South African Men's Liberation from Colonial Naming Values

South African husbands are now legally entitled to adopt their wives’ surnames – a right previously denied under civil registration laws – the country’s Constitutional Court have found, in a ruling described as "historic" in local media. 

In the decision issued on Thursday, Justice Leona Theron (left) found that the prevailing legal framework imposed outdated colonial values and reinforced patriarchal assumptions. 

According the Citizen outlet, Justice Theron stated that the tradition of women taking their husbands’ surnames stems from a “a colonial import rooted in patriarchal norms where women were seen as legally inferior to their husbands and expected to assume their identity”. 

In her decision, Theron noted that the law’s failure to offer men the same right constituted unfair gender-based discrimination. The court suspended the declaration for 24 months, granting Parliament time to amend the legislation or introduce a new framework. 

The court’s judgment followed a legal challenge brought earlier this year by two South African couples: Jana Jordaan and Henry Van Der Merwe, and Jess Donnelly-Bornman and Andreas Nicolas Bornman. 

According to reporting by News24, applicant Henry Van Der Merwe had been entirely blocked from assuming the surname of his wife, Jana Jordaan, despite the couple mutually agreeing on the change prior to their marriage. In a similar case, Andreas Bornman was denied permission by the Department of Home Affairs to hyphenate his surname to include that of his wife, Jess Donnelly. 

There are generally no prohibitions preventing husbands from taking their wives’ surnames across Africa. For example, in Kenya, the law allows any adult to change their name for any reason through a gender-neutral process involving a deed poll. In Nigeria, name changes are also done via deed poll. In Zimbabwe, a notarial deed of change of name and gazette publication is required. 

The exception is North Africa, where countries like Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt do not provide for surname changes through marriage at all, spouses must retain their birth names, and any alteration requires a separate judicial or administrative procedure.

At the $366,000 Egyptian Open in Giza on Saturday, world No. 8 Sivasangari Subramaniam, who received a first-round bye, opened her campaign in the second round against Egypt's world No. 45.   

She beat Nour Heikal 13-11, 11-9, 11-5 in 29 minutes. 

In fact, she's Malaysia’s sole representative to advance to the third round, following the elimination of three other Malaysian players including Rachel Arnold, Aira Azman, and national men’s number one Ng Eain Yow.

Namibia Culls Wildlife for Meat

More than 700 wildlife, including hippos and elephants, are being culled in Namibia’s game parks to provide meat for the country’s hungry, the government announced, as the arid southern African region battles its worst drought in 100 years.

 

“This exercise is necessary and is in line with our constitutional mandate where our natural resources are used for the benefit of Namibian citizens”, a statement on August 26, 2024 from the country’s Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism read.

 

While the said territory is drought-prone, experts say the El Nino weather phenomenon which typically causes higher global temperatures, combined with human-caused climate change, is driving the current worse than usual dry spell. Namibia, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia have declared drought emergencies.

 

And a spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday described the situation in Namibia as a “humanitarian crisis we’ve never spoken much of”.

 

About 84 percent of the country’s food reserves have been exhausted as a result of the drought, the UN said, with nearly half of the 2.5 million population expected to experience high levels of food insecurity during the lean season from July to September.

 

Like its neighbors, Namibia is dependent on agriculture and livestock which need rain to flourish. However, it has recorded several droughts in recent years, affecting food production. Authorities declared drought emergencies three times between 2013 and 2019.

 

The UN said the current drought is contributing to cases of acute malnutrition – and in some cases, death – in children under five.

 

And so, professional hunters and safari operators are being contracted to kill a total of 723 animals, according to Namibian authorities. 

 

The animals identified for culling include 30 hippos (Scientific name: Hippopotamus amphibius), 60 Cape buffalos (Scientific name: Syncerus caffer caffer), 50 impalas (Scientific name: Aepyceros melampus), 100 blue wildebeest (Scientific name: Connochaetes taurinus), 300 zebras (Family: Equidae, genus: Equus), 83 African bush elephants (Scientific name: Loxodonta africana) and 100 elands (Scientific name: Taurotragus oryx). 

 

Already, 56,875 kg of meat from 157 wild animals has been sourced for the government relief program, according to the government statement. 

 

It is not clear which animals have been culled so far and over what period. The culls are taking place in parks and communal areas that authorities believe have “sustainable game numbers” – that is, where the culling will not adversely affect the animal population, and where the animals may already exceed available water and grazing resources.

 

Parks in which culling is being carried out include Namib-Naukluft Park, Mangetti National Park, Bwabwata National Park, Mudumu National Park and Nkasa Rupara National Park.

Omicron Shows Itself

In my post published November 01, I had highlighted a subvariant of Delta labelled AY.4.2 that has been detected in the UK and a few other countries. The good news is that despite its spread, it is not labelled a “variant of concern”. 

But now, another coronavirus variant has emerged.

It was first reported to the WHO from South Africa on November 24, and has already been identified in Botswana, Belgium, China Hong Kong and Israel. 

On Friday, the WHO declared the variant to be "of concern" and named it Omicron. They said the number of cases of this variant, initially named B.1.1.529, appeared to be increasing in almost all of South Africa's provinces. 

The first known confirmed B.1.1.529 infection had been from a specimen collected on November 09 – and the WHO revealed it would take a couple of weeks to understand the impact of Omicron, as scientists worked to determine how transmissible it was. 

Not a few countries are already getting jittery. The European Union and other major destinations, including the United States and Canada, have moved to block flights from southern African countries – Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe – following the discovery of the said variant. 

Believe me, Covid is just a never-ending story.

I also read news that Merck’s experimental Covid pill has shown lower efficacy in an updated study. 

Following the release of a full analysis of trial results, the pharmaceutical company said on Friday the oral drug, molnupiravir, showed a 30 percent reduction in hospitalizations and deaths when compared with a placebo, based on data from more than 1,400 patients. 

Last month, the company said data from 775 patients had showed that reduction was “approximately” 50 percent. I had reported this in my post that was dated October 03, 2021. 

I don't believe Big Pharma. They are not exactly trustworthy. 

Remember how Pfizer brought out its Covid vaccine “at the speed of science”? Now a whistleblower has told the world that speed may have come at the cost of data integrity and patient safety. 

As was reported, Brook Jackson, a regional director employed at the research organization Ventavia Research Group had told The BMJ that the company falsified data, unblinded patients, employed inadequately trained vaccinators, and was slow to follow up on adverse events reported in Pfizer’s pivotal Phase III trial. Not to mention that staff who conducted quality control checks were overwhelmed by the sheer volume of problems they were finding. 

Pfizer's data fraud aside, Merck have speedily filed for a US authorization of the oral antiviral Covid treatment on October 11, following the interim data.

[Interestingly, Pfizer are already developing an oral antiviral drug Paxlovid for Covid-19, which requires patients to take three pills twice a day for five days]. 

Ever the follower, Malaysia has put in an order for molnupiravir that is said to force the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus to mutate itself to death. 

I venture a guess that even with our “high” vaccination rates, it is not giving us the results we are anticipating. Our infections are stubbornly clinging on to four digits – yesterday, that number was 5,501 cases and 45 deaths.

Artist Gives Zim Banknotes Their Worth Again

If anyone doesn’t need reminding that banknotes are just worthless pieces of paper, it is Zimbabweans. 

That's because more than a decade ago, they watched as hyperinflation obliterated their currency and led to the printing of a 100 trillion Zimbabwean dollar note. 

Zim dollars were abandoned in 2009, after inflation caused by unbridled money printing under the late President Robert Mugabe (left) erased everyone’s savings and pushed millions into poverty. 

Not surprisingly, most of these bills ended up in the trash bin.

But Zimbabwean visual artist Prudence Chimutuwah has found value in the unloved old bank notes – by using them to make art. She wants Zimbabweans to look beyond the loathsome history of the inflation – considered by the International Monetary Fund as the worst of any peacetime country – to see something beautiful in the bills. And, in the process, perhaps recover from the trauma of that time.

“A lot of people, when they see the old bank notes, their reaction most of the time (is to) get angry”, said Chimutuwah. “I am trying… for people to see the beauty of these old bank notes. So, when someone looks at this artwork they go like ‘whoa’ and then they forget the pain this thing has caused”.

 

Her paintings capture the daily lives of women, shown dancing, cooking or in bright and elegant dress, with the old Zim dollar notes stuck on with glue to form part of the image. Her figures are mostly blue, which she described as “a symbol of strength and dominance”. 

In one painting, a woman pours a liquid from a calabash, which is made up of pieces of brown 1,000 and 50 billion Zimbabwe dollar notes. In another, a woman wears a mask and blouse made from purple 500 million Zimbabwe dollar notes.

196 Million Cases and Douglas Lim’s “Air Siam vs Covid” Skit

The Covid pandemic continues to take a heavy toll on the world – and already the global caseload has gone up to 196 million and not to mention, 4.2 million people have dead. 

And Zimbabwe and Cyprus are countries #104 and #105 to have joined C100K:

I’ve been diligently reporting on Covid and I’m getting really tired of how Malaysia in particular is tackling the pandemic. Thanks to a bungling government, it is an EPIC FAIL!

#KerajaanBodoh #KerajaanGagal 

In order to keep my sanity, methinks I deserve a laugh or two – and I have Malaysian comedian, Douglas Lim on “Air Siam vs Covid” to thank for this skit:

Akashinga

Oops, I am twelve days late – but never mind. I had wanted to share this short documentary about Akashinga: The Brave Ones. 

National Geographic had released it on August 12, which is World Elephant Day. 

What’s special about it is that this is a real-life story about women’s empowerment. 

The Akashinga is made up of disadvantaged women, many of whom are survivors of domestic abuse or sexual assault. They patrol Zimbabwe’s 115-square-mile Phundundu Wildlife Area, managed by the International Anti-Poaching Foundation and protect not only elephants but other fauna as well. 

Currently, around 85 thousand elephants live in Zimbabwe. The dangers to these animals come not just from poachers directly but also from the cyanide and snare traps they leave behind. 

The Akashinga was founded by former Australian special forces soldier and anti-poaching figure Damien Mander (right) who favors a ‘community buy-in’ approach instead of a full-on armed assault against poachers. In other words, he believes that once a community understands the economic benefits of preserving wildlife, poaching will be eliminated peacefully. 

The IAPF plans to employ one thousand female rangers by 2025 in order to protect 20 nature preserves. The Akashinga program doesn’t just benefit nature, though: it’s also a way for women to rebuild their lives, be empowered, and become leaders of their communities.

 

There is no limit to what women can accomplish.

The Friendship Bench

Image credit: Website https://www.friendshipbenchzimbabwe.org/ 

Image credit: Website http://www.mhinnovation.net/innovations/friendship-bench

A paper on The Friendship Bench project in Zimbabwe, with principal investigator Dr Dixon Chibanda (right), is making waves in some parts of the world. 

Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, this project tackles mental health like never before. 

For those obsessed with the need to grasp with facts and figures, note that there are 573 anxiety and depression patients in total that took part in this study for a period of six months. Half of these patients received treatment from professionals and half of them took part in the Friendship Bench project. After six months, half of those who were treated at the clinic still showed symptoms of depression and only 13% of those who participated in The Friendship Bench program still had symptoms. 

The study was conducted from September 2014 to June 2015 and has since been scaled-up to 72 clinics in the cities of Harare, Gweru and Chitungwiza (total population 1.8 million) with over 27,500 people having accessed treatment.

The Friendship Bench project uses benches as a form of therapy for people who are struggling with mental health and/or emotional problems.

These benches are located on the grounds of medical clinics around Harare and other major cities in Zimbabwe, and each bench (one in each clinic) has a trained community member who counsels people struggling with depression. 

Depression in the local language is called “kufungisisa”.

When a person gets to a point where they cannot take kufungisa (thinking too much in English) anymore – they visit the nearest clinic where a trained lay health worker will sit with the troubled patient in the safe place called the Friendship Bench.

Note: The counsellors intentionally avoid the use of Western terms such as ‘depression’ or 'anxiety' which to many, sound unrelatable.

Opening the Mind ("Kuvhura Pfungwa") refers to the therapeutic process by which, through asking questions, the 'client' is encouraged to open his/her minds to identify his/her problems, choose one to work on, identify a feasible solution, and agree on an action plan guided by the lay health worker.

The concept is simple really. All it takes is to sit on a park bench and share your anxieties and worries with someone from your own community.

I’m sure you can agree that this is a lot easier than approaching a professional in a clinical setting. And the therapist you consult may not even understand (or the better word is “feel”) what you are going through. 

Just because he/she has the so-called specialist training or a degree certificate that shows he/she has a Masters in Clinical Psychology does not mean he/she can help the person(s) suffering from depression. 

Anyway, The Friendship Bench works! 

Four reasons:

• Frequency of the sessions – At these benches, community counselors and patients meet weekly to discuss intimate issues.

• The project is solution-based – “It's all about empowering people to go and solve their own problems".

• The project is communal – There are group therapy sessions where patients gather and sit around the bench and tell others in the group about their own stories and testimonies.

• Local language – The lay health workers speak the local language, Shona, which makes it easy to communicate between the patient and the lay health worker. 

As Dr Melanie Abas, psychiatrist at King's College London and one of the study's co-authors said: "This is really one of the few examples where treatments for common mental health problems have been delivered by people who actually live and work in the community". 

For more information and access to materials, et cetera – please check out the Mental Health Innovation Network (MHIN) website @ http://www.mhinnovation.net/find?search_api_views_fulltext=friendship+bench&sort_by=search_api_relevance_1.

Also this website @ https://www.friendshipbenchzimbabwe.org/.

The Friendship Bench takes a community approach. And it works because it's non-intimidating, it's casual and laid-back, and it's about opening up to somebody who is relatable and more importantly, real.  

The 600-km Journey

The plains zebra, also known as the common zebra or Burchell's zebra (Equus quagga). Image credit: http://www.wildwhispersafrica.com/rwanda/akagera-national-park/

A news story coming out of Africa reported that hundreds to thousands of animals will begin their journey from the Sango Ranch in the Save Valley Conservancy in Zimbabwe to the Zinave National Park in Mozambique – in what is said to be one of the largest mass-movement of animals in the continent to date.

These safari stalwarts will travel 600km (or 370 miles) in an effort to help replenish animal numbers that were devastated during Mozambique's bloody 15-year civil war.

All government approval has reportedly been passed, so the only part left now is the actual task of transferring the animals. The Parks and Wildlife Management Authority of Zimbabwe note that the first batch of animals to be involved include 50 elephants, 50 kudu, 100 giraffes, 200 zebras, 200 buffaloes, 300 wildebeests and 900 impala.

These aren’t the only animals being transferred; thousands more are expected to relocate within the next upcoming years.

PWMA spokesperson Simukai Nyasha said: “For us this relocation is the perfect example how conservation in Africa works”.

Zimbabwe wildlife parks have been relocating animals for years. Although it’s not always in an attempt to replenish an animal species in a given area, it’s sometimes to humanely rid the regions of over-populations of various animals.

The World Taekwondo Federation has changed its name to World Taekwondo after becoming uncomfortable with the “What The Fuck" association.

The name World Taekwondo Federation had been with them since 1973, but they had contemplated a change since the slang abbreviation ‘WTF’ gained currency on social media.

“In the digital age, the acronym of our federation has developed negative connotations unrelated to our organization and so it was important that we rebranded to better engage with our fans,” World Taekwondo president Chungwon Choue said.

World Taekwondo, that's it. No more, WTF!