Africa Is a Country

Mandela in X-Large

Africa Is a Country Podcast
African Five-a-Side Podcast

Mandela in X-Large

By
Africa is a Country

We were hoping it would not come to this: The Nelson Mandela Foundation has launched an “international clothing line.”

The 46664 Apparel line, named after Mandela’s inmate number at Robben Island Prison, features colorful clothing that is supposed to make wearers look good on the outside — and feel good inside … [It would boost] South Africa’s troubled textile and clothing industry … But many South Africans will not be able to afford the clothing. When the brand is launched in South Africa in August, a T-shirt will cost about 180 rand ($26). A man’s collared shirt runs about 600 rand ($86). A quarter of South Africa’s work force is unemployed. The minimum monthly wage for a farm worker is 1,300 rand (less than $200) … [L]ast year … Mandela’s family, including eldest daughter Makaziwe and grandson Mandla, launched House of Mandela wines. Many were outraged but Mandela gave [that] commercial project his blessing.

The Associated Press

Via: Africa Didn’t Ask You.

Further Reading

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The cost of care

In Africa’s migration economy, women’s labor fuels households abroad while their own needs are sidelined at home. What does freedom look like when care itself becomes a form of exile?

The memory keepers

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