Living and studying in South Africa at the moment, I have realised that there is a huge problem with violence and especially violence of a sexual nature such as rape. Thousands of women are raped each year in South Africa and it is quite clear that something needs to be done.

About two months ago, my friend and I were running in Grahamstown South Africa. We run the same route every day; it is an 8km route around Grahamstown and is the prescribed running route for all the schools in Grahamstown. As it was Saturday my friend Jenna and I decided to run later and have a bit of a lie in. We started our run at 7am and were coming to the end of our run when we were attacked by a man with a knife. The man got on top of me with the knife and proceeded to rummage through my pockets for valuables.  It was clear that neither me nor my friend had any valuable possessions on us. But still this man continued to hold me down with the knife and that is when I seriously believed I was going to be raped or murdered. Eventually we were able to get  free and run away. This incident occurred less than a ten metres from a main road and less than a hundred metres from St Andrews school in an upper class residential area in broad daylight. When are you safe? Never.

I believe that the concept of the “female condom with teeth” does not solve the problem of rape. When do I wear this condom? I could be raped anywhere at any time. Every time I go out I would need to wear this condom, because to be quite frank there is a high chance of being raped in South Africa regardless of the time or place. The idea is good but it creates more problems for the victim because not only is she being raped by a man but she is stuck to him until the police or medical services remove the condom. She is completely at the mercy of a man who is likely to be extremely angry and as a result act in vengeance.

Also, this female condom with “teeth” does not address the issue that many women are in fact raped by lovers or potential lovers.

But at least someone is trying to find a solution to this problem. Since the incident I experienced I run with a taser and pepper spray, and this helps me feel not completely defenceless as I previously was. If the female condom with teeth helps to make some women feel safer, then let them wear it.

The players hate it, the fans love it. It’s the Jabulani ball!!! The Jabulani ball – the official match ball for the FIFA 2010 World Cup – has been a major attraction at the Melrose Arch in Johannesburg.

Fans from all over the world have been gathering at the Arch. I bumped into the ‘Messi’ twins from Argentina and a Fernando Torres look alike.

The 2010 mascot Zakumi is also an attraction amongst the visitors.

You can read more about Jabulani here

We just got this image and caption in from a subscriber. Given the loadshedding we’ve been experiencing lately, it seems entirely apt: “With these ZESA blackouts imagine what would happen if Zimbabwe was hosting the World Cup? I think the situation was going to be as above.”

So there’s this thing that we Africans do that is a little bit funny, but also actually quite a serious issue.

Let me set the secenario for you by introducing you to the imaginary Mr. Y and his wife, Mrs. Y who will help me illustrate my point.

The Ys are a family who earn enough money from their combined salaries just to get by each month, as well as take care of their three young children. Mr. Y works with an NGO where his pay is lukewarm, and Mrs. Y is a nurse in a public hospital. Her pay is definitely cold.

So you would think that the Ys try by all means to live within their means right?

Far from it!

Rather, they rent out a house in some  plush suburb (though they are three months behind on paying up and the landlord is threatening to take them to court) and their children go to that private school up the rolling highlands where the red-hot fees ensure that Mr. Y can never save enough money to fix that dent on the bonnet of his car.

Speaking of his car, Mr. Y drives a C Class Benz – black in colour, tinted windows with reams gleaming that seem to make time slow down with each revolution of the fine specimen’s tyres.

Oh, and doesn’t Mrs. Y just love to drive that Benz to church on Sundays and ‘humbly’ remind Jehovah’s children how blessed in the blood of Jesus  she is to be in possession of this stunning vehicle.

If only they knew that it wasn’t actually her car, or even her husband’s. Nope. The car belongs to Mr. Y’s brother who’s fled to the UK and entrusted the keys to his most prized possession to Mr. Y. whose old tired jalopy is now hidden from public view, locked up in the car shed.

So you get the picture, right?

This is a story about a family that on first appearance seems to have it all going on BUT is actually living a horrible lie.

What for?

Esteem in the eyes of society, of course. Hey, you gotta show that you’ve done something right with your life and the Ys are just trying to ‘keep up with the Moyos’.

I remember an American friend visiting Zimbabwe once asking me a very interesting question.

“Why do so many African families have this fixation with flat screen TVs and leather sofas ?!”

She just couldn’t get why everyone either had those two items, or was saving up towards them.

It got me thinking.

Why is that so many people own terribly expensive phones, and yet can’t even afford to load air time onto the things every month? Why is it that every woman worth her salt in society owns a microwave or washing machine and often never actually uses them?

Like I said before, it’s all about APPEARANCES. When purchased for all the wrong and misguided reasons, these things become status symbols that people use to say, “I’ve made it, unlike you!”

Such reasoning reflects an innate fear of inadequacy that many of us have. You must have a legacy, you must show up all those people who said you wouldn’t amount to much, you must have something to show for all that suffering you endured growing up in some rural area reading for your exams by candlelight.

It’s really sad that in African cultures, we tend to gauge success by trivial things like possessions. And it’s sad too that so many young people strive for that ideal with such singular purpose that they lose sight of the real dreams for their lives.

Who cares what the neighbours think? They will talk regardless of what you do, or don’t do; own or don’t own. A life lived on behalf of the perceptions of others about you is not your life, especially if you really don’t like leather sofas anyway!

The 2010 soccer World Cup is finally underway, and we see the whole of South Africa as well as the rest of the world united in “World cup fever”.

Prior to the World Cup, South Africa was in chaos, with the murder of Eugene Terreblanche  leader of the AWB, following some controversial “hate speech by Julius Malema: “shoot the boer”.  I believe that the 2010 soccer world cup has helped South Africans to overcome their differences and embrace and share this amazing event together. Many South Africans have put their differences aside and united in support of their nation. The 2010 soccer world cup illustrates how powerful sport can be in terms of uniting people, we have seen this in the past with the 1999 rugby world cup, where Nelson Mandela sported Francois Pienaar’s number six rugby jersey. This event was crucial in transforming South Africa from a divided nation to a unified one.

An interesting article from Slate:

From 1977 to the present, have you had sexual contact with another male, even once? You’ll have to answer that question, word for word, on a donor form if you want to give blood in this country. The form, authorized by the Food and Drug Administration and reaffirmed 10 days ago by an FDA advisory panel, offers three possible answers: “yes,” “no,” or “I am female.” If you check “yes,” you’re done. You’re forbidden to donate blood.

Why? Because, as the FDA explains, men who have had sex with men—known in the blood world as MSM—”are, as a group, at increased risk for HIV, hepatitis B and certain other infections.” To protect blood recipients from this risk, your blood must be excluded.

Maybe you fooled around with a guy 30 years ago and have spent the rest of your life as a celibate priest. Maybe you’ve been in a faithful same-sex marriage for 40 years. Maybe you’ve passed an HIV test. It doesn’t matter. You can’t give blood, because you’re in the wrong “group.” On the other hand, if you’re in the right group—heterosexuals—you can give blood despite dangerous behavior. If you had sex with a prostitute, an IV drug user, and an HIV-positive opposite-sex partner 13 months ago, you’re good to go.

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