exchange in Colombia promotes traditional knowledge and food sovereignty
Different varieties of potatoes and corn, among other foods, are exchanged to recover ancestral ways of consumption.
To flee or not to flee? That is the question in Sri Lanka
Sri Lankans are facing the bleak prospect of a full-blown economic crisis, and one in four, mainly the young and educated, say they want to leave the country.
Thousands of Nigerians sign petition to reform IELTS
Nigeria a former British colony, has English as the lingua franca and language of instruction in schools. Yet Nigeria is not exempted from writing IELTS, the English proficiency test.
How Assamese Villages use traditional wisdom to guide climate preparedness
For credible early warning systems for natural calamities, villages in the northeast Indian state of Assam rely on the observations of elders based on their traditional experiences and folk beliefs.
The issue of the Jamaican police allegedly cutting a young woman's dreadlocks remains unresolved
"Ms. King is symbolic of the ‘have nots;’ in Jamaica, who continue to be neglected and whose human rights are so often disregarded and abused."
Philippines’s new vaccine mandate decried as punitive and anti-poor
"This measure is punitive. The low vaccination rate should not be blamed on the people especially if supplies are not always available."
Why a writer is on trial for calling Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s son obese
An unapologetic critic of the Museveni government, Kakwenza rose to prominence in April 2020 when he was arrested and detained for a week by Uganda’s Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence.
Belarusian cyberactivists claim railway system hack to protest Russian troop movements
The hacker collective said it would be prepared to hand over encryption keys if 50 Belarusian political prisoners were released and the presence of Russian troops in Belarus was “prevented.”
Mourning the death of the Bengali author and publisher who opened a door to world literature
Qazi Anwar Hussain singlehandedly popularised the mystery-thriller genre in Bengali literature, published translations of world classics and gave the Bengali readership the taste of Western, mystery and classic literature.
Ibex in the Yemeni civilization: a historical symbolism being revived
Numbers of the ibex in Yemen shrank drastically over the past three decades due to over-hunting, especially in Hadhramout and Shabwa, with fears of it going extinct.
Clean sweep for incumbent Mia Mottley in Barbados’ first election as a republic
"Regardless of political affiliation, Prime Minister Mia Mottley has cemented her place in Barbados’ history."
Fans mourn Narayan Debnath, creator of the first Bengali comic-strip superhero
On January 18, 2022, Indian comic artist and illustrator Narayan Debnath passed away at the age of 96 in a hospital in Kolkata after prolonged illness. His fans are mourning on social media.
Tobago ditches ‘colonial’ dress code, waits for its sister isle, Trinidad, to catch up
“To refuse service to anyone for any reason related to dress codes are discriminatory, classist, and rooted in colonialism and segregation.”
‘Rehmat’ or ‘zehmat'? Learning to cope with the trauma from rain in a Pakistani metropolis
In Karachi, where monsoon season often means days without electricity, flooded roads and property damage, is rain truly a "rehmat" (blessing) from nature or a "zehmat" (misery) for city dwellers?
These podcasters are carrying African Languages into the new audio world
When it comes to podcasting language, English is the dominant choice for many African podcasters due to its broad appeal at both a continental and global level
Twitter's deal with Nigerian government sacrifices digital rights
Considering the Nigerian government’s temperamental past, violation of citizens' online freedom of expression will be much easier because Twitter is now a registered and taxable company under Nigerian laws.
Bulli Bai, Sulli Deals cases highlight rising communal misogyny in India
More than a hundred Muslim women in India woke up to find themselves up for auction on an app on the morning of January 1, 2022. It has since been taken down.
Women weavers in Assam weather the pandemic and climate change through community groups
Women across 210 villages in Assam have created a network of self-help groups to promote traditional skills such as weaving and gardening to supplement their family income during the COVID-19 pandemic.
‘I didn't ask for it!': Four women fighting against gender-based violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The spontaneous decision to host a page where women would anonymously share their experiences of sexual assault and harassment has received a response far beyond anything the activists expected.
Typhoon Rai overwhelms the Philippines’ Queen City of the South
A month after Typhoon Rai rampaged through the Philippines, residents of Metro Cebu continue to struggle to overcome the devastation brought by the storm on December 16, 2021.
