The humanitarian disaster in Somalia has once again led to a series of images of emaciated children being published by the media. This has prompted questions around the purpose and effect of such photographs on the viewers and our understanding of the crisis. Media Monitoring Africa has released a r...
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So what about Ukuthwala? In its most basic description it is the practice of kidnapping girls for marriage. Forced marriage is illegal. Forced marriage also falls under the purpose of exploitation in the definition of human trafficking. By international law, and in accordance with the parameters for...
Media Monitoring Africa condemns Sunday World demeaning ‘coloured woman’ and display sexism This last Sunday Khuli Roberts produced an opinion piece titled, “Jou ma se kinders” (February 2011, pg. 10). The piece has caused a furore with many accusing the author of racism and sexism. MMA is...
In South Africa, racism and xenophobia, widely recognised as human rights violations, are particularly pertinent. A long history of institutionalised racism, most recently apartheid, saw the classification, segregation and discrimination of people along racial lines. It has shaped perceptions, attit...
Around the world people celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall. It symbolised the end of the Cold War and signified the start of a new world order. The single most important question –how did it affect Africa? – is only addressed by a few newspapers in South Africa. Howev...
Little information exists on the practice of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment (CIDT) in postapartheid South Africa. However, despite the dearth of research and information, due to the history and widespread use of torture against political activists, it is not s...
Extreme news sells. Items that are different from everyday life, items that disturb people. Crime is therefore a good subject for newspapers’ front pages from a commercial point of view. Unfortunately, crime in South Africa is not just a creation of the national media. It is a very real problem. A...
A picture says more than a thousand words. And some of them have the power to encapsulate events and become the visual symbol for political or humanitarian situations. An example of this is the picture of Hector Pietersen being carried by an older boy which became a symbol for the Sharpeville massac...