SAIDA MENEBHI: MOROCCO’S FEARLESS MARTYR

One woman who deserves to be more widely known and understood is Moroccan martyr Saida Menebhi.

Her activism against state repression saw her thrown in jail - where she died while on hunger strike in protest over the treatment of political prisoners.

Her writings on feminism, written in prison, have proved an inspiration to generations of women.

She was also a poet, a teacher and a committed Marxist - and only 25 when she died.

On International Women’s Day, we salute you Saida Menebhi!

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Nigeria’s foreign affairs minister announced the West African state plans to apply to join the BRICS economic alliance. Yusuf Tuggar made the statement in Moscow, where he was on a working visit from March 5 to 7.

Nigeria’s 2023 nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is $448 billion, according to the International Monetary Fund’s October 2023 World Economic Outlook. Africa’s largest economy is looking to profit from deeper ties with emerging markets. BRICS now accounts for 36 per cent of global GDP in purchasing power parity.

BRICS is an acronym for an economic alliance between emerging economies. The original members include Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. On 1 January, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates joined.

After taking over the BRICS chairmanship in 2024, Russia announced it was pursuing the motto: ‘Strengthening Multilateralism for Equitable Global Development and Security.’

Continued….BRICS has begun groundwork for a new category of partner countries that would bring in about 30 members.

During Tuggar’s working visit, he said Nigeria and Russia will cooperate in several sectors. Russia also expressed interest in bolstering security efforts in Africa’s 5,900-kilometre terror-ridden Sahel region.

Let us know what you think of Nigeria becoming a member of BRICS.

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THE BRAVE WOMEN KEEPING ZIMBABWE’S WILDLIFE SAFE

International Women’s Day is a great day to celebrate women who have redefined what’s possible.

In Zimbabwe, an all-female, armed anti-poaching unit is breaking down barriers and smashing the patriarchy - one poacher at a time.

African Stream’s Wambura Mwai explains what it takes to be part of the elite Akashinga team.

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NIGERIA’S FEMALE BOUNCERS

It’s International Women’s Day. And in line with this year’s theme ‘Inspire Inclusion’ we want to re-run an old favourite. Nigerian women have been muscling in on the male-dominated bouncer scene with some spectacular results. Could they become the preferred choice for security? We look at how the Dragon Squad is challenging stereotypes in Nigeria.

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U.S. ASKS HAITI P.M. TO STEP DOWN AFTER GANGS UP ATTACKS

All eyes have been on Haiti this week as gangs seem to be on the verge of taking over the capital of Port-au-Prince. Known as death squads, they reportedly raided two prisons on 2 March, releasing 4,000 prisoners, who make up 34 per cent of the prison population. Since then, the port terminal, airport, and government sites have also been attacked.

The gangs say they want unelected Prime Minister Ariel Henry to resign. The public has been protesting for Henry to step down since 7 February, when Haitian heads of state have traditionally done so.

In response to the reported gang violence, a state of emergency and curfew were put in place.

Continued….Meanwhile, Henry’s flight from Nairobi—where he was settling on a Kenyan police deployment—was re-routed, landing him in the US colony of Puerto Rico. The US State Department has asked him to leave the position from which it and other Western powers had faciltated his 2021 installation. That came less than two weeks after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.

In the meantime, the local bourgeoisie has been funding gangs, according to independent media outlet @TheGrayzoneNews.

Haiti’s first democratically elected leader, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, was ousted through coups in 1991 and 2004. Since 2004, the Core Group—made up of the United States, France, Canada, and other Latin American and European states—has dictated Haitian policy, helped install leaders, and occupied and invaded Haiti on numerous occasions. This has led to protests, bringing thousands of Haitians into the streets.

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NALEDI PANDOR’S SOLUTION FOR GETTING AID INTO GAZA

8 March is a day dedicated to celebrating our phenomenal sisters. But, it doesn’t have to be International Working Women’s Day for us to applaud examples like South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor, whose unwavering support for Palestinians amid an Israeli assault on Gaza has won the respect of the world. From the International Court of Justice to the halls of the African Union, Pandor has used her position to raise awareness about the Palestinian liberation struggle.

In this 5 March clip, she suggests how the world can transfer humanitarian aid to the besieged Gaza Strip.

Continued….Reports say Israeli authorities have obstructed the entry of aid into the enclave, leaving millions on the verge of starvation. More than 100 Palestinians are reported to have died on 29 February when Israeli forces opened fire on an aid convoy carrying food near Gaza City. Meanwhile, a 7 March United Nations statement quoting local media reports revealed that at least 20 Palestinian children have in recent days died of starvation as a result of Israel’s siege.

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Nina Simone is among the most famous musical figures of the 20th century, and she rarely minced her words. Her songs, speeches and activism aided the liberation of our people. On this International Working Women’s Day, we honour her memory with one of her famous quotes.

Despite patriarchal perspectives on the role of women in society, Simone reminds us that a woman’s place is in the struggle. While consumerism can numb many to life under capitalism, Simone asks us to remain sensitised to the plight of the oppressed. That includes African women, who are paid less than white and Asian women in the United States and are twice as likely to be incarcerated than white women.

Continued….The African woman on the continent also pays a high price for austerity that foreign debt pressures impose. Among their troubles, African women take up care duties after cuts to healthcare funding, trek kilometres in scorching heat to find water, and are exposed to the horrors of childbirth in under-developed hospitals.

Let us know how you plan to commemorate African women today.

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U.S.: MAJORITY OF GAZA CASUALTIES WOMEN & CHILDREN

At a US House Armed Services Committee hearing on 29 February, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin seemed to be at pains to justify the continued US supply of weapons to Israel, despite overwhelming evidence indicating that women and children are the majority of victims amid Israeli’s military operation.

Lloyd told US Congressman Ro Khanna that 25,000 women and children have been killed in Gaza since 7 October.

Continued….When probed on whether the United States would consider halting weapons sales in the face of mounting evidence that Israel could be violating international law, Lloyd said that decision was not his to make.

The US government has provided the most military, financial and political support to Israel than to any other country since World War II. Between the start of the 7 October escalation and late December, the US had sent Israel more than 230 aeroplanes and 20 ships containing weapons. Further, every year since 2019, the United States has sent $3.8 billion in aid to Israel. Since October, US legislative houses have considered additional aid packages totalling about $32 billion. Meanwhile, Washington has vetoed three UN Security Council resolutions calling for a ceasefire.

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INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY CELEBRATIONS

On March 8th, International Women’s Day is celebrated worldwide - including in Kenya.

In the capital Nairobi, the city’s Women Solidarity Network marked the day by inviting female artists, musicians and poets, who each paid tribute to women in their own way.

On a more sombre note - given the conflicts raging in Africa and further afield - women of different nationalities spoke about the impact of war on women and children.

African Stream’s Wambura Mwai attended the event and heard some of the participants’ reactions. Please share yours as well.

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SUDAN FACES FAMINE

War-torn Sudan is on the brink of the world’s largest hunger crisis, according to the World Food Programme. Millions can’t get enough to eat, and local aid agencies can’t access funds after the internet was cut.

The 11-month conflict has killed about 15-thousand and displaced eight-million, say U.N. estimates. We hear from refugees who’ve fled their homes and aid workers who describe a desperate situation.

The U.N. Security Council hopes to broker a Ramadan truce between the Sudanese Army and Rapid Support Forces militia by the end of the week. But for many, it’s already too late.

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WHEN BLACK PEOPLE CHARGED THE UNITED STATES WITH GENOCIDE

While scrolling through social media, you might have seen people referring to a ‘genocide convention.’ In 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the ‘Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.’ South Africa recently used that convention to charge Israel with acts of genocide against Palestinians at the International Court of Justice.

But did you know Black revolutionaries charged the US government with genocide in 1951?

Watch African Stream’s Inem Richardson break it down and let us know what you think.


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HONOURING HANNAH KUDJOE!

March is Women’s History Month, and in recognition of the progress made by some of Africa’s most formidable female figures, today we remember Hannah Kudjoe.

Thirty-eight years have passed since her death. She was one of the key contributors to the emancipation of Ghana. A leading figure in the Convention People’s Party, she was instrumental in foregrounding women’s issues in the newly independent Ghana, and was a close ally of its first president, Kwame Nkrumah.

She died on March 9, 1986, and is hailed today as a heroine who helped oust imperialism.

Peace and power to our sister.

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AFRICAN DEBT TRAP

Africa has learned the hard way how debt can become a trap - especially in its dealings with the US, the IMF and the World Bank.

But loans also spur development. China is now the biggest lender to our continent, and African nations are also looking to new relationships. But have they leaned the lessons of the past?

African Stream’s Wambura Mwai explores the dangers and opportunities.

Do you think we can borrow more smartly than before? Do we even need to, given our huge resources? Please share your insights with us.

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DR CONGO VIGIL HELD IN NAIROBI

These pictures are a good example of public feeling over what’s happening in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The candlelight vigil was held in the Kenyan capital Nairobi in memory of the six million so far killed in the decades-long unrest. Those who attended also sang anti-imperialist songs. Many accuse the West and neighbouring Rwanda of fuelling fighting among rebel groups to secure DRC’s vast resources.

In this clip you can hear people sing about Dedan Kimathi, a Kenyan hero who led the Mau Mau uprising against British colonial rule. Patrice Lumumba is also referenced, DRC’s independence leader and first Prime Minister who was also assassinated.

Continued….M23 rebels, accused of being backed by Rwanda and Uganda, seized more territory in eastern DRC yesterday. Over the last week, more than 100,000 people were displaced mainly around the North Kivu province town of Nyanzale. It’s a region where some 80,000 people were living alongside tens of thousands who had already fled earlier fighting in the region.

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JEWISH MAN RAISES ALARM ON ISRAELI LAND SALE IN U.S.

Pro-Palestine supporters plan to demonstrate at a New Jersey (USA) synagogue because the site has been leased for a 10 March event that has been advertised as promoting properties for sale in Israel and in West Bank settlements.

The United Press International (UPI) news agency reported that several of the properties lie beyond the 1949 Armistice Line, which delineates the border between Israel and Palestinian territory, rendering them illegal under both US and international law.

Villas in Efrat, one of the featured West Bank settlements, are listed for $1.3 million.