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Buddhist devotees meditate at  Dhammakaya Temple in Bangkok. (Photo: AFP/ Nicolas Asfouri)

The God Edition | Prayer and the spirit of ubuntu

Nichiren Buddhism can awaken our highest nature, foster compassion and change suffering into strength

(Graphic: John McCann/M&G)

We’ve forgotten Covid’s lesson of humanity

It seems as if the world has become much more selfish and that attitudes have hardened

Photo by Paul Zinken/picture alliance via Getty Images

Proudly woman, proudly South African

Women exhibit a radical resistance to the war within and the war experienced in their daily lives.

Archbishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu speaks during a press conference in Cali, Colombia. (Photo by Mauricio Dueñas / AFP)

Charter For Compassion is a good guide for continuing Tutu’s legacy

The best way to honour Tutu’s legacy is to champion his values of unity, justice and compassion, as espoused in the charter to which he contributed

Graveyard: Wreckage of cars burned by protesters in Eswatini’s unrest in July. A preliminary inquiry has put the number of people killed at 46 but others say that at least 70 people died. (Michele Spatari/AFP)

‘Gross human rights abuses’ in Eswatini

Civil society has called for an investigation into King Mswati’s alleged crimes against humanity

Uncaring society: A man who was killed outside a vandalised mall in Vosloorus  in Gauteng on July 14 was one of 337 people who died during the looting and violence that rocked parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng in July. (Marco Longari/AFP)

Racial capitalism destroys ubuntu

South Africans’ behaviour and attitudes show that poor black working-class people, and black women in particular, are denied their innate humanity

‘Spell of the Sensuous’: Ruzy Rusike in a performance piece by Bongi Bengu and Monique Mrazek. Photo: The Melrose Gallery

The Portfolio: Stories of our Soil explores womanhood, nature and exploitation

Once we have borne the brunt of what has happened to us, we must decide to begin again and change ourselves

SENEKAL, SOUTH AFRICA – 2020/10/16: EFF leader Julius Malema and members of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) chant slogans outside the the magistrates court during the protest.
A tense standoff between white farmers and Black activists gripped the South African town of Senekal, as two men accused of killing a white farm manager were to appear in court. More than 100 police patrolled the area in front of the courthouse in the Free State province and used barbed wire to separate the rival groups. (Photo by Thabo Jaiyesimi/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Distraction, intimidation and future alliances define events at Senekal

The lack of compassion towards Brendin Horner’s family is the failure of identity politics

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues in its second year, the global organised crime network remains rife. (Fadel Senna/ AFP)

We must fight the scourge of child domestic labour

More than 17-million children around the world are involved in domestic labour. The recent death of 17-year-old Salome Zacharia in Tanzania highlights their plight

South Africa has a low rate of arrests and convictions in farm attack and murder cases despite a national police policy to fight crime in rural areas, a report released on Tuesday has revealed.

​#FeesMustFall anthem is a historic modern spiritual

Iimbali! is a space for stories and other narrative-based social analysis.

The way the virginity “testing” is often carried out is further evidence of its patriarchal core and deeply demeaning and violative of girls’ human rights and dignity.

How brute force yielded to naked resistance

“That was the whole point of the nude protest: to get closer to the police and to convey our grievances to them."

Last week Monday, the CCMA ?stepped in to mediate in the meetings between UNTU and BOC. (Madelene Cronje/M&G)

Who have we become? A vignette on everyday humanity, or the lack thereof

Iimbali is a regular column by Friday editor Milisuthando Bongela, and is a space for stories and other narrative-based social analysis.

Humanity before religion

How we live our lives and govern our society should be motivated by what’s good for all of us, regardless of individual metaphysical beliefs.