insert_link South Africa South African men can assume their wives’ surnames South Africa’s Constitutional Court (Photo: concourt.org.za) South Africa’s Constitutional Court has ruled that men may legally adopt their wives’ surnames, finding parts of Section 26 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act unconstitutional. The case, brought by two couples, challenged the law as discriminatory on gender grounds. Justice Leona Theron stated that the existing rule was based on colonial-era patriarchy, which placed women in inferior positions. Parliament has been given […] today11 September, 2025
insert_link Entertainment Was Beethoven truly the greatest? A portrait of the German composer Ludwig van Beethoven in 1818. 12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images By Philip Ewell, Hunter College On May 7, 1824, Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony premiered in Vienna, Austria. On its 200th anniversary, much was made about this seminal achievement of a composer routinely touted as the greatest master who ever lived. In an essay for The New York Times, conductor […] today22 May, 2024
insert_link Namibia One Economy Foundation’s BeFreeMovement hosts ‘Constructive Masculinity Workshop’ The One Economy Foundation’s BeFree Movement will host a 'Constructive Masculinity Workshop' on April 26, 2024. Kaarina Iitah, Head of Programs at One Economy Foundation, says the workshop aims to engage diverse stakeholders and raise awareness about the importance of healthy masculinities in dismantling patriarchal norms. today23 April, 2024
insert_link Environment Male dominance isn’t the default in primate societies, new study shows A Müller’s gibbon. All five species of gibbons that were evaluated were classified as non-male-dominant. Image by JJ Harrison via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0). By Tina Deines via Mongabay It’s a man’s world when it comes to ape societies — at least, that’s been the prevailing assumption for years. But some recent research is shaking up how we think about this group of primates to which humans belong. Rebecca Lewis, a professor […] today5 March, 2024
insert_link Opinion Pieces Even with a 30% quota in place, Indonesian women face an uphill battle running for office By Sally White, Australian National University In the 2019 general election, Indonesians voted more women into the national parliament than ever before. After the first election of the post-authoritarian period in 1999, women’s representation was a paltry 8.8%, so the rise to 20.9% in 2019 seemed worth celebrating. Indeed, women activists had worked long and hard to reach this point. Disappointed with the results of the first […] today9 February, 2024
