“To be, or not to be: that is the question:” must be one of the most famous lines in the world, known by young and old, encapsulating the nature of dilemma, the weighing of imperfect solutions and consequences. Decision-making falls upon us all at some time or the other, as citizens and individuals. The […]
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Death on the Streets
‘Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them.’ (Margaret Atwood) On the night of 26th June 2022, Zara Aleena, 35 years old, is walking home along a main road in Ilford, East London. She is brutally attacked by a man […]
Hunger, Scarcity and Abundance.
In a world where we have war, plague, school shootings, more doom and gloom scenarios than we can comprehend, it’s no longer just a preacher on the high street threatening apocalypse, but many an expert and pundit. Food insecurity has raised its dreaded head. Not just caused by the war in Ukraine, the climate […]
Blood and Murder
I don’t normally write book reviews, although some of my recent posts certainly belie that assertion. Lol. In my defence I can proudly say, all the books reviewed were written by women of colour, on topics not covered by other writers. The subject of this post, The Return of Faraz Ali by Aamina Ahmad, […]
We, The Barbarians…
In a week when Vladimir Putin rained down missiles on Ukrainian cities, a Hollywood star mounted the stage at the annual Oscars bash and slapped the award presenter, Chris Rock. Putin invaded Ukraine, a democratic nation far smaller than the mighty Russian state, to “demilitarise and de-Nazify” it, so that Russia could feel “safe”. Will […]
“Bloody hell, Brown Women Are Strong.”
The title of this blog post is from the book, Brown Girl Like Me, By Jaspreet Kaur. Subtitled, The Essential Guidebook and Manifesto for South Asian Girls and Women, it tackles the complicated, multi-layered, and often painful existence of South Asian women with honesty, lived experience, empathy, research, and quotes from a variety of brown women and […]
Beware: Theft-in-Progress
Forget partygate, Sue Gray’s report (not that I demean its seriousness) or the calls for Johnson’s resignation (not that I approve of law-breaking) but none of these events will change the direction of travel for Britain; the co-ordinates have been set, the actors are in mid-play and the denouement appears inevitable. Authoritarianism. Accompanied by the […]
Vaccines and Big Fat Cats
If there was a God in the sky looking down on the human race, at its wars, enmity, injustice, hunger and homelessness, to name but a few of the torments being ruthlessly propagated on the third rock from the sun, She could be forgiven for becoming so enraged, that She decided to teach those two-legged […]