Khanyi Mlaba

1 month ago | globalcitizen.org | Khanyi Mlaba

Close your eyes and breathe it in. You’re not in your usual setting. In fact, the air here is warm with humidity that moistens your skin and tousles your hair. You can smell the damp earth, the sweet tropicana, and something fresh — yet slightly medicinal — that you can’t quite place. As you stand in this new element, familiarizing yourself with it, it’s important to take in what you hear. Shhh… If you listen closely, you can catch the environment speaking to you in sounds that layer over each other.

1 month ago | globalcitizen.org | Khanyi Mlaba

Bees don’t so much buzz as they do hum. The sound emanating from a single tiny bee can fill a room, announcing its presence. Alone, its hum t is a robust serenade, a tenor tune that eases its way out on a warm day. But joined by a swarm, it becomes a choral wonder, a harmony so striking it makes you wonder whether it’s the sound of celebration or impending danger. This mighty sound is what Global Citizen Prize Winner, Taily Terena was named after, the song of the bees.

2 months ago | globalcitizen.org | Khanyi Mlaba

“Women belong in the kitchen” is a phrase designed to keep women in (what is assumed to be) their place. It is obviously meant to insult them and diminish the value they bring to society. But do you know what else this sentiment inadvertently undervalues? The kitchen. Everybody loves the kitchen, why wouldn’t we? It’s where the food is.

Feb 6, 2025 | globalcitizen.org | Khanyi Mlaba

Editor’s note: This article contains graphic descriptions of bodily harm. Nothing prepares you for violation — the haunting invasiveness of having your dignity ransacked as you’re forced to expose yourself and have the most private parts of your body physically harmed. A sharp tool raised to your labia on its way to slice, hack, and cut away a personal part of you in a manner that can never be repaired.

Nov 11, 2024 | globalcitizen.org | Khanyi Mlaba

COP29 has arrived — another year, another Conference of the Parties. The annual climate conference has fallen into a stale rhythm of many words and minimal actions. Greta Thunberg said it best at the last COP she attended three years ago: “Blah Blah Blah... This is all we hear from our so-called leaders, words. Words that sound great, but so far, have led to no action.