Ms Informed Newsletter | Palestine, South Africa, and Black Feminists
Stay informed about feminist matters, the easy way!
Join Madhvi for a 4-week Creative Writing Course: Your Erotic Story, starting Feb. Come get cosy, intimate and creative with her and a small group of other writers in Berlin Mitte over 4 Sundays. Only 2 spots left, so book now.
Shownotes
Did you notice we have a new theme song? It was composed specially by Alejandro Mosso - check him out!
Times live on South African Feminists
Gender Justice on Lilian Ngoyi
The Conversation on Lilian Ngoyi
High school recap podcast on Lilian Ngoyi (Very good!!!)
AAM Archives on the women of anti apartheid
Global Citizens on the women leaders against Apartheid
Mariam Makeba’s song Beware Verwoerd
YouTube video: Black feminist writers and Palestine
USCPR: Palestine is a reproductive issue
Wikipedia on Winne Mandela
This week’s distraction
This weeks distraction is the recent elections in the Democratic republic of Congo.
”Félix Tshisekedi, the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has been sworn in for a second five-year term after a landslide victory that his opponents have refused to recognise owing to widespread irregularities in the December general election.
Authorities have acknowledged there were problems but dismissed allegations the vote was stolen. The fractious standoff echoes previous electoral disputes that fuelled unrest in Africa’s second-largest country, with protests breaking out on Saturday in two eastern cities.
Tshisekedi took the oath of office in the capital, Kinshasa, at a stadium packed with flag-waving supporters, government officials, African heads of state and foreign envoys including from the US, China and France.”
Read more in the Guardian here
This week Madhvi read
This week Madhvi read Audre Lorde’s The Uses of the Erotic again as part of the reading list for the new creative writing course I am running in Feb. I promise I will stop going on about this as soon as the last 2 spots are filled! Also, I’m very excited about it! Coming?
This week Rina listened to
This week Rina listened to our kick-ass protest song playlist. We put this together for our fundraiser for Palestine but it has some amazing South African resistance songs and others songs from all around the world!
This week’s inspiration
This weeks inspiration is Michelle Kwan. Michelle Kwan is a retired competitive figure skater and diplomat serving as United States Ambassador to Belize. In figure skating Kwan is a two-time Olympic medalist (silver in 1998, bronze in 2002), a five-time World champion (1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003) and a nine-time U.S. champion (1996, 1998–2005). She is tied with Maribel Vinson for the all-time National Championship record.
Yeah you read that right Michelle competed in the olympics twice, she is one of the most decorated figure skaters in US history and then she started working for the democratic party. What a woman!
In January 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Kwan to be U.S. Ambassador to Belize. She was confirmed by the Senate on September 29, 2022, took the oath of office on October 22, and presented her credentials on December 5.