African Studies

Earlier this week, a band by the name of Mashrou' Leila, a Lebanese group, performed at a concert in Cairo, Egypt. What had seemed to be an excellent showing, by both the band and crowd, the seemingly fun event was turned sour for reasons of homophobia and religious conservatism. Seven people in the crowd that day were arrested for waving the rainbow colored flag that represents the LGBTQ community. It is also worth mentioning that the lead singer for Mashrou' Leila is openly gay, and so this kind of support is not unexpected. The fans were arrested on the basis of "promoting sexual deviancy," in other words, what they were supporting and representing does not conform to societal standards.   Picture of the band, from the BBC Homosexuality is not a crime punishable by detainment, however since 2013, there have been 113 investigations that involved 274 individuals who were gay, lesbian, transgender, and so on. And it is not like the people in power have any qualms w...

Amina Yuguda is a Nigerian journalist who has just won an award handed to only the finest of journalists and speakers in Africa. BBC's Komla Dumor Award. For those unfamiliar, Komla Dumor was a Ghana-born news anchor and journalist for the BBC's branch in Africa. He was renowned for his immense presence, both physically and emotionally, and his unorthodox style of interviewing. Beloved by most, Dumor sadly passed away in 2014. To honor his legacy, and to hopefully instill the same sense of virtue he had towards journalism, the BBC created this award in his image. Komla Dumor- Source, Wikipedia This is where Amina Yuguda comes into play. She is known to be fearless in regards to her reporting, never seeing any topic as too tough to tackle. This is evident in her constant updates on the Boko Haram who are an insurgent terrorist group known for violence and kidnappings. She carries herself with pride, and is able to connect to a wider audience, similar to Dumor. She is a believ...

This week I will be focusing on a brief glimpse of Madagascar, including a condensed history of the island dating only as far as the 16th and 17th centuries, political regime, and unrest surrounding the country as a whole.  Photo provided by the BBC Madagascar is the 4th largest island in the world, and has a fairly rich exporting industry, due to an abundance of desirable natural resources, such as coffee, vanilla, and spices. However, despite these profitable exports encompassing much of the nation's wealth, it is still seen as a very poor country, and relies heavily upon foreign aid to assist in maintaining a stable economy.  Madagascar used to be a French colony, dating from 1896 all the way until its independence in 1960. Within that span of time, however, revolt and social unrest was common, resulting in a rebellion that the French squashed in 1947. A presidency was established shortly after independence, but do to a coup attempt in 1975 a single leader ruled for cl...

Time for an article a bit more uplifting than last week. Earlier this year, Gambia's presidential elections experience an upset that, according to the BBC, was unprecedented and "is arguably a bigger shock than that of fellow property mogul in the US, Donald Trump"(BBC, 2017). This accolade goes to real estate entrepreneur and 51-year old Adama Barrow. The main reason that there is a comparison between Trump and Barrow, is that neither of them have ever held public office. Gambia had also been under presidential rule by Yahya Jammeh, who had been president for over 22 years. The desire for change by the young adults of Gambia, as well as a fortunate turn of events, the previous candidate having been arrested before the elections officially began. This gave Barrow the opportunity to capitalize on the situation.  Credit given to the BBC Adama Barrow is also a devout Muslim. And, like the famed ancient sultan of the Mali Empire Mansa Musa, Barrow, according to the ...