🔅 Sex Toys vs. Women's Rights, Sierra Leone's Disputed Winner, Lawsuit Against a French Oil Giant...
Uganda Lawsuit, Sierra Leone Election Dispute, Zimbabwe Sex Toys, and More!
Photo of the day: Girl in Malabo, Guinea Ecuatorial
Markets:
🟢 Nigerian SE: 60,108.86 (+1.30%)
🟢 Johannesburg SE: 74,543.48 (+0.30%)
🟢 Ghana SE: 2,809.39 (+0.87%)
🔴 Nairobi SE: 107.19 (-0.02%)
🔴 US S&P 500: 4,370.95 (-0.17%)
— Shanghai Composite: 3,189.38 (0.00%)
*Data accurate as of the close of markets across the continent
Brief & Bright: Africa's Top Five Highlights
🇿🇼 Sex Toys and the Battle for Women's Rights in Zimbabwe | In Zimbabwe, owning a sex toy is illegal and can land you in prison. But, as women’s rights activists in the African country have pointed out, that’s a violation of women’s right to sexual pleasure. So, Sitabile Dewa, a 35-year-old women’s rights activist, is challenging the law and suing the Zimbabwean government. It’s not just about sex toys. This is part of a larger challenge where women’s choices are constantly under scrutiny, and where sex isn’t seen as something for women to enjoy—it’s just for childbearing. So, women’s rights activists are pushing back. They’re challenging the idea that women are just sexual objects and that they should be dependent on men for pleasure. They’re demanding autonomy over their bodies and the right to explore their sexuality.
✈️ A Magazine Named After a Defunct Airline | Air Afrique—the Paris-based art collective and magazine named after the defunct West African airline—is the coolest thing since sliced bread. It's mission: To “revive the African transcendence” the airline evoked. In the mag's first issue, you can expect to find licensed images from the airline’s old in-flight publication. And if you're in the market for a luxurious afro-futuristic blanket, Bottega Veneta has got you covered (pun intended). The Italian luxury fashion brand is the only advertiser in the mag, and is selling limited edition blankets designed by Abdel El Tayeb, a French-Sudanese designer.
🇺🇬 Oil Pipelines vs. Nature: Ugandan Activists Take French Oil Giant to Court | Ugandan activists are taking French oil giant TotalEnergies to court, demanding damages for alleged food and land rights violations in the company’s East African operations. The civil suit filed in Paris is the second time activists have tried to stop the 897-mile pipeline project, which would transport oil from wells in western Uganda to Tanzania’s Indian Ocean port of Tanga. Critics worry that the pipeline’s ecological fragility could lead to a catastrophe. They also make other claims, ranging from lack of timely payment for land on which the pipeline will be built, to damaged houses from flooding during construction of oil processing facilities. Uganda’s government insists that the oil drilling project is key to economic development, claiming that oil wealth could help lift millions out of poverty.
🇸🇱 Sierra Leone: Julius Maada Bio Declared Winner Amid Election Disputes | Julius Maada Bio, Sierra Leone’s incumbent president, has been declared the winner of the country’s election with 56% of the vote. But not everyone’s happy with the outcome: His main opponent, Samura Kamara, called it “daylight robbery” and international observers raised questions about the counting process. To be fair, there’s been some drama leading up to the election, including violence and accusations of fraud. Still, it’s a win for Bio and his supporters, who celebrated with banners and parades in the streets of Freetown. Bio’s now in his second and final five-year term, but he’s got a big job ahead of him: The country is dealing with a troubled economy, rising cost of living, and concerns about national unity. Sierra Leone has come a long way since its civil war in 2002.
🚂 African Railways Get a Boost from Afreximbank | Afreximbank, the African Export-Import Bank, is giving Ghana's railway system a much-needed upgrade. They signed an agreement with the Ghana Railway Company to finance the development of a 299 km standard gauge railway network. The project will cost an estimated $2.1 billion and will be used to connect Ghana's western corridor to the Port of Takoradi, providing an essential link to external markets. Afreximbank President and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Prof. Benedict Oramah, said, “This project is about more than just transportation—it’s about unlocking pent-up demand for Ghanaian mineral and agricultural commodities in regional and international markets.” The project is expected to create 5,000 direct jobs and 50,000 indirect opportunities, plus provide training for 400 citizens of Ghana. Plus, it’s estimated that the railway line will facilitate the export of minerals and commodities resulting in at least $950 million of trade per annum.
Food for Thought
“Anyone who urinates in a stream should be warned because any of his relatives may drink from the water.”
— Kenyan Proverb.
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