18 5 / 2013
Namibians created a shoe exactly like desert boots as far back as the 1600s. Called “Vellies”—short for “Velskeon”these shoes, made from durable kudu skins, were originally worn by the Khoikhoi tribe before being adopted by the British.
17 5 / 2013
Take Me Home Tonight (USA - Germany, 2011)
Things I think about on Friday nights/all the time.
17 5 / 2013
May 17, 1954: The Supreme Court Rules on Brown v. Board of Education
On this day in 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that racial segregation in public schools violated the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which says that no state may deny equal protection of the laws to any person within its jurisdiction.
Although the decision did not succeed in fully desegregating public education in the United States, it put the Constitution on the side of racial equality and galvanized the nascent civil rights movement into a full revolution.
Can you name all the key players behind Brown v. Board of Education? Revisit the landmark case with PBS’ The Supreme Court site.You can also learn more about Brown v. Board of Education with “The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow” and explore more events of the Civil Rights Movement with PBS Black Culture Connection.
School integration, Barnard School, Washington, D.C., 1955 (Library of Congress).
(via npr)
16 5 / 2013
Lesotho court to rule on women’s rights
On 16 May, the Lesotho Constitutional Court will issue its decision on whether women in Lesotho can succeed to chieftainship. The ground-breaking case brought by Senate Masupha, the first-born child of a chief, challenged the Chieftainship Act, which only permits first-born sons to succeed to chieftainship.
“Denying all women the possibility of succeeding to chieftainship not only violates the right to equality under the Lesotho constitution but also reaffirms the notion that women are subordinate members of Lesotho society,” said Priti Patel, Deputy Director of the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC), who intervened as friends of the court (amicus curiae) in the matter. “We will see tomorrow whether the court will affirm the rights of women in Lesotho or further entrench women’s secondary status.”
In its submissions, SALC argued that the law is unconstitutional under the Lesotho Constitution as well as under Lesotho’s international and regional obligations. The submissions also document how laws that discriminate against women significantly harm the government’s ability to effectively respond to Lesotho’s HIV epidemic.
This case is part of a broader trend in the region to change or repeal laws which explicitly promote gender discrimination.
The Constitutional Court in South Africa has struck down laws which deny women the right to inherit or succeed to chieftainship. In Botswana, the High Court recently struck down a customary law which denied women the right to inherit.
Courts in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and Tanzania have also all struck down laws which deny women the right to inherit due solely to their gender.
From: osisa.org
‘Mme Senate Masupha, you (and all qualified African women) deserve your place in African leadership and I sincerely hope the court rules in your favour.
(via dynamicafrica)
