“It would be fantastic if before every soccer game, the team captain stood up and said we believe in safe sex, consensual sex, and the dignity of every woman and child,” says Bonita Meyersfeld of the Gender Unit at the Centre for Applied Legal Studies at Witswaterand University. “FIFA is a rich organization and they are putting so much money into this event, but when they leave the same problems will still exist.”

Will a billion condoms be enough during the World Cup 2010?

She opens herself to all influences – everything nourishes her. Everything is gravy to her, including what she does not understand – particularly what she does not understand.
- Henry Miller

On Saturday I was at Ellis Park Stadium where Nigeria were playing Argentina. And in the spirit of the African World Cup, some Nigerians came with pet chickens to sheer up their super Eagles but they where told no chickens were allowed into the stadium. John Okoro told the South African Press Association (SAPA) that “We were allowed to take our chickens in 1998 World Cup, but these people wont let us.” Read the full article here

I don’t even particularly like football. But I love the World Cup.

How can Cameroon be losing to Japan? I just texted a friend of mine. Africa’s first World Cup is my World Cup. And judging from the shouts emanating from the restaurant downstairs whenever there’s a game, I’m not the only one who feels like that.

I asked a friend who his teams are for the World Cup. Africa, he said. I have six teams. And whilst my heart may beat for Cote d’Ivoire this year, I know exactly what he means.  It’s why I took special pride in Ghana’s win over Serbia. And why Cameroon’s defeat by Japan felt personal. Do other continents feel this same sense of solidarity?

There is a different buzz about Harare – the frequency that already revels in a veneer of normalcy, of a false sense of stability after years of uncertainty has reached a new pitch since the Samba Boys’ visit. I feel compelled to double check with people that they’ll be at work, that they’ll keep an appointment – that they won’t be watching a match.

My neophyte’s enthusiasm might make a more dedicated fan of the sport cringe.  But I was thrilled when a dedicated follower explained to me just how simple it is to understand football. So for others who might want to get caught up in it this month, I‘ll share his instructions:

a) score goals
b) don’t go off sides

Yip. That’s about it for starters. You just want to score goals. You have 90 minutes to do so. And the good news is, to win a World Cup game you only need to score one or two. Unless of course your team is Australia. And the other team is Germany . . .

Two friends and I entered Harare’s Got Talent on Saturday night, with a pantomime dance performance of Kenny Roger’s The Gambler. We were last minute cowboys, really. It started off as a joke, a bit of a dare one evening, but suddenly there were Auditions. And rehearsals. An official run through. A compulsory warm up. And a Performance.

My co-workers were quite game about our “board room” [read foyer] getting taken over for a rehearsal space. One of them even got roped into writing up our blocking, and taking notes on our props list. I was a bit worried our land lord would come and investigate, but 17 “know when to hold ‘em” choruses later we were still safe.

The blocking document was titled The Meddle, and included things like:

• J and A do the hop
• J shoots A
• A plays tambourine
• A and J show their aces
• Chorus: Go crazy
• A shoots K

And the props included:

• Bottle stick
• Cards
• 2 x Guns
• 3 x Cowboy hats

The show took place at Harare’s Rep’s Theatre – like the snap of the marquis above, it’s shabby on the outside, well meaning enough, on the inside, but stuck in the same bygone era that Harare’s post offices and government buildings seem to still be in.

There were a good 45 acts or so – a motley assortment of novices and veterans, across a range of ages and talents. I overheard one dancer ask another why there were so many singers. I overheard one musician ask another why non musicians were in the show. The people who knew they were neither singers nor dancers knew better than to posit why their numbers were so low. They were the only people I overheard asking – why are we here again? Go figure.

In the end, guitarist singer and song writer Christessa took second place, and Mumbai Jackson [think Bollywood meets Thriller] won first prize, with a three-person dance to original choreography. In the process, scores of people got first hand experience with the behind the behind the scenes elements of a performance – the tension and off stage drama, as well as the gritty, unglamourous sweat and frustration that it takes to pull something like that off. And the audience of 400 or so got exposed to performers they’ll be hoping to see more of in future, and others – like the last minute cowboys – that they’ll know they want to avoid.

Homosexuality is not something that is new to African society, that there is a lexicon in African languages to describe it is proof enough of this. Yet recent events, fuelled by ignorance and political expediency would have us believe otherwise. Perhaps the problem is not whether homosexuality exists at all, but rather it may be the extent of the expression of that sexuality within the context of our society.

Pambazuka News most recent issue publishes a very interesting piece titled Pink Imperialism: LGBTQ and the Middle East.

Middle Eastern Society is more conservative than our own, yet LGBTQ persons found ways to make spaces for themselves in their society. In the article, blogger A of Arabia notes that Western approaches to secure gay rights in other parts of the world neglect acknowledgement of the economic security and opportunities associated with being openly gay in a given society.