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Connecting To Advance
Hugh Masekela with Paul Simon
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P Square with I Love You (Official video with Lyrics) on UGPulse.com Nigerian Naija Music
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Angelina by Praye
[youtube]NIIDr0HlGeE[/youtube]
Chantelle Bester, Contributor from the Ghanaian JournalThere can’t be anything worse than realising that you’ll have to drop your beauty standards a few notches in order to be able to live through the month. Being on a budget is sadly, a rather common occurrence but there are ways not to let it affect your grooming too much.
I was recently reminded of this when I stood in a cosmetic department and could not, for the life of me, find a cleanser for under 300 bucks — and I don’t know about you, but in the last week of most months, 300 bucks means a lot in my wallet.
Here are some of my tips on how you can make the most of your budget, which products are essential, which can be skipped altogether and which can be left until “next month”….
Keep it clean
Cleansing is an essential step, and should never be skipped or skimped on. Free Radicals (from pollution, UV radiation, smoke, dirt and dust to name a few) accumulate on your skin during the course of every day, and need to be removed since it’s the main cause of skin ageing.
Fortunately you do not need an expensive product to do the job, and many trusty pharmacy cleansers are kind to your skin and your bank balance. A cleanser need not have fancy ingredients, but look for terms like “pH balanced” and “soap free”.
The term “dermatologically tested” means nothing to me — all products have to be tested before they are allowed to be sold. If you want the extra benefit of exfoliation (removal of dead skin cells), look for a cleanser with fruit enzymes, Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHAs) or salycilic acid — this eliminates the need for an additional exfoliating product thus saving you some more bucks.
Not Particularly Useful
I’m probably at risk of being publicly stoned, but I do not see any need for a toner with the technology used in skincare nowadays. Cleansing twice will benefit you much more than a toner if it’s the squeaky-clean feeling you’re after, or if you feel that a toner does the last bit of cleaning for you. It certainly does no harm, but gone are the days of astringent toners that claim to “tighten” or “close” the pores after cleansing. Why would you want to “close” your pores if your next step is to apply cream?
Scrub-a-dub-dub
Exfoliation is another important step. If you do not exfoliate, dead skin builds up which causes blockages like black- and white-heads, and prevents your skincare products from penetrating properly.
Imagine the blackened layer on a burnt slice of toast – no butter will get through to the rest of the bread, meaning you might as well be pouring your moisturizers and serums down the drain. Not being a fan of abrasive granules in exfoliators (they are, after all, abrasive and damaging to more sensitive skins), I prefer an exfoliator with enzymes and/or AHAs that gently but very effectively loosens and dissolve dead skin cells without being too harsh.
If you prefer an exfoliator with granules (or a scrub, as it’s commonly known), I would advise going for something that contains artificial beads that are mechanically made to be perfect spheres that will not scratch or injure the skin surface, unlike natural ingredients like ground pumice. You can also, as mentioned earlier, use a cleanser with exfoliating properties.
The next step
Serums and treatment creams are an important step in correcting any skin conditions (think pigmentation, acne, sun damage, ageing skin). This is a product worth spending a little more money on, since it should play a large part in the results you achieve from your skincare regime, provided your skin is well exfoliated of course. You can change or switch serums once or twice a year, or as your skin develops different needs.
Hydrate your skin
Many professionals, especially dermatologists, believe a moisturiser, no matter how prettily packaged, is still merely a moisturiser and its function is to deliver moisture to the most superficial layers of the skin.
If you have no skin problems, or if you are using a good serum or treatment cream, a basic pharmacy moisturiser will do the trick. If, however, your skin is exceptionally dry or dehydrated, be on the lookout for a moisturiser containing Hyaluronic acid, or ask for products that contain humectants — ingredients that are specifically designed to attract and transport moisture to where it is needed.
Get protection
Another boring-sounding but vitally important step in your skincare regime is sun protection. A sunscreen with a SPF of 20 to 30 is ideal for everyday use. Come rain or shine, your sunscreen protects your skin against various forms of UV radiation, and can greatly slow down the ageing process and maintain an even complexion. A sunscreen can be used over a moisturiser, or you can use a moisturiser that contains an SPF of 20 or higher.
Not an iron mask
Masks have always been the last products I would recommend as it may be a nice extra to have, but not an essential at all. If you need or want something extra, you will benefit much more from a serum, since it can penetrate more effectively, and is not rinsed off the skin.
Putting on your face
The rule is stick to a good foundation (mineral foundations have added skin care benefits) that is non-comedogenic (does not block pores and cause blackheads), non-acnegenic, and oil-free.
Unfortunately, the more smudge-proof/long lasting/waterproof/magical it claims to be, the more chemicals have to be added to it. This is something you have to weigh up as the confidence you might gain from “flawless skin” makes up for this in most cases.
And the rest
Looking at the other stuff in your cosmetic bag, I like having decent mascara, eyeliner and bronzer, and for the rest I shop during the seasonal sales in the cosmetic departments. For example, you’re probably not going to use an eye shadow in a high fashion colour very often, so a cheapie will do just fine. And I have honestly bought some R30 lipglosses that are way better than a R300 version I have owned.
The African growth model based solely on foreign aid has so far not delivered the promises it was hoped to deliver. Actually, it has done more harm than good.
One will agree with me that foreign aid has served to promote oppressive regimes rather the everyday African people. Politicians in the category of Sani Abacha of Nigeria and Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire/Congo eventually stacked the money in foreign banks which is then loaned back to Africa. Others do it in mild way by using the money to feed their cronies and families and have enough to send even children of their friends to world-class universities abroad. Opening markets to African goods and services will not solve the entire problem but at least leave some power in the hands of the ordinary people.
I believe, however, that it is time for us to begin to look at a different growth model for the African economy that depends less on foreign aid. This new model in my opinion should be based on open markets where African goods and services have free access to western markets. Growth in China, and to some extend India, have largely been dependent on the access of goods and services from these geographical regions into the western markets.
When we talk about goods and services, most readers will ask ‘what can Africa deliver? Well, it’s actually a lot. I’m not talking about Kenya or Senegal exporting cell phones and laptops to the US next year. But what about a system that makes it attractive for the US manufacturer to import raw materials from the African farmers, if that is what we bring to the market at this period in time.
Let us consider some figures. In 2001, the US approved about $4 Billion in subsidies to nearly 25,000 cotton growers in the US for cotton crop that was worth only $3 Billion at the world marker price. Other figures I came across pointed out that a single cotton grower in a mid-western US state received $6 million in subsidies, which is larger than the combined annual earnings of 25,000 cotton farmers in Mali. (For your information, the $4 Billion government subsidy is also more than one third what the US spends on the nearly 1 billion people on the African continent).
This policy makes it unattractive for manufactures to import raw materials from Africa and other developing countries
This system is being perpetrated not only by the US but also by the European Union and China, which is destroying the livelihood of countries like Mali, Senegal, Chad, and Benin which are all major cotton producing countries. A recent study by UNCTAD-India pointed out that if the US were to do away with some of these subsidies, farm output will decline by nearly 40%. Although we would pay more at the grocery story in the US, it will spur up more imports from Africa and other developing regions which will generate enough foreign exchange the fund their community development activities.
This is not advocating for a loss-loss situation for the US and Europe. In fact, it’s more than a win-win case. Western countries have more to gain than lose.
The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) were enacted to do just this. AGOA provides duty-free access to the U.S. market for a wide range of products from eligible African countries, while spurring African governments to make their countries attractive to U.S. investment. I think this is the type of initiative that needs an injection of momentum and expansion
Most of us were raised in cultures where being a macho, higly educated and of good social status were vital if one wanted to get a woman’s attention. Even though good looks and status in society are still important, research shows that it is a kind heart that softens the heart of a woman.
Psychologists have discovered that a woman is likey to open her heart to the man who shows kindness and generosity to other people.
The data shows that men who have “altruistic interests”, such as working for a charity, or helping the needy were regarded as “significantly more desirable.”.
This was the result of a series of test involving 150 female undergraduates at McMaster University, Ontario, Canada. The women shown a set of fictional dating adverts, each including a man’s photo and a brief description.
The researchers maniputed the wording such than some men appeared more “altruistic” while others appeared “neutral”. Majority of the women found the guy who was ‘beneficient’ and ‘unselfish’ more attractive. Again, the women showed strong preference for relationships with the nice men in the study.
This suggests that women are attracted to generosity, and that kindness and gentleness serves a purpose in mate selection.
Being devoted to good causes in life pays; even it doesn’t make make a man a preferred candidate for a marriage, he may at least be able to secure the spot for that dream date.
Women in Uganda have protested against their breasts being checked for bombs at entry points to public places.
The protest comes after a directive from the police demanding that womens’ bras should be checked thoroughly. They argue that terrorists are now manufacturing suicide bombs similar to bras.
Uganda police counter terrorism expert, Lodovick Awita while addressing public places operators in Kampala said “Terrorits are devising new methods of attack to beat the tight security measures. They are now making suicide bomb vests similar to bras. We therefore appeal to security personnel to check women’s bras.”
Anger
But women in Uganda have not taken the information lightly. “That is tatamount to abusing our privacy. Why should they touch our breasts simply because they claim they are checking for bombs. Breasts are among the most private parts of women and should no be touched by anyone,” said women’s activist Salama Namuddu during a press interview in Kampala today.
Namuddu believes that instead of giving security personnel a valid pretext to touch women’s breasts, the police should rather place metal detectors at all entry points to public places.
According to her “In this modern world there are gadgets which can be used to detect bombs rather than physical checking of individuals. They can use metal and bomb detectors.”
A women’s rights advocate, Beatrice Akie, has also spoken against the directive. “If they insist on checking us with their hands we will demonstrate against it” says Beatrice.
But whilst Namaddu argues that modern gadgets should be used, Beatrice Akie She explains that although women should be thoroughly checked for security reasons, it should be done in a way that does not abuse their rights, like the use of scanners.
Uganda is under threats of attacks by Al Shabab who accuse it for taking its troops Somalia for peacekeeping missions.
L. Muthoni Wanyeki
Africa’s political independence was accompanied by a common clarion call to eradicate poverty, illiteracy and disease. Fifty years after the end of colonial, the question is: To what extent has the promise of that call has been realized for African women? There is no doubt that African women’s “long walk to freedom” has yielded some results, however painfully and slowly.
The African Union (AU) now has a legally binding Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa. The protocol spells out clearly women’s rights to equality and non-discrimination in a number of areas. It has been ratified by a growing number of African states, can be used in civil law proceedings and is being codified into domestic common law. The AU has also issued a Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa, under which member states are supposed to regularly report on progress.
The protocol and declaration both reflect and reinforce developments at the national level. Many African states have moved to enhance constitutional protections for African women — particularly on women’s rights to citizenship and equality. And the last two decades have seen the emergence of legislation to address violence against women, including sexual violence.
Political representation
These normative developments have been accompanied by improvements in African women’s political representation. The AU adopted, from its inception, a 50 per cent standard for women’s representation, reflected in the composition of its Commission.
Again, this standard drew from and reinforces efforts to enhance women’s representation at the national level. South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda have reached the 30 per cent benchmark for their legislatures. Rwanda has gone further — with 50 per cent representation, one of the best in the world. A few countries, including Nigeria, have seen women assume non-traditional ministerial portfolios, in defence and finance, for example. And Liberia has made history (“herstory”) by becoming the first African country to elect into office a female head of state, Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson.
Progress is evident, particularly in countries that have electoral systems based on or incorporating proportional representation. However, enhanced women’s representation has been harder to achieve in first-past-the-post electoral systems.
But even where there has been progress, the question is whether increased representation of women is catalyzing action by the executives and legislatures in favour of gender equality.
Education, poverty, health
Gains are most evident in African women’s education. Girls and boys are now at par with respect to primary level education. Efforts to get girls into school were accompanied by efforts to keep them in school and to promote role models by developing gender-responsive curricula. Gender gaps are also narrowing in secondary education. The real challenge now lies at the university level, both in the enrolment figures and in the areas of focus to benefit young African women.
Gains for women are harder to see in that call’s “poverty” element, however. It is true that since independence investments in micro-credit and micro-enterprises for women have improved women’s individual livelihoods — and therefore that of their families as well.
Yet there was a critique of such investments, especially in the decade of the 1980s when governments withdrew from social service delivery as a result of structural adjustment programmes. In that context, such investments essentially enabled redistribution among the impoverished, rather than at a macro-level, from the enriched to the impoverished.
The end of that era thus saw a new focus on gender budgeting: looking at where national budget allocations and expenditures could enhance women’s status in the economy. Unsurprisingly, this approach has led African governments back towards public investments in social services.
It is now agreed, for example, the benchmark for public investments in health in Africa is 15 per cent. The African women’s movement has called in particular for this to be directed towards reproductive and sexual health and rights. That is of critical concern to women given the impact of HIV/AIDS, maternal mortality and violence against women, particularly in conflict areas. It is also of concern since African women’s continued lack autonomy and choice over reproduction and sexuality lie at the heart of all pandemics.
Where next?
Where to over the next 50 years then? In light of the experience so far, politically the African women’s movement will be focusing not just on political representation, but the meaning of that representation for advancing gender equality and women’s human rights. And given recent retreats in Africa (such as the rise of the constitutional “coup” and “negotiated democracy”), it will also be focusing on democracy, peace and security more broadly, that is, the nature of the political system itself and not just getting into that system.
Economically, women will continue to focus on the macro-level, but in a deeper sense. What has emerged from gender budgeting efforts is the need to actually track budgetary expenditures, not just being informed about allocations. The aim must be to ensure that Africa’s growth will have real meaning for enhancing African women’s economic livelihoods.
Finally, the women’s movement will be focusing on reproductive and sexual health and rights. The battle over choice (including over gender identity and sexual orientation) is now an open one in many African countries. It is no longer couched politely in demographic or health terms.
African women’s “long walk to freedom” has only just begun.
L. Muthoni Wanyeki is a political scientist who works on development communications, gender and human rights and has published in these fields. She currently works as the Executive Director of the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), a national, non-governmental organisation that works to promote all human rights of all Kenyans through research and advocacy as well as civic actionA new survey just released shows that praising a woman on her lips is the best way to enter her heart. I hope the single African guys who need a little help in the romance department might add this to their pick up lines.
The site (badoo) which conducted the survey has 87 million registered users. The survey analyzed the success rates of opening lines from nearly 200,000 online flirtations in 11 languages.
The sites members were asked to use one of 12 different ice-breakers, each complimenting a woman on a characteristic of her body or appearance. Success was determined by 1) prompting any response and 2) launching a conversation.
And the winner is … “You have beautiful lips.”
Even though the beautiful lips compliment was successful across all countries, some compliments did better in some countries than others. For instance, for
African women were not represented in the survey. In any case, if you’re not sure what the woman will appreciate most, just stick to the lips; it works for all of them. It will surely work for the African woman.
If you want to graciously share your personal experience with African women, the space below is yours. Go ahead.[ad#Adsense-200by200sq]
By Belinda Walker.
Hello,
You posted an article about a week about African women not seeing colors in love and therefore going for interracial dating and marriage. Much as I agree with the article and the fact the world has moved beyond race, I would like to point at that it is not that easy. It is very important that our brothers and sisters think very carefully about the challenges in interracial relationship before they get into it. I’ve have been in such a relationship before. Though let me say that we broke up not because of any racial issues but some of the usual issues in relationships. Some of the problems that I encountered over the 2 years I was in the relationships are listed below:
· People within my community were not accepting the relationship. They always though we were just having fun and not really serious even when we had communicated every intentions that we meant it.
· I constantly heard indirect comments that were uncomfortable; I was stared at my friends and his friends and family.
· In fact sometimes sometime when we went to the restaurant, the restaurant staff will not just acknowledged the two of us as a party or or that we are together. Do I always have to explain to people that we’re couples? What the S&^%t..
· I had some family and friends keeping their distance, even though my guy was warm towards everyone
I’m not trying to say that everything was that bad. I’m just trying to say that everybody must weight him or herself and ask whether he or she can swallow some of these stuff. There are benefits and personal growth if you can work it out. In my case, I had the opportunity to learn about the guys interracial culture or and I was exposed to new ways of thinking. Again just knowing that you are with this person because you love him for who he his was just an incredible. Hei, I also picked a words and phrases from a new language.
By the way, I enjoy reading your blog.
