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Powerful presence: Fatoumata Diawara performing at the CTIJF 2026. Photo: Armand Hough
ACTIVISM

Fatoumata Diawara channels ancestry and activism in Cape Town

Blending Malian heritage with high-energy pop, Fatoumata Diawara used the CTIJF stage to honour her roots and confront FGM, proving that heritage and modern activism are…

  • Busi Lethole
8 min read
Economic Freedom Fighters commander-in-chief, Julius Malema. Photo: @EFFSouthAfrica
ADVOCACY

I will never retreat from my ideas,” Malema says as sentencing is postponed to April

The EFF leader told supporters he would not abandon his ideas

  • Mandisa Makgakga
4 min read
Voice of the voiceless: Pumeza Matshikiza, who hails from the Eastern Cape and has graced opera stages around the world, has become an ambassador for Women and Men Against Child Abuse. Photo: Decca/Simon Fowler
ADVOCACY

Opera singer Pumeza Matshikiza on joining the global fight against child abuse

Renowned soprano Pumeza Matshikiza steps off the stage and into advocacy, using her art and influence to fight child abuse

  • Rolland Simpi Motaung
8 min read
Nongovernmental organisations like Equal Education have played an important role in advocating for equality and social justice in South Africa.
ADVOCACY

NGOs will have to up their game in South Africa

Civil society organisations and other stakeholders will become increasingly important to maintaining the government’s legitimacy

  • Richard Jurgens
8 min read
Jane Kubai ran away from home to avoid FGM. She then worked day and night to obtain a qualification. Now, her father advises other families against child marriage
ADVOCACY

Meet a Kenyan heroine of health: ‘I want to be an ambassador for the voiceless’

Jane Kubai ran away from home to avoid FGM. She then worked day and night to obtain a qualification. Now, her father advises other families against child marriage

  • Michael Kaloki
4 min read
Quality time: After Dr Zolelwa Sifumba was in a car accident, which occurred after she worked for 36 hours straight, she realised how important it was to get enough regular rest. (Paul Botes/M&G)
ADVOCACY

Q&A Sessions: Dr Zolelwa Sifumba on learning to rest and healing herself

Dr Zolelwa Sifumba went from being a frontline healthcare worker to stepping back from clinical work. She speaks to Elna Schütz about her shift into more open spaces

  • Elna Schütz
5 min read