Articles
Charlotte Maxeke, ‘Mother of Black Freedom’
In segregated South Africa, Charlotte Mannya Maxeke dedicated her life to the struggle for women’s rights and education for all. Her pioneering role is only now being rediscovered and more widely reported once again.
Mosques need to take up the issue of violence against women
On 9 August 2018, National Women's Day, Zubeida Jaffer spoke to Tashreeq Truebody of Radio 786 about her life as a woman who had lived through the "belly of the beast" that was Apartheid. Jaffer said the levels of violence against women in today's society is "very...
Bongani Mayosi: SA top cardiologist found new heart attack gene
Professor Bongani Mayosi, the Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Cape Town was suffering from depression and took his own life on Friday 27 July 2018.
Boys in a Thai Cave: The Positive Power of Globalism
The events near Chang Rai powerfully underscore that a “global community” very much exists – and that it can have very positive effects on the lives and well-being of people.
Open letter to Zenani and Zindzi Mandela
Veteran journalist, Zubeida Jaffer, writes an open letter to Zindzi and Zenani Mandela on healing, following the passing of their mother, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, the late stalwart being robbed of her legacy during her life and Stratcom unleashing a campaign which would succeed in driving a wedge between herself and other leaders.
Charlotte Maxeke’s Speech
The Native Christian Mother (By. Mrs. Maxeke) Mr Chairman and Christian friends, it is certainly a great pleasure to be in a gathering of this kind, a gathering where Christian men and women are collected to study as to how the Gospel of Christ should be spread...
Winnie: Unbreakable but not unscarred
Winnie, brave and beautiful, is no more. She was unbreakable through the toughest of times. She led the fight for full rights for all of us in the country of our birth. She was unbreakable but not unscarred.
Let’s choose a path where all can prosper
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela was probably one of the world’s most well know freedom fighters, who tirelessly campaigned for an end to apartheid injustice. Award winning journalist Zubeida Jaffer argues that it’s time for all of us to pick up the baton left by stalwarts like Winnie and to fight as she did for a South Africa which benefits all.
Open Letter To Cyril Ramaphosa
I would like you to seek assistance to change the narrative that gives local business the right to hoard their resources at the expense of the public. They cannot expect you and your team to encourage foreign investment while they hoard resources that all of us have helped them create.
SOWETO: A Festival of Ideas once again?
Soweto is associated locally and across the world with resistance against apartheid. It was here that the youth rose up against the imposition of Afrikaans in their schools in 1976 and gave impetus to a protracted battle against apartheid leading to a democratic South Africa in 1994. Fast forward to 7-10 December 2017, when scores of young people packed the Eyethu Lifestyle Centre in Soweto for the ABANTU BOOK FESTIVAL while just 13 kilometres away, preparations were underway for the ANC’s 54th National Congress, to be held at the Nasrec Centre in Soweto from 16 to 20 December.
The Jakes that we Loved
By Albie Sachs Former justice of the Constitutional Court ALBIE SACHS reflects on the life of Jakes Gerwel, a contrarian who welcomed critiques of his own leadership What to do about my Mozambican art collection? After the bomb that nearly took my life in Maputo in...
Struggling for a Future: The Second Revolution
By Njabulo Ndebele Thank you for inviting me to participate in this important gathering this morning. In the midst of so many other commitments, I decided to prioritise an unexpected invitation to do what I was asked. I was asked to express my understandings of the...
Conservative Saudi clergy lose their grip
Saudi Arabia’s ultra-conservative forces have for long succeeded in maintaining a tight hold on women’s freedom of movement in the Kingdom. When King Salman lifted the ban on women driving recently, it sent a clear signal that those forces were no longer holding sway....
Ashley Forbes on Ebrahim Ebrahim’s 80th birthday
By Zubeida Jaffer Ashley Forbes was 24 years old when he was imprisoned on Robben Island. He stayed in a single cell in B Section with Ebrahim Ismail Ebrahim who was then serving a second period of imprisonment. He had served 15 years from 1964 and then kidnapped from...
Bantu women on the move
The grand narratives about history are misleading. Apart from the pass protests of the early 1900s and the 1956 march, history would have us believe that black women were not active participants in South Africa’s history. Athambile Masola digs into the archives.
No single ideology provides easy answers to the crisis
By Zubeida Jaffer What is happening in our country and in the world? Daily we are bombarded with shocking new revelations of misconduct of some politicians, civil servants and some business people. Human civility, integrity and right action are flying out of the...
On Being South African
By Zubeida Jaffer Who am I? I am a child of God and am part of the universe. I was born into a Cape Muslim family. I am neither white, nor black, nor pink, nor blue. I am a human being, part of a common humanity. I am a woman, a journalist and a story–teller. Let me...
Prof Lalu pays tribute to Peter Williams
17 March 2017 By Professor Premesh Lalu I cannot tell you how much I loved Peter Williams. Together with Rashieda Labans and many others, we were idealistic and romantic in a world that apartheid had stripped of all emotion. We were young, passionate and awake to the...
AN OPEN LETTER TO PREMIER ZILLE: AFRICANS WERE NOT PASSIVE HUMAN BEINGS WAITING TO BE RESCUED
Dear Helen, I would like to thank you very much for the thoughtless tweets that you sent out recently. It has helped me draw a line in the sand. I have always reached out to others across racial and political lines in the belief that we all have to learn to live...
Healing a divided city
By Zubeida Jaffer* Healing the historical divisions in Cape Town requires careful thought and sensitive intervention. Apartheid has divided this city into separate racial pockets that remain intact ten years after democracy. Enclaves of non-racialism are emerging but...
A personal reflection on the passing of Judge Essa Moosa
By Zubeida Jaffer I write this message to comrades and friends who gathered in Athlone today to mourn and celebrate the life of Judge Essa Moosa. I could not attend the memorial service because I am in Bloemfontein but feel the need tonight to share in this moment. I...
Paying tribute to Essa Moosa, the quiet revolutionary
“You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair.” Chinese Proverb “Our Tree is shedding its beautiful and glossy branches. We need to ensure that it grows beautiful and fresh shoots.” Linda...
Johnny Issel on freedom
“ What spurred us on then – the need and urge for freedom – still burns within us and it will burn in us for a long time to come. I want you to be strong. Do not be distracted by anything. Let us continue moving on and finally I believe we shall see what we...
Notes on Davos
Public Eye In the year 2000, the "Public Eye on Davos" was created as a counter-summit to the World Economic Forum (WEF), and over the years it grew into an internationally recognised online campaign, as it named and shamed unscrupulous companies with its awards. The...
Politics of memory and honouring women’s history
Panel discussion at Inyathelo 25 November 2016 Remembering the prominent role played by ground-breaking women, and calling for renewed activism and solidarity, were recurring themes at a breakfast discussion on Friday 25 November at Inyathelo, the South African...
When Julius Malema sets the tone
By Zubeida Jaffer The hatred of two men threatens to tear South Africa apart. The standoff at parliament last week saw too former friends slug it out as enemies bringing one of the country’s most important institutions to a standstill. President Zuma encouraged Julius...
Meeting Mandela In His 90th Year
By Zubeida Jaffer, March 20, 2008 – The Weekender He sat upright, his face glowing in his large high-backed chair like an emperor waiting for his subjects to be brought into his presence. Dressed in a pale-blue traditional silk Madiba shirt and a dark pants, Nelson...
The Meaning of John Berger
January 3, 2017 – The Con Mag John Berger, who died on January 2, turned 90 in November last year. A Jar of Wild Flowers (Zed Books), a collection of essays written by his friends and artistic collaborators in celebration of Berger, and edited by Yasmin Gunaratnam and...
Our work in South Africa
A speech by Charlotte Maxeke The title of the speech is " Our work in South Africa".
Address by Charlotte Maxeke at the Conference of European and Bantu Christian Students Association
Address took place at Fort Hare, June 27 – July 3, 1930 (Extract published in Christian students and Modern South Africa) “Social Conditions Among Bantu Women and Girls.” In speaking of Bantu women in urban areas, the first thing to be considered is the home, around...