Mostly Africa-related blogwatch
Jack Balkin on The great debate over rule of law — and civic courage.
Bruce Schneier on Laptop seizures in the Sudan.
AfriGadget on some creative gadgets from Kenya: people in Nairobi converting their wheelchairs to mobile phone booths, which they then use to make a living, and iPod stands carved by Kenyan artisans.
Timbuktu Chronicles points to a project, funded by Google Foundation and designed and implemented by Technoserve, to assist African entrepreneurs.
Guinea Bissau considers outlawing female genital mutilation.
To overcome cultural issues, Sinin Mira Nassique has adopted a strategy of promoting a symbolic fanado, with all the social and traditional features of the original, but without the cutting. Such “alternative rites” have had some success in various countries, as they still retain the initiation characteristics of the ceremony and ensure cultural continuity.
After conducting awareness sessions, the group was able to perform five alternative fanados in the regions of Bissau, Gabu and Oio. More than a hundred practitioners from these areas have laid down their knives, hoping to organise other income-generating activities, but because these never materialised, they resist completely abandoning the practice because they would lose their source of income, said the IMC President.