Stories about Swahili
Tanzanian President Suluhu ends six-year ban on political rallies, promises more reforms
The president’s announcement came against the backdrop of a meeting with leaders of nineteen opposition parties at the State House in Dar es Salaam.
FIBA Women's Afrobasketball tournament continues in Cameroon amidst sexual abuse scandal
Reports allege that coaches and Malian Basketball Federation (FMBB) officials for Mali's under-18 and under-19 national teams sexually harassed, abused, and assaulted dozens of teenage players since 1999.
Namibian female sprinters are victorious at World Under-20 Athletics Championship amidst bans over discriminatory tests
In April 2021, the World Athletics introduced new rules for female classification which banned four athletes — all from Africa — from participating in the 800m race.
These African animators are saving their native languages using cartoons
Animation is an effective way of teaching young Africans life skills and languages that are often not taught in schools, as most African governments adopt official languages while discouraging native ones.
After 28 years, Kenya qualifies for major African basketball tournament, led by record-breaking female coach
Liz Mills, the Australia-born coach made history as the first woman coach to lead an African team to the AfroBasket tournament
From Kenya to Ethiopia, these men received divine dream ‘maps’ to carve caves
Throughout history, many have questioned the veracity of divine intervention through dreams, but prophets from Islam, Judaism and Christianity have all testified to messages from God through dreams for millennia.
Tanzanian rapper scolded for lyrics about nation's cashew crisis
Roma Mkatoliki's hit song criticizes the government's 2018 decision to deploy the military to purchase cashew nuts from farmers in an attempt to force an increase in market price.
Messages in motion: The art of Swahili sayings on public transport in Zanzibar
"They know that people will comment on the condition of their vehicle, or the way they drive. . . and they want to block you — they want you to laugh instead."
Is Mandarin Chinese the language of East Africa’s future?
As China strengthens its already robust trade and infrastructural ties with Africa, Chinese-government funded Confucius Institutes to teach Chinese Mandarin are on the rise.
In Tanzania, advocates pressure police to investigate ‘teleza’ rapes and robberies
Women in Kigoma, Tanzania, say armed men have terrorized their communities for years, but little has been done to investigate, arrest or prosecute — until now.
What Were Global Voices’ Readers up to Last Week?
During the week of February 5-11, 2018, Global Voices' stories and translations attracted readers from 195 countries!
A Kenyan artist designs revolutionary ‘kanga’ celebrating queer love around the world
"We need to open up a space to talk more about sex, and then artists like me want to open that up even more, to talk about queerness."
These Techies Want Your Phone to Speak to You in Swahili
Swahili is the second-most-widely-used language on the African continent. Yet automatic speech recognition isn’t commercially available in this language, denying many users the information they need.
Tanzanian Prosecuted for ‘Insulting’ the President on WhatsApp
Mulokozi is the latest victim of Tanzania's relatively new Cybercrime Law, which attempts to address issues such as child pornography, cyberbullying, online impersonation, and the publication of false information.
Tanzanian Man Could Face Three Years’ Jailtime for “Insulting” the President on Facebook
The case falls against a backdrop of Tanzania's Cybercrime Law, passed in 2015, which critics say gives too much power -- without meaningful oversight -- to police.
Tanzanians Remember Their Nation's Founding Father With #DearNyerere
"#DearNyerere, in your day, popularity was based on good deeds towards your country, but nowadays it is the number of followers on Instagram and Twitter."
Tanzania General Elections 2015: A Defeat for Africa's Longest Ruling Party?
"Moved by fear of losing, the ruling party is now resorting to undemocratic methods to maintain its grip on power."
Google's Optical Character Recognition Software Now Works with All South Asian Languages
Google's OCR software supports more than 248 world languages, including all the major South Asian languages, bringing together hope for the large-scale digitization of old texts.
Watch Out For the Most Tightly Contested Election in Tanzania's History
"Lowassa is a Maasai Robin Hood. Or Tanzanian El Chapo. Look at the hands he touches and not the toes he stepped on."
VIDEO: The World Is Saying #FreeZone9Bloggers
Global Voices marks the one-year anniversary of the arrest of Ethiopia's Zone9 bloggers with this crowd-sourced this video of support. Say it with us: #FreeZone9Bloggers!
Tanzania's Cyber Crime Bill Gives More Power to Police, Less to People
Leading opponents of the legislation from civil society say they will take the government to court if the president signs the bill into law.