This week in the African women's blogsphere

Feeling like ‘…woman standing at the edge of belonging, watching as male speaks to male, white speaks to white’, Keeper of her thoughts describes how it feels to work in a faith-based donor organisation largely led by white men.

In response to the recent violence in Kisumu, prousette takes issue with the current leaders in this part of Kenya who have failed in developing an area that has ’some of the best brains in the country’.

November 10 will be the 10th anniversary of the extra-judicial execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa, Nigerian author, author, television producer and environmental activist who was campaigning for the rights of the Niger Delta people. Black Looks writes about a report published by Amnesty International that states the cause Saro-Wiwa died for remains as relevant as ever.

Bronwyn also writes about the report and says, ‘As long as the oil keeps pumping, to hell with human rights and the environment.’

Mymmoh writes about the indignities faced by African students in the US when asked questions such as whether ‘you learnt English on the plane’ or when statements are made such as ‘you speak good English’ and wonders who is worse – the people who ask such questions or the ones who assume they know and thus make ignorant statements.

In an overhead conversation, Nyakehu hears two men maliciously and viciously gossip about a woman and thinks the vitriol is just a case of sour grapes.

Wangari illustrates the complications in finding a place to live in London. ’Not only had I lost money, I had nowhere to live and I had to vacate my flat in a week’, she writes, while describing last week’s events when she thought she had been conned by a landlord.

Finally, in a week where one has been greatly troubled by the continuing rioting in France, Black Looks writes an eye-opening and excellent account of the riots and related issues and says

“People and especially young people who are constantly and incessantly faced with racism and marginalistion in their daily lives whether on the streets of the US, Europe, Palestine, apartheid South Africa, or Bolivia will eventually take to the streets. The riots are the outcome of a culmination of experiences and incidents over a period of time, they are not simply happening in a vacuum of nothingness. France will have to face the reality of this otherwise it and Europe will sink into further violence as communities become even more polarised”.

Start the conversation

Authors, please log in »

Guidelines

  • All comments are reviewed by a moderator. Do not submit your comment more than once or it may be identified as spam.
  • Please treat others with respect. Comments containing hate speech, obscenity, and personal attacks will not be approved.