Society
Welcome to our section on society.
From gender and sexuality to science and technology, our coverage speaks to the societal shifts fundamentally changing our daily lives. Here, we unpack health inequalities and the varying accessibility of education internationally.
This is also the home of our coverage of crime, justice and where we discuss the ways in which the law impacts different members of civil society.
Against adult supremacy
Vyvian Raoul gives five reasons you really should care about youth liberation, even if you’re not young.
The blinding power of nationalism
Professor Appiah talks about nationalism, fundamentalism and identity. Interview by Andy Heintz.
Arrested Development
What’s left for young people today? Yohann Koshy examines the emergence of ‘millennials’ and the political activism they are engaged in.
Africa needs to drop the ‘youth bulge’ discourse
Wangui Kimari makes the case that the youth discourse in Africa has patronizing, colonialist tones.
Kids at work: a Dalit activist
Ravali Medari was moved to take up political activism alongside her academic work. Meena Kandasamy looks at how caste and class intersect in her busy life.
Kids at work: a YouTube vlogger
Jake Edwards, a transgender YouTube vlogger, has a uniquely millennial career. Edward Siddons spoke to him to find out more about his generation.
Laughing and crying online
Social media use is correlated with mental health problems. But is it simply cause and effect? Marcus Gilroy-Ware finds out.
A group of one’s own
For young girls across the Muslim world, social media has become a therapeutic medium. Hussein Kesvani reports.
‘Curing’ homosexuality in China
LGBT+ people are subjected to forced confinement, medication and electric shocks to try to change their sexual orientation, writes Alessio Perrone.
Mozambican men tackle domestic violence
Meet the non-profit art group trying to end violence against women in Mozambique. By Rebecca Cooke.
Am I wrong to hate Christmas?
Perhaps the roots our dismal economic system can be found in Bethlehem, writes Omar Hamdi in a humour column.
The joy of kunyaza: women’s pleasure comes first in Rwanda
Rwanda tops global gender equality tables. Can a traditional sexual practice help explain why? Alice McCool writes.
Colonizing civil society
Political strategists brainstorm ways to remove democratic impediments to their bosses’ plans.
A football world cup for unrecognized nations
London is hosting an alternative ‘World Football Cup’ of unrecognized nations in June 2018. Alessio Perrone reports.
Mexico’s anti-gentrification saint
Two artists have invented a saint to protect residents from gentrification. Yohann Koshy reports.
Palestine, 100 years after Balfour
Paul Kelemen and Dick Pitt look at the British government’s role in Israel’s formation.
Japan: building the future, living in the past?
How Japanese society and robots match up, by Christopher Simons.
The age of disruption
The vision of the future we are fed will leave many of us reeling, writes Dinyar Godrej. For what?
Shopping for their lives
Breakthrough hep C drugs are so costly, patients are defying the system to get them. Sophie Cousins writes.
Killer robots: the race for Autonomous Weapons
Noel Sharkey’s stark warning against the latest arms race.
How corporate giants are automating the farm
Precision agriculture is where it’s at – according to the corporate giants. Jim Thomas inspects their plans.
Robots, not humans: official policy in China
Industrial robots are being put to work on a huge scale. Jenny Chan looks at the case of Foxconn.
Audrey Watters: ‘AI is ideological’
Think of computer code as new rules governing society – who gets to enforce it? asks Audrey Watters.
Plutocrats and paupers: life after robots
If automation decimates jobs, we need better solutions than these, argues Nick Dowson.
Get up, stand up! Cannabis in South Africa
Alice McCool meets the Rastafarian lawyer fighting for cannabis freedom.
Inside the jails of Duterte’s drug war
A glimpse of the lives of those sleeping in shifts in Manila's overcrowded jails.
What’s sex got to do with it?
Womens’ and minority rights are disappearing since the soft coup in Brazil, reports Vanessa Baird.
‘Life is about how we can enhance society’
Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson, Arun Gandhi, speaks to Danielle Batist about technology, Trump, and anger as a gift.
The persistence of patriarchy
The roots of patriarchy, how it is sustained, and how to go about challenging it. By Cynthia Enloe.
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Polish women counter Nazis on the streets
Women are playing an essential part in fighting for civil rights in Poland, writes Benedetta Leardini. 
Why natural disasters are not natural
Storms do not discriminate, but societies do, argues Daniel Macmillen Voskoboynik.
Bad Education: why our systems need fixing
The Right has captured education. Hazel Healy looks at the political implications.
Girls get back on track in South Sudan
How second-chance schooling turned things around for Nyanrror Teresa Marial.
Deliver us from Venus and Mars
Why are we suckers for stories about the battle of the sexes? Gavin Evans writes.
On the trail of Che Guevara, 50 years on
Julio Etchart follows the ‘Che route’ to the remote spot in Bolivia where he was executed.
