Articles by Sokari Ekine

A year after the LGBT rights activist David Kato was murdered in Uganda, Sokari Ekine writes to him about changes in Africa since his death.

By cutting the fuel subsidy the Nigerian government has snatched away the main benefit to the people from the country’s oil wealth, says Sokari Ekine.

Nigeria’s new legislation is just another way of legitimizing all kinds of sexual prejudice and violence, says Sokari Ekine.

Sokari Ekine on how the videoed rape of a young woman that went viral on YouTube was dismissed by the Nigerian police as ‘boys behaving badly’.

Two new reports underline what activists have been saying for years: oil companies are complicit in human rights abuses and environmental devastation in the Niger Delta.

In the wake of a new campaign to promote Nigeria, Sokari Ekine argues this is no time for backslapping.

Why is one state deemed democratic and another demonic when repression and corruption are evident in both? Sokari Ekine asks some awkward questions.

Cancer has been largely sidelined in Africa, but a new Kenya-based foundation gives hope for the millions of cancer sufferers in the continent, writes Sokari Ekine.  

Sokari Ekine embarks on a journey to find if justice was served for Africans in Britain in the eighteenth century, before notions of race and racism were constructed.

Water privatization and exploitation in Africa in the name of ‘development’ has disastrous consequences for the continent’s population, writes Sokari Ekine. 

Monday 13 June marked the International Day Against Child Labour, a day millions of the world’s exploited and abused children have never even heard of. Sokari Ekine explores the global problem of child-trafficking.

Nigerian blogger Sokari Ekine reflects on the failure of a vicious Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

Nigeria is a source country for trafficking women and children to other African countries and Europe, but the authorities behave as if that was a cheese sandwich. 

Visualizing lesbian rape, violence projected through imagery – but where is the full story?

Sokari Ekine says that revenge does not bring peace to a troubled heart. So what does the death of Osama bin Laden mean? 

Sokari Ekine assesses the violence around the elections in Nigeria.

Sokari Ekine looks at the founding of Liberia and the context it might provide to the country’s two civil wars.

The second part of the review of Ghada Karmi’s wonderful In Search of Fatima: A Palestinian Story.

Sokari Ekine reviews In Search of Fatima: A Palestinian Story – a story of displacement and loss, a yearning for that place in one’s mind that can never be reclaimed.

The limits of control on social media: fake privacy, new spyware, widespread manipulation and power of the powerful.   

The East End Gay Pride in London has been cancelled. Sokari Ekine explains why it is a clear victory for Queer Muslims and their allies.

The more of us who speak, the louder our voices will become.International Women’s Day special.

What stories are we told? And who’s telling them?

A disturbing documentary about women condemned as witches and exiled to the village of Gambaga in northern Ghana.

History most of us never get to hear about… A review of ‘Women in South African history’.

A review of Migritude, a book by Shailja Patel, described as ‘poetry as documentary, non-fiction as testimony’.

On Shell’s miscalculations, bed partners and racism.

Ugandan human rights activist David Kato was murdered yesterday in an attack many believe was hate crime. 

Violence against women is a horrific reality in many places. By telling their stories, Haitian women try to cope with the experience and inspire strength in others.

In memory of all those who died on 12 January 2010.

On elections, chaos and new energy.

Which country in the world is the most dangerous for bloggers? You might be surprised.

Today is the 15th anniversary of the execution of Nigerian author and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa.

Reflecting on the times close to nature, times of fresh fruit, blue skies and inner calmness.

When so many places of our painful history have become recreational tourist attractions, where do we stand with our collective memories?

With over a million Nigerians currently on Facebook and a growing number of Twitter users, how are Nigerian political circles dealing with social media in their campaigns? The elections are nearing, and the progress so far doesn’t offer much for celebration.

‘You cannot carry out fundamental change without a certain amount of madness.’ Thomas Sankara

After months of money-collecting and humanitarian relief, the people made desperate by the January earthquake in Haiti have not seen a single cent. What happened to all the donations?

Sokari Ekine considers what the Independence Day bombings mean for Nigeria’s future.

Today is the 50th anniversary of Nigeria’s independence. Even though politically and economically there’s not much to celebrate, our wonderful artists deserve applause.

As the African nation celebrates its half-century of independence, Sokari Ekine looks at Nigerian ‘women of action’ from the 1920s to the present day.

On 1 October, Nigeria will celebrate its 50 years of independence. But what is there to celebrate in terms of social and economic progress? I look back at those five decades.

The Gates Foundation and Monsanto may seem unlikely bed-fellows, but recent disclosures reveal otherwise.

Is it really doing what everybody says it should do? Sokari Ekine is not convinced. She responds to Adam Ma’anit’s ‘Web of Change’ in our September 2010 issue.

Back in 1860, almost 1,500 Africans were saved from slavery on Florida’s shores. That was just five years before the abolition of slavery. Why is it still important today?

Haiti’s human rights activist Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine, kidnapped three years ago, must not be forgotten.

It is time to bring families and communities into the LGBTI struggle.

We allow animal species, languages and customs die out at our peril.

International intervention does nothing to help - even promises of aid are unfulfilled.

When will Niger Deltans get justice?

History keeps repeating itself on this beleaguered island.

The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is an ecological tragedy - but Sokari Ekine has seen it all before.

A glitzy, gaudy world, built on oil and cheap migrant labour - Sokari Ekine is not impressed.

Sokari Ekine reflects on the importance, and rewards, of blogging.

Africa Liberation Day 2010, celebrated on 25 May, is a time for action as well as reflection.

An 80-year-old colonial law gives Egypt unfair advantage in its access to the Nile.

Sokari Ekine considers the politics of humanitarian intervention.

Nigeria must reconsider laws which allow the marrying off of minors with impunity.

A new book explores LGBT rights worldwide, at a time of increased threats to the African gay community.

This easy-to-read novel of suspense exposes the reality of Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta.

The media spotlight is currently on this megacity, but what's the reality? 

The apology that wasn't - from Shell to the Niger Delta - highlights all that remains wrong in the troubled region. 

Sokari Ekine feels increasingly reluctant to engage with the World Cup, given the cost to the lives of ordinary people.

Mobile phones have been used to incite violence and hatred. But they can also be tools for peace, says Sokari Ekine.

The campaign against sexual minorities in Uganda is being met with silence. It is time to take action and speak out, says Sokari Ekine.

A month after the earthquake in Haiti, a brave team of teachers is trying to rebuild their school, piece by piece.

In a difficult period for Nigeria, people power may come into its own.

Despite the prevalence of homophobia in Africa, LGBTI activists have some victories to celebrate.

Haiti's women and children are suffering disproportionately in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake.

The international response to the Haiti earthquake may not be all it seems.

The mobile phone has a crucial role to play in mobilizing activists and protesters.

Oil giant being sued for environmental destruction by farmers in the Niger Delta.

Suggestions that Africa should reduce its population in order to avert climate disaster are completely wide of the mark. It's not population we should be controlling, but consumption.

A militant statement by civil society organizations in Nigeria condemns the Government's actions in the Niger Delta.

Yes, what’s happening in Uganda is appalling, but Britain and the US need to sort out their own prejudices as well.

Sixteen days of activism against gender-based violence start here.

A powerful book by Ahmadou Kourouma deserves to be widely read, reckons Sokari Ekine.

Plastic shoes are lethal - for those making them as well as for those wearing them, and even after they've been discarded.

Workers in the DRC are being exploited in the mining of cassiterite, a vital component in laptops and mobile phones.

Buying milk from the Mugabes is just the latest in a decades-long list of wrongdoing.

South Africa's poor have been battling for the right to stay on their land for decades and continue to do so, despite the Government upping the ante. 

If Nigerian prisoners are transferred back home from British prisons, they will face inhumane conditions.

Human rights lawyer Gani Fawehinmi died earlier this month. Sokari Ekine considers his legacy.

Human rights violations are taking place in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean under the guise of 'tourism'.

Africans are leading the way in the business of recycling, says Sokari Ekine

The media circus is missing the point, and making voyeurs of us all.

It’s not just hurricanes that the people of Haiti are struggling against.

Why is the practice of skin lightening still so prevalent around the globe?

Obama's speech in Ghana has caused anger in Africa, as Sokari Ekine explains.

In her many works, South African photo activist Zanele Mutholi explores the meaning of being a same-gender-loving woman in Africa.

The West has been using Africa to dump its toxic waste and unwantables for years and continues, despite it having being illegal since 1992.

Addressing the issue of violence against women is an essential aspect of Black consciousness.

LGBT activists from Africa to South America are standing firm and forming coalitions with other rights groups in the face of continued - and worsening - discrimination. 

As long as the West continues to put a price on African minerals, the ‘armies of business’ will continue to operate and women will remain unprotected from sexual attack.

Africans need to wake up to the challenges of global warming and tackle the problems head on.

Nigeria's leadership must be held to account for the ongoing military offensives in the Niger Delta.

Just a week before the start of the Ken Saro-Wiwa vs. Shell trial in New York, the Nigerian military has gone on the offensive in the Niger Delta.

Africa's people and environment are suffering at the hand of foreign corporations.

Ogoni women have played a key role in their people's fight for justice.

South Africa’s clean-up before the 2010 World Cup is sweeping away homes and people’s livelihoods.

Next month Shell stands trial for complicity in the death of the Ogoni Nine. A time to reflect on how the struggle started, and where it led.

The G20 countries have never had Africa’s interests at heart. As they meet in London this week, this is what Africa should be demanding of them.

The decision by the ANC-led South African Government to refuse entry to the Dalai Lama to attend a peace conference is evidence of the country's movement away from its origins in the struggle against injustices.

Sokari Ekine looks at this week’s anti-G20 action.

A recent conference on food security did nothing to address the concerns of small farmers and local communities.

Thoughts on Bessie Head - an African woman.

African news portals give a voice to the previously unheard.

Campaigners from around the globe met recently in Bangalore to 'talk techie'.

African bloggers are creating new ways of presenting news.

Egypt’s bloggers are using the web to organize not just agonize

Why does the Western media routinely ignore Africa’s conflicts?

Nigerian writer Amos Tutola's quote is certainly true for sexual minorities, still being oppressed by decades-old colonial laws.

With rich countries and corporations buying up our land, we are witnessing a new scramble for Africa.

Is Africa so full of its own oppression that it cannot see that of the Palestinians, and feel their pain?

Forget the terminology - child labour is exploitative and abusive.

Nigeria has a long and proud list of courageous activists, who should not be forgotten.

Oil giant gains legal victory but remains beset by claims of human rights abuses

The scramble for Africa's mineral wealth is leading to de facto re-colonization at the hands of mining transnationals.

One of the most underreported aspects of the ongoing crisis in Zimbabwe, is its effects on women. The recent release of two women activists from Mlondolozi prison reminds us the struggle ahead.

Already the media in the US and UK are awash with proclamations that racism has ended – gone, dead. This is one of the main dangers facing Obamamerica – the struggle for racial justice is very much compromised by notions that we are now in a ‘non-racial world’.

Accused of ‘sponsoring a guerilla news agency’, Nigerian Blogger, Jonathan Elendu, has been arrested and illegally detained by the ominously named Nigerian SSS.

Hundreds of Nigerian prisoners are being held on death row many of whom have been tortured or whose trials were not conducted properly according to a new report by Amnesty International.

 Just over two years ago the Spanish government - desperate to stop migrant workers from crossing into Spain from the Sahara - came to an agreement with the Senegalese government to deploy their coast guard. They also agreed to set up a school for youths in the hope that would stop them from selling DVDs and umbrellas in Granada and Barcelona. It didn't. Thousands more came and are still coming. They put up electric fences in Morocco and arranged with the Moroccan police to deport migrants - many were dumped in the desert by the Moroccan authorities. With Morocco closed, Mauritania became the new departure point for crossing into Spain. The Atlantic waters being far more treacherous than the Mediterranean has meant thousands drowning in the small wooden boats during the crossings. In one of the most horrendous crossings, 47 Senegalese were left adrift to die in the Atlantic. The boat with the bodies was eventually found in Barbados.

On 10 September, two Ugandan LGBTI activists, Georgina (aka Oundo George) and Brenda (aka Kiiza) were taken into custody by two men in plain clothes who identified themselves as police officers. The two activists were held illegally for one week, were denied any legal representation, denied bail and never brought before a judge. Under both Ugandan and International law the detention was illegal...

A leaked email from a BBC editor highlights the Western media’s lack of interest in Haiti.

Ugandans facing a barrage of discrimination