Basic

Access to digital technology has long been touted as a great equaliser in Africa, something that would help millions of its people play a significant role in shaping events in their countries, and driving democratic transformation. Given the prevalence of smartphones on the continent, the digital revolution would, so to speak, put power in the palms of their hands. But, as Nic Cheeseman and Lisa Garbe explain, the expectation now seems to have been overly optimistic. Some African leaders have found ways to blunt the transformative power of smartphones and other technologies, including through censorship and the shutting down of the internet.

In other news, in certain states in northern India, an excess of eligible men and a lack of local women has led to a practice of purchasing brides from other states. Sreya Banerjea interviewed dozens of such women for her research, keen to find out more about the lives, dreams and desires of the women so often simply labelled victims. She tells three of these women’s stories. Together, they shed a light on the heartbreaking and complex situations and dynamics that lead to bride trafficking. Their stories show that the experience of such marriages is much more tempered by widespread cultural norms than is often admitted.