Articles
A Call from New York to Stand Up for Free Speech and Press Freedom
By Zubeida Jaffer Columbia University’s School of Journalism in New York has made a bold and urgent call to action for all who value the core principles of free speech and a free press. In an unprecedented statement, the school’s entire faculty has urged people across...
A Moment of Presence: On Welcoming Ebrahim Rasool Home
By Aslam Fataar Among those gathered at Cape Town International Airport to welcome Ebrahim Rasool, wife Rosieda and son Tanwir, on their return from the United States—following Ebrahim's sudden designation as persona non grata—was a galvanising sense of...
A Banana a day – What I learnt this Ramadaan.
By Zubeida Jaffer An apple a day keeps the doctor away. We all grew up with this familiar saying. This Ramadan (Islamic month of fasting), I learnt that a banana a day was an equally good idea. Fasting is a time for self-reflection and seeking to consciously become a...
Bokaap, Afriforum and Solidarity: The Call for Cultural Preservation
By Zubeida Jaffer The dusk was still, with not a leaf stirring in the wind. Yet, the streets of Wale and Rose in the Bo-Kaap were alive with energy. People of all ages, races, and faiths, had gathered for a special occasion. They came to break their fast or simply be...
Afriforum and Solidarity continue to draw on a toxic theology 40 years after the adoption of the historic Kairos Document
By McGlory Speckman (Photo by Zubeida Jaffer) As we celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the Kairos Document in September 2025, we must look back at its impact on what it called ‘State Theology’ and how it influenced people’s behaviour. A case in point is the...
A South African Garden in Singapore
Nestled in one of the world’s largest glass greenhouses at Gardens by the Bay in Singapore is a South African garden resplendent with lilies, fynbos and proteas. At the Flower Dome, South Africa joins Italy, Spain, California and Singapore in a shared space presenting...
Muizenberg Beach Trader to Battle City in Court
By Zubeida Jaffer On the shores of Muizenberg beach, a small trader is waging a Herculean battle with the City of Cape Town. After five years of trading, Lucille and Quinton Abrams, owners of the mobile business, The Pancake, were denied a permit and subsequently lost...
An Open Letter to the President of Columbia University
Nelson Mandela once said that the Palestine issue is the greatest moral question ofour time.13 October 2023 Dear President Minouche Shafik, Thank you for your letter addressed to Columbia alumni and friends on 10 October. Iread it carefully, pondered over it and...
Sindiwe’s Gold
Photograph by Ruschka Jaffer “Miners produce tons of rocks to access a small amount of gold. They do not let the rocks distract them – they focus on the gold. They bear no-ill will to the rocks – they never contemplate their non-existence.” These words popped onto my...
Wynberg loses Yousri Hartley
By Zubeida Jaffer The mood is sombre. No smiling faces. Cosy Corner and Sabria's in Wynberg are open for business as usual, but the staff are constrained. The owner of the two establishments passed away this week on Wednesday 8 February, 2023. Yousri Hartley was 57...
Acceptance Speech on receiving Honorary Doctorate at Stellenbosch University 2022
Whereas Ms Zubeida Jaffer has achieved exceptional merit and given proof of eminent gifts of intellect, character and leadership, and in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the South African media industry, her commitment to factual and accurate reporting...
Zubeida Jaffer receives honoris causa degree From Stellenbosch University, Monday 5th December 2022 at 9am
Today I receive a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil), honoris causa degree from the University of Stellenbosch. I am deeply moved by this acknowledgement. May we ALL be acknowledged for the sacrifices we made for this country. To watch the live streaming of the event:...
In Memory of Phindile Xaba on Black Wednesday
Zubeida Jaffer, Shepi Mati, Frank Meintjies and Phindile Xaba South Africa has come a long way from the dark day of October 19, 1977 when the Apartheid regime squeezed the noose tightly around press freedom. Known as Black Wednesday, the day has appropriately become...
DEVELOPING A NEW NATIONAL NARRATIVE FOR SOUTH AFRICA
By Zubeida Jaffer I am an African. I owe my being to the hills and the valleys, the mountains and the glades, the rivers, the deserts, the trees, the flowers, the seas and the ever-changing seasons that define the face of our native land. My body has frozen in our...
Banning of RT, a Dangerous Moment.
By Zubeida Jaffer The extensive banning of the international news channel Russia Today (RT) in the world represents a dangerous moment for journalism. It pushes back the commitment to freedom of expression that many have sacrificed much for. Journalists across the...
A Great Man Buried in Simplicity
Archbishop Desmond Tutu led by example in both his life and death. His central message upon death was twofold: live simply so others may simply live and embrace all religious faiths. Lying peacefully in his coffin, he wore a plain white robe, black socks, perfectly...
The Importance of Strengthening Systems and Institutions
South African institutions are limping. Nobody will dispute that the country faces huge challenges. Covid-19 has laid bare the fault lines in our society. The provision of jobs and the creation of a fair social system will not be possible if institutions are not...
Resting in his Shade – A Tribute to Archbishop Desmond Tutu
My heart breaks today with the news that a great tree has fallen. Our dearest Arch Tutu has left us. He waited to bless us with his presence for the last Christmas and then he passed onto the other world, gracious and free. He has been with us every step of the way...
De Klerk poorly advised
By Zubeida Jaffer In his last days, Mr F W De Klerk appears to have been poorly advised by those around him. His statement has disturbed the psyche of our nation. Instead of bringing closure, it has unleashed memories that are difficult to process. It required a...
Finding Strength By Zubeida Jaffer
Friday 27 August 2021 Charles Dickens said in 1859: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the...
A Reflection on Women’s Day 2021
We have walked such a long road to secure a just and fair South Africa where women can stand confidently alongside men as equal partners. Today, on Women’s Day, we salute those who have gone the extra mile in the past and are doing so in the present so that our boys...
A visit to Lumkile’s Book Joint in Gugulethu on Mandela Day 2021
By Zubeida Jaffer It was an Alice-in-Wonderland experience. The car glided through the streets of Gugulethu on Mandela Day until it reached NY 22. It stopped in front of the home of Lumkile Mzukwa outside a gate that closed off a driveway with a garage behind it....
A woman ahead of her time: The Lesseyton moment
By Zubeida Jaffer Charlotte Mannya Maxeke took the unusual step in 1902 to insist on the participation of women in church and political meetings. She had graduated with a BSc Degree in 1901 becoming the first indigenous South African women to achieve this. When she...
Can Pursuing Happiness, as the Founders Defined It, Bring the United States Together?
No government can guarantee our happiness. That depends on our own efforts and luck. But government can make it harder or easier to attain happiness.
The AstraZeneca vaccine and our ongoing uncertainty problem
This is far from the first time that the AstraZeneca vaccine—and media reporting about it—has caused confusion.
Goldman Sachs caught for massive global bribe-paying
By Frank Vogel* In an extraordinary act, Goldman Sachs — a leading U.S.-headquartered global bank — publicly declared not only that it accepts responsibility for engaging in massive global bribe-paying, but that it will also take the unprecedented step of cutting...
Tiny ripples can lead to tsunamis of change
By Ashley Forbes Death seems everywhere, as does suffering and despair. I recently visited an old comrade, a respected activist who feels isolated and severely depressed, grieves the loss of family and close friends who due to COVID19 have recently passed, and like...
In Response to the President: Reflections of a Freedom Fighter
By Ashley Forbes President Cyril Ramaphosa’s most recent intervention, though welcome, is not proportionate to the gravity of our situation. (President Cyril Ramaphosa’s letter to ANC members about corruption). In 1994 our people trusted their leaders to restore land...
Israeli lobbyists distort Mandela legacy
By Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela “Where is the Palestinian Mandela?” is a question I have often heard from Israel’s defenders. What they are really asking is where is the Palestinian equivalent of Nelson Mandela – a man who, they believe, offered only olive branches...
Historian Masilela dies in Thailand
By Zubeida Jaffer Internationally renowned South African intellectual historian and Marxist scholar, Professor Ntongela Masilela passed away in Thailand recently after a long illness. He was 72 years old. He will be remembered for his formidable collection of works...