Africa

In mid-September, the European Union (EU) Parliamentary resolution called on the international community to stop the construction of the controversial the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) in East Africa. This has been preceded by years of civil society resistance. Too much is at stake for nature and people.

In the months of July and August, Senegal and Kenya will hold their general elections. However, the big question remains: Where do Senegalese and Kenyan women stand on their quest to parliamentary mandates and political offices?

From an African perspective, the G7  Leaders' Summit must focus on the immediate and urgent need to end the war in Ukraine, but the G7 must also address the unfolding multi-crises from Cape Town to Cairo.

The travel restrictions imposed by the European Union on people traveling from southern Africa after the discovery of the Omicron variant, will potentially have a long-term impact on the EU-AU relations.

The internet increasingly enables people in Senegal to express their opinions and be part of democracy – this has become clear in digital initiatives such as Sunu 2012 or #FreeSenegal. Senegalese activist Cheikh Fall explains in an interview how important (pan-African) networking is in this context.

In the face of political oppression and persecution, the digital space offers many people in Zimbabwe the only lasting opportunity to exchange ideas and organise. We spoke with Fungai Machirori about the potentials and shortcomings of the internet, feminist digital activism in Zimbabwe, and the hopes placed in each new generation.

The internet can open up spaces for marginalised groups to strengthen their identities, exchange ideas, form communities, and organise themselves. In Nigeria, however, freedom of communication and information is increasingly being restricted. We spoke with queer security expert Azeenarh Mohammed about LGBTIQ rights, risk profiles, and the Twitter blackout.

Most of food production in Africa is shouldered by small scale farmers and the majority of farmers are women. Alarmed by the effects of climate change on her family’s farm Ayakha Melithafa from South Africa’s Western Cape joined an environmental school club and engages now in a national and an international youth movements for climate justice.

The climate crisis is the result of relations of power and exploitation, between the Global North and the Global South as well as between people and nature. A decolonial approach in climate activism stands for a radical break with colonial principles of economic, political and social systems – including industrial agriculture and landgrabbing. A conversation with Ruth Nyambura, climate activist from Kenya. 

For centuries, resources have been extracted from the African continent without adequate payment or compensation. With colonialism, Khoikhoi and San, the first inhabitants of Southern Africa, lost their land and many lost their lives. During decades of Apartheid they were racially discriminated and still have to fight for political and economic inclusion in the post-Apartheid era. We spoke to the Khoikhoi lawyer Lesle Jansen about her fight for the community and for the legal acknowledgement of the cultural heritage of Indigenous people.