Lizzo advocates against ‘digital distortion’ with an unedited selfie
The Grammy award-winning artist shared an un-retouched photograph on Instagram to spark conversations about the unrealistic beauty standards perpetuated by social media. Social media is an incredible tool, but it’s also incredibly harmful. The irresponsible promotion of unhealthy behaviours and obscurement of bodies that don’t match western-centric beauty standards on...
Current in People
Greta Thunberg says vaccine nationalism to worsen climate crisis
In a Twitter thread, Greta explained that ‘inequality and climate injustice is already the heart of the climate crisis.’ In a pointed Twitter thread, Greta Thunberg said that “vaccine nationalism” threatens to make the pandemic worse and that public health in general is inseparable from the climate crisis. She said that she...
Hundreds missing after Rohingya refugee camp fires
During the last fortnight, several small fires have devastated dozens of make-shift shelters in India and Bangladesh, displacing a further 45,000 escapees of Myanmar’s military crackdown. At present, an estimated one million Rohingya refugees are living in overcrowded sprawling camps in southern Bangladesh, after fleeing a brutal crackdown by the...
Oxford’s AstraZeneca vaccine ignites debate on female contraception
If blood clots have halted entire vaccine rollouts, should we be taking more time to consider the side effects of female contraception? Over a dozen countries around the globe have restricted use of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine due to fears surrounding potential side effects. Germany, Spain, and Italy are amongst the...
How education poverty has risen during the pandemic
Students have been adversely affected in their routines, social life, and mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic. But how has this pandemic affected those who cannot afford their education? From textbooks to private tutoring, education can be a costly undertaking for families. As home schooling became our new normal last year,...
Celebrities back Tree Aid’s appeal to save the Metema forest
Several high-profile names are supporting a call from Tree Aid to bring a forest in Ethiopia back from the brink of extinction. Tree Aid, a charity that works with people in the drylands of Africa to tackle poverty and the effects of the global climate crisis by growing trees,...
Women protesting femicide in Latin America refuse to back down
In a region where machismo reigns and gender-based violence is widespread, demonstrations against these issues continue to unfold. Now, the fight is crossing borders. Deemed the most lethal location on the planet for women prior to the outbreak, Latin America is as deadly as ever, with activists of the #NiUnaMenos movement blaming Coronavirus for consolidating the ongoing problem of domestic and gendered violence throughout the region. Comprising almost half of the...
Egyptian women’s rights groups rise up against oppressive bill
A grassroots feminist movement in Egypt has risen up to protest a “shocking draft law” that would require women to gain the consent of a male guardian to get married or travel abroad. Lawyer Entissar El-Saeid has argued that the new law ‘calls off the rights women have acquired over decades of fighting’. The draft personal status bill would require male consent for a woman to get married, register a child’s...
How Bobi Wine is pushing for Ugandan change
Despite the obstacles to his success, Bobi Wine continues to fight for change in Uganda. Bobi Wine is somewhat of a legend in Uganda. Primarily known as a reggae artist, his lyrics are permeated by narratives of social change that focus on the high levels of suffering prevalent in Uganda. Much of the population is able to identify with the inequality and deprivation that Wine brings to life in his music, which...
Celebrating Transgender icons for Transgender Visibility Day
To celebrate International Transgender Visibility Day, we’ve put together a list of five transgender heroes making history around the world right now. International Transgender Day of Visibility was started in 2009 by activist Rachel Crandall, who was disappointed in the lack of positive representation for transgender people in mainstream media. Crandall recalled that anytime she heard about the trans community, ‘it to be due to Remembrance Day’ and about ‘...
