By Heather Dugmore Working through the night on the rooftop of the Engineering building at Stellenbosch University, physicists Dr Yaseera Ismail and Professor Francesco Petruccione set a new world record by establishing the longest-ever secure quantum satellite...
By Zubeida Jaffer In a recent article (link), I mulled over the yearning for cultural perseveration of two communities – the one led by AfriForum and Solidarity and the other in the Bo-Kaap in Cape Town. The one is a sliver of the Afrikaner community and the other a...
By Zubeida Jaffer Columbia University’s School of Journalism in New York has made a bold and urgent call to action for all who value the core principles of free speech and a free press. In an unprecedented statement, the school’s entire faculty has urged people across...
By Aslam Fataar Among those gathered at Cape Town International Airport to welcome Ebrahim Rasool, wife Rosieda and son Tanwir, on their return from the United States—following Ebrahim's sudden designation as persona non grata—was a galvanising sense of solidarity....
By Zubeida Jaffer An apple a day keeps the doctor away. We all grew up with this familiar saying. This Ramadan (Islamic month of fasting), I learnt that a banana a day was an equally good idea. Fasting is a time for self-reflection and seeking to consciously become a...
By Zubeida Jaffer The dusk was still, with not a leaf stirring in the wind. Yet, the streets of Wale and Rose in the Bo-Kaap were alive with energy. People of all ages, races, and faiths, had gathered for a special occasion. They came to break their fast or simply be...
By McGlory Speckman (Photo by Zubeida Jaffer) As we celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the Kairos Document in September 2025, we must look back at its impact on what it called ‘State Theology’ and how it influenced people’s behaviour. A case in point is the...
Nestled in one of the world’s largest glass greenhouses at Gardens by the Bay in Singapore is a South African garden resplendent with lilies, fynbos and proteas. At the Flower Dome, South Africa joins Italy, Spain, California and Singapore in a shared space presenting...
By Zubeida Jaffer On the shores of Muizenberg beach, a small trader is waging a Herculean battle with the City of Cape Town. After five years of trading, Lucille and Quinton Abrams, owners of the mobile business, The Pancake, were denied a permit and subsequently lost...
Nelson Mandela once said that the Palestine issue is the greatest moral question ofour time.13 October 2023 Dear President Minouche Shafik, Thank you for your letter addressed to Columbia alumni and friends on 10 October. Iread it carefully, pondered over it and...
Photograph by Ruschka Jaffer “Miners produce tons of rocks to access a small amount of gold. They do not let the rocks distract them – they focus on the gold. They bear no-ill will to the rocks – they never contemplate their non-existence.” These words popped onto my...
By Zubeida Jaffer The mood is sombre. No smiling faces. Cosy Corner and Sabria's in Wynberg are open for business as usual, but the staff are constrained. The owner of the two establishments passed away this week on Wednesday 8 February, 2023. Yousri Hartley was 57...
Whereas Ms Zubeida Jaffer has achieved exceptional merit and given proof of eminent gifts of intellect, character and leadership, and in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the South African media industry, her commitment to factual and accurate reporting...
Today I receive a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil), honoris causa degree from the University of Stellenbosch. I am deeply moved by this acknowledgement. May we ALL be acknowledged for the sacrifices we made for this country. To watch the live streaming of the event:...
Zubeida Jaffer, Shepi Mati, Frank Meintjies and Phindile Xaba South Africa has come a long way from the dark day of October 19, 1977 when the Apartheid regime squeezed the noose tightly around press freedom. Known as Black Wednesday, the day has appropriately become...
By Zubeida Jaffer I am an African. I owe my being to the hills and the valleys, the mountains and the glades, the rivers, the deserts, the trees, the flowers, the seas and the ever-changing seasons that define the face of our native land. My body has frozen in our...
By Zubeida Jaffer The extensive banning of the international news channel Russia Today (RT) in the world represents a dangerous moment for journalism. It pushes back the commitment to freedom of expression that many have sacrificed much for. Journalists across the...
Archbishop Desmond Tutu led by example in both his life and death. His central message upon death was twofold: live simply so others may simply live and embrace all religious faiths. Lying peacefully in his coffin, he wore a plain white robe, black socks, perfectly...
My heart breaks today with the news that a great tree has fallen. Our dearest Arch Tutu has left us. He waited to bless us with his presence for the last Christmas and then he passed onto the other world, gracious and free. He has been with us every step of the way...
By Zubeida Jaffer In his last days, Mr F W De Klerk appears to have been poorly advised by those around him. His statement has disturbed the psyche of our nation. Instead of bringing closure, it has unleashed memories that are difficult to process. It required a...
Friday 27 August 2021 Charles Dickens said in 1859: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the...
We have walked such a long road to secure a just and fair South Africa where women can stand confidently alongside men as equal partners. Today, on Women’s Day, we salute those who have gone the extra mile in the past and are doing so in the present so that our boys...
By Zubeida Jaffer It was an Alice-in-Wonderland experience. The car glided through the streets of Gugulethu on Mandela Day until it reached NY 22. It stopped in front of the home of Lumkile Mzukwa outside a gate that closed off a driveway with a garage behind it....
By Zubeida Jaffer Charlotte Mannya Maxeke took the unusual step in 1902 to insist on the participation of women in church and political meetings. She had graduated with a BSc Degree in 1901 becoming the first indigenous South African women to achieve this. When she...
By Zubeida Jaffer Internationally renowned South African intellectual historian and Marxist scholar, Professor Ntongela Masilela passed away in Thailand recently after a long illness. He was 72 years old. He will be remembered for his formidable collection of works...
Ashley Kriel was murdered on 9 July 1987. This is an excerpt from Our Generation, my memoir, to be released in a second edition soon.
Will Israelis and the world look away when Israel and the US gear up to further strip away what little is left of Palestinian land soon? Israel, in accordance with the latest US Plan, is set to unfold an annexation of land in direct contravention of international law....
By Zubeida Jaffer The goal of full liberation in South Africa remains unachieved. Pallo Jordan, one of the ANC”s leading intellectuals said this recently at a memorial service of former member of parliament, Ben Turok. In anticipation of the 1997 ANC elective...
Two dates in September are hard for me to forget – 12 and 27 September. On 12 September 1977, 42 years ago, Steve Bantu Biko was murdered in police custody. He was 30 years old. On the 27 September 1969, 50 years ago, Imam Abdullah Haron, at age 45, faced the same...
This article was published in Muslim Views in March 1991 His broken body lay at the bottom of the stairs. The fall had caused his death or so they said. Covered in multiple bruises, 28 in all, the body of Imam Abdullah Haron was returned to his family after 123 days...