February | 2013 | Peter "Just Loves Flying"

Polygamy Fading Out Of Fashion For African Muslims, Men And Women Alike – All News Is Global |

February 7, 2013

Peter Singhatey Articles on Africa Africa, People & Society, peter singhateh, Polygamy Leave a comment

Polygamy Fading Out Of Fashion For African Muslims, Men And Women Alike – All News Is Global |.

GOMA – Young Muslim men in the Democratic Republic of Congo are less interested in having several wives than their fathers were. Facing rising prices and feuds over inheritance, the new generation doesn’t see how the benefits outweigh the costs of having multiple spouses in the same household.

As for the women of the current generation coming of age, they see that wives are often the victims of polygamous customs, and reject this form of marriage. It’s also worth noting that it is no longer legal under Congolese law.

“If you want to end up like me, embrace polygamy…” This is how 70-year-old El Hadji H.E warns his grandchildren. In the middle of his large parcel in Magendo, the popular neighborhood of the eastern city of Goma, a large, old house occupies much land. In the garden are two wrecked Volvo trucks, the latest symbols of yesterday’s prosperity for this family of 40 children and eight wives…

Can the AU Deliver Pax Africana? | Think Africa Press

February 7, 2013

Peter Singhatey Articles on Africa Africa, Peace & Security, peter singhateh Leave a comment

Can the AU Deliver Pax Africana? | Think Africa Press.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia:

Last week in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, African Union (AU) leaders celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) – the AU’s predecessor. They spoke of the OAU’s leadership in past liberation struggles and offered lofty visions for the future.

But, in his final speech as AU assembly chairperson, Benin’s President Yayi Boni took a more critical look at the present.

Referring to France’s recent military intervention in northern Mali, he asked: “How can we understand that when danger threatened its very basis, Africa, which has the means to organise its own defence, continued to wait?”

Boni’s frustration speaks more broadly of the AU’s continued difficulty in achieving Pax Africana: a peace kept in Africa, by Africa…

In cyberspace no one can hear you scream

February 5, 2013

Peter Singhatey Cyberbulling, Education Cyberbulling, Education, peter singhateh Leave a comment

In cyberspace no one can hear you scream.

The perpetrator and the victim are familiar roles in any bullying scenario but a lot less attention is paid to the bystander.

Yet, statistically, your teenage son or daughter is much more likely to have the “walk on” part of bystander, particularly when the bullying is carried out in cyberspace. They may think they are doing nothing when they glance at hurtful comments aimed at somebody else tumbling in on a news feed on a social media page, but they are involved.

There are grades of bystanders, says clinical psychologist Sarah O’Doherty, which range from being actively involved and encouraging the bullying – “you may not be the person who instigated it but as soon as it starts up you jump in and start adding at the same volume” – right down the scale to somebody who is just watching and doing nothing.

“You are never neutral if you are a witness to bullying,” she explains. “You have a choice to either do something or not do something – either way you are making a decision about it.”…

Girl shot by Taliban stable after surgery

February 4, 2013

Peter Singhatey World News People & Society, peter singhateh Leave a comment

Girl shot by Taliban stable after surgery.

A Pakistani schoolgirl shot in the head by the Taliban for advocating girls’ education has undergone successful surgery at a British hospital to reconstruct her skull and help restore lost hearing.

A team of doctors carried out a five-hour operation on Saturday on 15-year-old Malala Yousufzai, who was shot in October and brought to Britain for treatment.

The procedures carried out were cranial reconstruction, aimed at mending parts of her skull with a titanium plate, and a cochlear implant designed to restore hearing on her left side, which was damaged in the attack.

“Both operations were a success and Malala is now recovering in hospital,” said a statement yesterday from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, where she is being treated. The girl’s condition was described as stable and the statement said her medical team was very pleased with the progress she has made. “She is awake and talking to staff and members of her family,” it added…