The Radical Mantate

“ I have been blind from birth, but I chose not to be apathetic because even the lack of sight is not an excuse for not engaging in developmental processes ”- the words of Mohamed Ishan Jalil, a disabled activist from Sri Lanka greatly shape the narrative I now carry of the disabled in my community. Ishan does not only speak into change processes in his country, but empowers young people to stand above known limitations and claim spaces of development. He models the kind of resistance that makes positive transformation inevitable. Ishan Jalil in glasses, outside the Vienna Townhall, Austria. While sympathy remains the most commonly emphasized foundation for treating the disabled, Ishan carries into people’s lives an air that earns him respect and admiration. My first encounter with this amazing Sri Lankan was over dinner on the first night of the Generation Democracy Global Summit in Vienna, Austria. He was simply jovial and curious, surprisingly able recognize most of us f...

By far one of the most free-spirited souls of the Generation Democracy Vienna Summit, Suhaib Harb Ahmed Al-Shrosh Al-Maseedin, born in Jordan but currently residing in Romania, leads a radically opinionated life. For him, one is not obliged to live up to or conform to the standards and expectations of other people, but rather, to live each day and pursue each moment with a sense of confidence over the choices and standards one chooses to live by. While the tendency to conform and have our potential and actions validated by other people seems to be too common a trend across youths of all demographics, I learnt from Suhaib that change or being different is something the world will always struggle to accept, and that our choice to let other people’s standards be our limitation will always cost us an opportunity to tread on new grounds. It starts back home; in our little spaces with friends and family; and it stretches to the strangers we meet and the colleagues who grow to fill a maj...

'Because you are feminists’, they say, ‘Men in women’s bodies!What can we say??’ As I hear their endless rhetoric I’m thinking to myself You don’t have to say anything, Especially when it’s all assumptions! A mere attempt by a mediocre mind To explain what’s at a level above them! Would they rather choke themselves? Or pay silence where it’s due! It appears to me That feminism, among a whole lot Of other women empowerment mechanisms Has been greatly prejudiced. It’s not just our friends nor the families we have But alas! A whole world around us. Some don’t even bother to hide their contempt Towards women who dare To tread on grounds traditionally deemed masculine. They are labelled rebellious, Women who can’t respect men! Honestly though! What do we call ambitious men? Who undermine and disregard The capacity of women to lead them?? Do we brand them rebels too? Or maybe rebellious Is now a term reserved for women Who are courageous enough To challenge...

The name just sells the package! Generation Democracy is about participatory leadership. It incorporates a model youth network of passionate leaders who feel not just the obligation but the potential and capacity they have to drive civic engagement and democratic leadership in their individual countries and communities. The cross-cultural dynamics and the intellectual standard of political knowledge exhibitted by the 34 participants from 7 SADC countriess gathered in Johannesburg are simply astounding                                                                             When I applied to participate, I was quite nervous about the huge gap between the minimum and maximum age criteria the platform presented. I questioned the relevance of my contribution among a pool of graduates and ...

In a statement made on the 10 th  of September 2015, the objective view the Zimbabwe Electoral Support Network gave of you was that, “Noting the previous challenges that Zimbabwe has faced in post elections related to the state of the voters roll, the Biometric Voter Registration will go a long way in cleaning the voters roll and instilling confidence in the electoral process.” The theoretical narration does sound catchy, but I, like many Zimbabweans, have reservations on your potential effectiveness if not properly administered. Our post electoral journey has done a great job eroding the confidence of citizens on the democratic nature of our government. You would agree with me that introducing a new, majorly foreign, system triggers instinctive fear of its manipulation. Think of the elderly community, unless clearly defined, you will be resistibly rejected, and shun even more people away from the interest of registering to vote. Preceding failed systems places you in a critical...

Shoes! I love shoes! Not just because they make a girl look great but because shoes have a way of defining the type of person she is and can be. For a moment, picture a girl in high platform heels. They spell confidence in self, authority and command over her personality, choices and character. High heeled shoes are not for everyone except those girls who want to try out the extreme; to defy the odds. They are meant for the sassy ones who don’t mind being laughed at when they trip simply because they have made the personal choice to look great in the “hard to walk in” type of shoe. Now look beyond the simple purpose high heeled shoes serve into the principles and values governing the lives of young people today. We live in a technological era where morals seem too high for young people to walk on. They prefer the shortcuts, the simpler, fast routes to fun and pay no care to the implications that that particular shoe(fun) can have on their overall identity and the perceptio...

It is ridiculously appalling how some self-righteous, egocentric rapist could defensively claim that women broadcast invites to be raped by the way they dress. Not only is this a pathetic excuse by a desperate rapist groping at dry twigs but a reflection of how low society can stoop because even in an ankle-long skirt, women still get raped! Like in the case of any other being, male or female, the choice of dressing is entirely hinged on an individual’s perception of comfort and how the next person then chooses to manipulate this fact cannot at any point in life be excused as a justifiable reason for rape, or any form of gender based violence. Condoning this popularly encountered claim is society sanctioning the rape and abuse of any woman or girl who is rendered indecently dressed by some psychopathic males seeking to feed their hideously immoral sexual appetites. Rape is a violation of an individual’s dignity, pride and privacy. It is nothing less than the inhuman treatment...