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In the course of a spectacular career as the most successful grand slam singles tennis player of all time - male or female - Serena Williams has changed the face of the women’s game. But to do so she has had to overcome racist abuse and mental health challenges faced in particular by black women in sport. As Williams plays her final professional tournament, sociologist and gender expert Awino Okech reflects on her career and how Williams highlights four key issues facing sportswomen in Africa.
China’s relationship with its African partners has been guided by its intense sense of nationalism and push for global supremacy. This is regularly depicted through various mediums including film. Yu Xiang and Jinpu Wang analyse how China amplifies its position in the hugely successful action film, Wolf Warrior II.
Thomas Piketty, the world’s foremost expert on inequality, will deliver a keynote address on the history of equality at the University of the Witwatersrand’s School of Economics and Finance’s centenary celebrations. Piketty’s talk, which is based on his new book, A Brief History of Equality, will be complemented by a discussion with World Trade Organisation director general Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on economic policy in a high inequality context. Both topics are of relevance across Africa, particularly South Africa, which has one of the world’s most unequal societies. Ahead of the event, we’ve selected
some previously published articles on inequality in South Africa, proposals on how to address this, Piketty’s contribution to the inequality debate, and Ngozi’s profile.
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Awino Okech, SOAS, University of London
She blazed a trail for Black women athletes – despite the challenges they face in sport and society.
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Yu Xiang, Shanghai University; Jinpu Wang, Syracuse University
China is seen as Africa’s saviour and friend in the film - which is still full of racist stereotypes.
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Jeremy Ahearne, University of Warwick
In Africa, French will only continue to embed itself - if speaking it is in the interests of Africans and not attached to French foreign policy interests.
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Synda Obaji, University of Birmingham
Nigeria’s Environmental Impact Assessment Act is not protecting the environment enough and citizens need to get involved.
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From our international editions
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Byron Lamont, Curtin University
Millions of years before dinosaur footsteps first set tremors through the Earth, this flowering plant family was already thriving – and you can still find them in gardens today.
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Matthew Woodruff, Emory University
A new study finds that misdirected immune responses can persist for months in those who are suffering from long COVID-19.
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Marie-Claire Beaulieu, Tufts University
A scholar of Greek mythology explains the naming of NASA’s missions after mythological figures and why the name Artemis is indicative of a more diverse era of space exploration.
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