Through the legal case of Oscar Pistorious there is a powerful and dangerous interplay of race, class and gender. It is time that all crimes against women are dealt the seriousness they deserve.

South African women are regularly confronted with systemic sexual harassment, violence, and murder as the recent cases of Shrien Dewani, Anene Booysen and Reeva Steenkamp illustrate. Sustainable development will be unobtainable when women and children are brutalized by violence and any other form of gender based discrimination of which the state has a duty to prevent.

Our country is reeling with shock at the ongoing rape and violence against women, rich women and poor women, white women and black women, by men of all races and classes. And our country is reeling in shock at the levels of corruption. The trial of the Mpsiane's in KwaZulu-Natal has shown just how extreme the situation has become in terms of government corruption. But we are also reeling in shock from the corruption scandals around MTN, the construction cartel and other big corporates that have even go so far as to fix the price of bread.

We would have expected a decent President to announce special courts to deal with rape and violence against women. We would have expected a decent President to announce special courts to deal with corruption. Instead we get special courts for protesters!

Zuma is more like Ben Ali or Mubarak than a true representative of the people. His conduct in his own rape trial was shocking. No one could ever say that he is a leader that has the moral authority to take a stand against corruption. He has militarised the police and said nothing when poor people's movements are openly repressed by the police and the ANC. Now he pretends that violence is coming from protesters when we all know that in most cases it is the police that bring violence into the equation. There is a very long list of protesters that have been killed by the police since 2000. In fact the number stands at more than 70! What kind of democracy is this where the police can kill more than 70 protesters?

CONTACT

Ayanda Kota 078 625 6462 (Spokesperson, UPM Eastern Cape)

Motsi Khokhoma 073 490 76 23 (Spokesperson, UPM Free State)

A long memory is necessary in untangling the political relationships among the Zulus as well as the historic conflict between the ANC and Inkatha, which Gary Busch assesses in his rejoinder to William Gumede

The just concluded ANC conference at which Jacob Zuma was re-elected party president came against the backdrop of growing violent discontent among ordinary people who are dissatisfied with government performance.

Zuma has skillfully used Zulu or African ‘traditions’ to cover-up poor personal choices, indiscretions and wrong behavior, and portrayed those who oppose such poor behavior of being opposed to African ‘traditions’ or ‘culture,’ argues William Gumede.

Shine Centre encourages children to develop and nurture a love for reading and highlights the many benefits of reading

A group of South African Christians and Christian leaders are in the occupied territories of Palestine on a one week solidarity visit till the 9 December

Neoliberal sanitation experts attending the Toilet Summit may well argue that the world cannot afford flush toilets for everyone. But the alternatives they propose are failing.

Farm workers do backbreaking work sometimes for 12 hours a day to produce food and wine, yet they are forced to work under unsafe and unhealthy conditions

The ‘rainbow nation’ still retains deep social divisions arising from its troubled past and the mixed results of various initiatives over the last 18 years to build a truly cohesive society. A number of things need to be done to aid this process.

World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) calls for the effective implementation of the decision of the Human Rights Committee condemning South Africa for acts of torture and other forms of ill-treatment

The ‘New South Africa’ or ‘Rainbow Nation’ is today a country of two nations: one is the extremely rich white settler minority and the other is the extremely poor African indigenous majority. All this thanks to a land law passed a hundred years ago.

The ANC agreed on Tuesday 13 November to some of State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele's hawkish proposals on the Protection of State Information Bill. Cwele notably appeared to have persuaded the ruling party to re-introduce a maximum five-year prison sentence for the disclosure of classified information, and to re-introduce a clause that would have the new law trump any other legislation dealing with such information. Without explicitly naming the Promotion of Access to Information Act, the new official secrets act would therefore trump it – as Cwele has asked for, and commentators have cautioned could render the bill unconstitutional.

South African opposition parties have submitted a motion of no confidence against President Jacob Zuma saying that corruption and unemployment have risen, the justice system has been politicised, and the economy has weakened. The motion, backed by eight parties, was triggered by the recent deadly mine strikes, the downgrading of the country's credit rating by two major agencies, and big spending of state funds on Zuma's rural residence, according to a joint statement by the parties.

With South Africa still reeling from mining sector strikes in Marikana, Cosatu has called for nationwide stay-way in the agriculture sector in support of farmworkers in De Doorns who today entered their second week of striking for higher wages. Passop’s organiser in De Doorns, Owen Maromo, said none of the striking farmworkers reported to work. He said about 5,000 strikers had gathered on an open field in the Stofland informal settlement waiting for Cosatu provincial secretary Tony Ehrenreich to address them.

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) and the Department of Home Affairs on Monday (12 Nov) squared off in court over the attempted deportation of more than 30 foreign nationals. On Friday the commission launched a scathing attack on the department, alleging it had acted dishonestly over the issue. About 10 days ago the commission, together with the non-governmental organisation People Against Suffering, Suppression, Oppression and Poverty, brought an urgent application in the South Gauteng High Court to stop the department from deporting 39 asylum seekers detained at the Lindela Repatriation Centre in Krugersdorp.

Town Two Khayelitsha is the site of tension between a local business association and Somali shops. The Zanokhanyo Business Association (ZBA) is accusing Somali shop owners of not abiding by a 2008 agreement which says that no new foreign owned shops should operate in the townships following the May 2008 xenophobic attacks.

The government has long tried to channel the few scraps that come to the poor through organisations loyal to it to reward obedience and at the same time repress dissent.

There are important lessons for South Africa from the hurricane that hit America last week. But nobody in officialdom is ready to admit the dangers posed especially to the Port of Durban.