A question of competency
A very short introduction to Peter Mutharika, Malawi's new President.
Malawi
How The Atlantic Can Do Better, Starting with Malawi
“Confronting a Sexual Rite of Passage in Malawi”, published by The Atlantic last Monday, is misleading and continues a long tradition of ethnocentric, sensationalist reporting on Africa. The article tells the tale of a 14-year-old girl, Grace Mwase, of Chiradzulu District in Malawi, saying that she defied a tradition of sleeping with an older man after she went through an initiation ceremony at the age of 10. I am not an expert on culture and customs in Malawi and one doesn’t have to be to get the story straight on customs and their impact on a community.
What does Tony Blair want from Malawi?
Until recently, Tony Blair had never visited Malawi. Last summer there was a lot of international press coverage on the discovery of oil under Lake Malawi. Since then he’s developed an interest in Malawi’s “governance” and has visited twice in nine months. He arrives in Malawi today, having successfully shoehorned a couple of staffers from […]
Malawi’s Festival of Forgetting
As Malawians blur the lines of their past, it becomes more and more difficult to understand the country's present.
Joyce Banda has bigger problems than Madonna
After years of being frozen out by Bingu wa Mutharika’s administration, President Joyce Banda has restored the IMF to the top table of Malawian policy-making and pushed through a sweeping reforms at their behest.
Madonna vs President Joyce Banda
Madonna's attempt to save face after her scolding by Malawi's president to rehash the stereotype of the corrupt African leader rings hollow, and a bit desperate. Malawi's President wasn't having it.
Your Camera is Not a Toy
What did the Italian photographer, Gabriele Galimberti think he was going to achieve with his photo-series of children with their toys from around the world posing for him?
When Wikipedia writes Malawi’s national history
John Chilembwe is Malawi's first great anti-colonial hero. Why do our media outlets mainly rely on Wikipedia to give us “facts” about him?
The Joyce Banda Malawians know
It is becoming apparent that Malawian presidents have one image for the world and a separate one, mostly negative, for the people who actually voted them into power.
Legson Kayira, the first Malawian novelist, has died
Malawi had three first novelists: David Rubadiri, Aubrey Kachingwe, and Legson Kayira, who has died this week in London aged 70. In the 1960s and 1970s Kayira wrote a number of works of fiction, but he will be remembered most of all for his 1965 memoir, I Will Try, an account of the astonishing journey he […]
Malawian Twitter is not a gentle place
By far the best place to follow Malawian news and politics is social media app, Twitter. It can be relied upon to be the very first place where Malawi’s breaking news gets to the rest of us.
Friday Music Break, N°12
I’m taking over the Friday music break this week. First up, the prolific Azonto producer E.L. surprises us this week with a 25 track debut album. He had so many songs stored up he decided to release a video for one that’s not even on the album. Check his Swagga.
Joyce Banda and Gay Rights
Is Banda serious about repealing Malawi's anti-gay laws? Is she just cynical so as to secure donor cash? And, what about Malawian public opinion?
New public TV series from South Africa: “I am Woman”
Starting on April 1, South Africa’s public TV channel SABC3 has been running a weekly series called “I am Woman.” Every week, the show tries to follow the arc of a woman’s journey, the ways in which she comes to understand herself and the world by creating herself as the world and the world as […]
Documentary–‘I am Malawi’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AA6F553L17g ‘I am Malawi’ is a short documentary by Geert Veuskens and Pieter de Vos. (Part 1 above, part 2 below.) Veuskens gave us some more details about their project:
Uganda, now you have touched the women
In October 2011, the Ugandan government sent Ingrid Turinawe to the infamous Luzira Prison–Uganda’s Guantánamo–for the treasonable act of walking to work. This week, the State, again, attacked Turinawe and other women activists for the “crime” of standing, speaking out, driving, and generally being. Big mistake.
Joyce Banda is President of Malawi
In her first order of business since being inaugurated as Malawi’s new president on Saturday, Joyce Banda fired the country’s top policeman. No reason was given for the firing, but the BBC reports that the police chief, Peter Mukhito, was in charge last year during anti-government protests over the worsening economy.
Malawians are fed up with Madonna
Malawi is fed up with Madonna and her school daze, with the singer’s refusal to consult and her autocratic ways. Given the autocratic politics of the Mutharika regime, that’s both quite a statement and none at all. Madonna’s foundation, Raising Malawi (a telling name), has reportedly spent $3.8 million on a state-of-the-art school for girls […]
Pay young women in Malawi to prevent HIV infection?
The Guardian reports: “Cash payments help cut HIV infection rate in young women, study finds: Research in Malawi finds girls who receive regular payments are able to resist attentions of older men and avoid infection.” The headline pretty much says it all … or does it?
