🌏 Irish Gymnastics Officials Skip Black Girl At Medal Ceremony, Brazil's Historic Indigenous Land Ruling And More

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Gymnastics Ireland has issued a public apology after a video of one of its officials snubbing a black girl during a medal ceremony in 2022 went viral, sparking international outrage.

In March 2022, a video showed a judge ignoring the only Black girl in a line of young gymnasts during a medal ceremony at an event in Dublin.

The video recently went viral, gaining more than 50 million views on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Following the backlash, Gymnastics Ireland issued a statement on Friday Sep. 22 saying that it had received a complaint about the incident at the time and entered mediations with the family.

It said that it launched an investigation immediately after, and the official “accepted fully that what had happened had not been acceptable but stressed that it had not been intentional”.

It said that the official realized their mistake and ensured the girl was presented with her medal before she left.

The statement said the two parties reached a resolution in August 2023.

But the girl’s mother told the The Irish Independent the complaint had not been settled and that the written apology they received was not genuine as it was addressed to “to whom it concerns”.

The incident has been widely condemned, with four time US Olympic Champion Simone Biles, who is also Black, showing her support for the Black girl, saying on X that it “broke my heart to see.”

On Monday Sep. 25, Gymnastics Ireland issued a public apology, saying “What happened on the day should not have happened and for that we are deeply sorry,” it said.

Also Happening Around The World

🇹🇭 This Thai activist and lawyer has been jailed for four years for criticizing the monarchy.

🇮🇪 Irish-England actor Michael Gambon, who played Dumbledore in “Harry Potter”, has died at age 82.

Indigenous girls in Kenya are enrolling into a program that serves as an alternative rite of passage to learn about female genital mutilation (FGM) instead of being cut.

In traditional Masaai culture, girls are expected to undergo FGM, a dangerous procedure that involves removing female genitalia that often results in lifelong health complications.

To help educate girls and the community about the risks associated with FGM, the Africa Medical Research Foundation, known as Amref, worked with the Masaai community to develop an alternate program to FGM.

The program incorporates the traditional ceremonies involved in coming of age, but instead of being cut, girls learn about FGM and their reproductive health and rights.

After the four day program, girls receive a certificate of graduation.

“I’ve learnt a lot and I am able to differentiate between the bad part of our culture and the good part of our culture which is very good, and I have learnt that to protect my kids, my daughters, my cousin,” Abigail Namelok, a girl who took part in the program told Reuters. “It’s not for you to be cut that to prove to be a woman,” Namelok said. “There’s another alternative.”

In a historic moment on Thursday Sep. 21, Brazil’s top court has ruled to protect this Indigenous group’s right to their ancestral land.

In 2009, the Santa Catarina state, backed by tobacco farmers, ordered the Indigenous Xokleng people to leave their land.

The state government argued that Indigenous people could only claim their land if they proved that they were occupying the land when Brazil passed its constitution in 1988.

The Xokleng, an Indigenous community consisting of around 2,300 people, were then evicted in 2013 after they were unable to provide proof because they had been forced off their lands decades earlier.

But on Thursday Sep. 21, 9 out of 11 judges ruled that Indigenous lands are protected under the constitution even if they have not been legally defined – or demarcated.

Only two judges voted against the Indigenous people, and they had both been appointed by far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro, who attacked Indigenous rights during his rule.

The ruling now legally serves as a precedent for future Indigenous land recognition cases, including more than 300 similar cases that are currently pending.

Good News You Should Know About

🇨🇱 These very good dog officers led a military parade in Chile and did a great job.

🇨🇳 This corgi in China pretends to be sick to entertain its little human and it’s so adorable.

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