MANAS Bangla, an example of partnership between government and affected communities

MANAS Bangla, today, is a network of 13 community based organisations (CBOs), supported by the West Bengal State AIDS Prevention and Control Society (WBSAP&CS) – the Indian Government’s pivotal State AIDS control body. It came into existence in 2003. “It takes two hands to clap. As much as the community was coming forward it was the government too which was supporting networks. We had a dynamic project director supportive of this initiative” said Mahesh Nathan, Technical Support Unit, West Bengal State AIDS Prevention and Control Society (WBSAP&CS). He was speaking at the opening plenary of the State Consultation for MSM and Transgender in Science City, Kolkata on 18th March 2010. Read more


“From government side, we were looking at supporting a network. We thought in terms of a network approach, and goal was empowerment” said Mahesh Nathan.

It wasn’t an easy task to bring different CBOs together as a network. But effective solutions to improve AIDS responses for the men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender communities clearly warranted an effective network. There were a host of issues to be resolved before that could happen in West Bengal, and one major challenge was identity issues among others. “As we celebrate success of this network, we need to know that there were a lot of issues earlier. First step forward was that seven groups who came together just to have a dialogue in this direction to create a platform” said Mahesh Nathan.

Building networks is certainly not easy. But united and coordinated responses to AIDS, STI, sexuality related issues and other challenges can potentially come from effective networks. “We wanted an approach that would be a role model– we already had effective CBOs in West Bengal. We wanted a network and ownership from communities of this network in a true sense” said Mahesh Nathan. This community ownership is such a crucial element to ensure that the network remains driven by the community and not get drowned by louder voices. The ownership of MANAS Bangla is undoubtedly with the communities – more than 300 MSM and transgender people from all over the state of West Bengal who are convening for the State Consultation for MSM and Transgender organized by MANAS Bangla are the testimony of the effectiveness of this network approach.

“At every step MANAS Bangla was faced with challenges. They had to come up with pragmatic solutions to strengthen the network” said Mahesh Nathan. “Every time MANAS Bangla was confronted with challenges they rose up and build excellent systems. Today MANAS Bangla is looking at many issues beyond targeted interventions (TIs). Other states of India had individual CBOs funded and here in West Bengal we had a network (MANAS Bangla) through which 13 CBOs were funded. MANAS Bangla came up with unique responses, they have looked at processes and they have put systems in place” further added Mahesh Nathan.

“Now the challenge is how to link the network and targeted interventions (TIs)? What role does the network has and what role TI has? There were so many overlaps between roles of TIs and networks. So we put together a TI team for MANAS Bangla. The National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) – apex Government of India’s agency on HIV/AIDS - has reviewed MANAS Bangla and renewed its contract also. As long as ownership and participation of communities is there, MANAS Bangla will continue to function and serve the needs of the communities” said Mahesh Nathan.

“There are other issues apart from HIV where MANAS Bangla could have a role to play. Empowerment, skill building issues, in terms of vocational rehabilitation, etc will lead to sustainability. MANAS Bangla as a network is on the forefront of change and should set the agenda” said Mahesh Nathan.

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State Consultation on MSM and Transgender in Science City, Kolkata

The State Consultation for MSM and Transgender on the theme of “Celebrating gains, confronting crises, forging future” was inaugurated on 18 March 2010 by Mahesh Nathan from West Bengal State AIDS Prevention and Control Society (WBSAP&CS) in Science City, Kolkata, West Bengal. This consultation was organized by MANAS Bangla with support from Volunteer Services Overseas (VSO) India and WBSAP&CS during 18-19 March 2010. Read more

“The consultation, the first of its kind in West Bengal, had brought together communities of marginalised sexual orientations and gender identities, from across the state of West Bengal” informed Pranai Sekhar Pradhan, President MANAS Bangla. “It has brought together over 300 transgender and males who have sex with males (MSM) from over 12 districts of West Bengal and other important stakeholders including policy makers from government and donor bodies from across the country” said Agniva Lahiri from MANAS Bangla.

“It takes two hands to clap. As much as the MSM and transgender community was coming forward it was also the government that was very supportive of network approach” said Mahesh Nathan from WBSAP&CS. “There are other issues apart from HIV where MANAS Bangla has a role to play. Empowerment, skill building issues, in terms of vocational rehabilitation, etc will lead to sustainability. MANAS Bangla, as a network of 13 member organisations, is on the forefront of change and should set the agenda” added Mahesh.

The consultation opened the dialogue on issues concerning marginalised male to male sexualities and transgender and hijra communities with academicians, students, other development practitioners, activists and human rights advocates from intersecting rights based movements.

This consultation helped build capacities of MSM and transgender communities and community led groups by way of organising various issue-based workshops and discussion forums. This meeting is also the first such interface between MSM and transgender communities and policymakers, government agencies and other stakeholders.

“We do need targeted interventions (TIs), condoms, STI clinics, and other services, but there are other structural issues that we just cannot avoid – education, health, employment, social security, and others. If MANAS Bangla also addresses structural issues, that will also ensure sustainable community development” said Pawan Dhall, Country Director (Programme and Development), SAATHII.

There were focussed sessions in this two days consultation on issues like human rights challenges facing MSM and transgender, right to choose: sex reassignment surgery, post-Delhi High Court Judgement on section 377: scenario in West Bengal, emerging identities around male to male sexualities and reaching out, treatment gaps and adherence, mental health issues of MSM and transgender, sexual rights vs HIV/AIDS organising: Dilemmas for community mobilization, among others.

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Mental health issues of MSM and Transgender need attention

Mental health concerns came up prominently in different sessions of the State Consultation for MSM and Transgender, organized by MANAS Bangla and West Bengal State AIDS Prevention & Control Society (WBSAP&CS) during 18-19 March 2010.

Depression, harassment, relationship problems, loneliness, and social isolation, were among the few pressing mental health concerns that were identified in a skill building workshop for MSM and transgender community. Aniruddh Vasudevan, Director of The Shakti Centre in Chennai, was a key resource person for this session. Mou Bhattacharyya, Psychological Counsellor also participated actively in the discussion.

So what do the MSM and transgender people do when confronted with mental health challenges? “We are referred to our friends or community people. We rarely go to official psychologist or psychiatrist” was the response from the MSM and transgender communities. HIV and STI counselling is more concerned with sexual and reproductive health, and doesn’t adequately address mental health concerns beyond HIV prevention and to some extent care and support issues. There were strong remarks made on the inadequate counselling on HIV treatment, care and support.

“When there is adequate self-esteem and self-respect, there is a natural desire to be healthy, to take care of one self, to engage in safer sexual practice. So none of what we do will be successful if we ignore mental health issues” said Aniruddh Vasudevan.

“Everybody has some problem or the other – depression, etc, but when it becomes so much that everyday life becomes difficult then professional help from psychological counsellor or psychiatrist might be needed” says Aniruddh.

“We speak about behaviour change – there is a big gap between acquiring knowledge and behaviour change, there is a gap between information and practice. This is where good mental health might help reduce the gap. When we are healthy enough, when we have adequate sense of what our worth is and how important we are to ourselves and when we have a tendency to take care of ourselves, behaviour may change” says Aniruddh.

“We have artificially set up a hierarchy that attending to physical health is more important than attending to our mental health. Body and mind are not split, rather they are together. So we better attend to the mind too when we are attending to the body” suggests Aniruddh.

People are often reluctant to accept that they might be needing mental healthcare. “When there is an emotional problem one might be finding it difficult to deal with, somehow we think that taking help is bad, it is a defeat, it is like giving in” says Aniruddh.

“But if there is a physical health issue, we don’t hesitate in taking help and even go to the pharmacy and self-treat at times. But we don’t do this when there is a mental health issue and hesitate to seek help” further adds Aniruddh.

“Even when we have accepted ourselves as we are, there are emotional issues like break-up, or when one of our friends is dying, people will think that we have these issues because we are MSM, transgender. I think we are blaming others in advance even before they say it, because in some corner of our minds, we think we are the source of our problems. Even the best of us who are comfortable with ourselves, in some corner there is a doubt that we are the source of our problems” ponders Aniruddh.

“At times, we think that it is because of us, we are causing so many problems to our parents or to our sister who might not be getting married on time. Sometimes the source of the problem is not us, but because we are concerned about the people around us. It is a sign of humanity that we are concerned about people around us. We have extra mental health problem because we are different and that is causing problems around us” adds Aniruddh.

Another significant comment Aniruddh made was that the members of affected communities need capacity building and must be competent enough to contribute effectively in programmes addressing their community. “Just coming from a community doesn’t mean that the person is automatically equipped to peer counsel – we have to do something to equip ourselves” says Aniruddh.

“At times, it is easier to talk to somebody you don’t know. Professional counsellors or psychiatrists can’t proactively reach out to people and counsel, they can only counsel those who come to them and ask for the counselling. However the peer counsellors can go out to the community and help those who might need help” says Aniruddh.

“Most basic thing in counselling is listening and the person sitting in front of counsellor is most important person. We are not arguing to say that peer counselling can replace professional counselling, but we believe that peer counselling can supplement professional counselling. Peer counsellors cannot handle all cases like suicidal cases at times, so should do referral services to professional counselling” says Aniruddh.

“Peer counselling is not about offering solution – because the message that gets across is the person being counselled is not capable enough of finding solutions” shares Aniruddh Vasudevan.

Rahul Kumar Dwivedi - CNS

Do Not Burn The Midnight Oil: Sleep Well And Stay Healthy

Exclusive on World Sleep Day, 19 March
Sleep is a basic human need, much like eating and drinking. It is crucial for our overall health and well being. Research shows that we spend up to a third of our lives sleeping. Good quality and restorative sleep is essential for day-to-day functioning. Studies suggest that sleep quality, as well as quantity, impacts our life. On an average, a normal adult needs 7-8 hours of good sleep. In teenagers this may go up to 9 hours, while the elderly can do with 5-6 hours of it. World Sleep Day is on 19th of March.

According to Dr Manvir Bhatia (click here to listen to exclusive CNS audio podcast), Chairperson Sleep Medicine and Senior Consultant ,Department of Neurology, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, "sleep is an essential commodity, which should not be dispensed with, as it cannot be compensated with anything else. It has a strong relationship with health. So we need to look after it well." Read more

Ghalib, the famous poet has said in one of his couplets "maut ka ek din muayyin hai, neend kyu raat bhar nahin aati" (the day of death has been fixed by the Almighty, So why spend sleepless nights).

World Sleep Day 2010 is being held on 19th March, under the slogan "Sleep Well, Stay Healthy". It is an international annual event, intended to be a celebration of sleep and a call to action on important issues related to sleep, including medicine, education, and social aspects. It is organized by the "World Association of Sleep Medicine", with the aim to lessen the burden of sleep problems on society through better understanding, prevention and management of sleep conditions by raising awareness through dissemination of information.

Sleep problems constitute a global epidemic that threatens health and quality of life for up to 45% of the world's population. There is substantial evidence that sleep plays an important role in metabolic, cognitive, restorative, immune, and endocrine functions. Hence disruption in sleep affects all these.

Most sleep disorders are preventable or treatable, yet less than a third of sufferers seek professional help. Sleep medicine is a recent speciality which deals with various problems related to sleep, ranging from obstructive sleep apnoea - with predominant symptoms of snoring, to insomnia (30-45% adults suffer from it) or reduced and poor quality of sleep. Narcolepsy is another cause of excessive daytime sleepiness. Very often, persons suffering from these complaints are not aware of the health hazards associated with them.

Persons with sleep disorders may suffer from insufficient sleep at night and wake up listless, spending the day poorly, with little concentration and more aches and pains. Or they may have loud snoring and also wake up tired. In both cases there are periods of irresistible tendency to take a nap or doze off during work. This affects day time concentration, and hence productivity. It also increases the chances of having other diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, heart attack etc. Apart from this, hundreds of people lose their lives unnecessarily every year due to sleep-related traffic accidents, including airlines and railways accidents.

Dr Bhatia laments the 'junk sleep syndrome' prevalent in the modern day teenagers. They are prone to using a whole lot of gadgets like I-Pod, internet, video games, television, or simply studying till late in the night, thus pushing their sleep time too late. Obviously they have difficulty in waking up in the morning and concentrating on their studies in school. They reach home tired, take a nap and the pattern repeats itself. It is not very uncommon to find such students having a 'black out' during examination time. These children are likely to develop a poor memory and low scholastic aptitude, and also an impaired immune function, thus inviting a host of diseases.

It must not be forgotten that poor sleep is a symptom of a cause like obstructive sleep apnoea, poor life style, anxiety, depression etc. Very often the sufferer resorts to the use of sleeping pills, which causes more harm than good. This self medication often becomes addictive in the long run, resulting in more problems.

More must be done to completely understand sleep and to understand better the cause of sleep disorders. We need to increase awareness about sleep related disorders particularly in students, and those working in BPO industry, railways, airlines and road transport services.

Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment of these disorders can prevent serious health conditions and improve the quality of life.

SIR GANGARAM HOSPITAL and NEUROLOGY AND SLEEP CENTRE have taken a step in the direction of increasing awareness among general public about sleep disorders by organizing free Sleep Camps, under the guidance of Dr Manvir Bhatia. These camps provide free consultation by sleep specialists, besides offering dietary advice, yoga training, and psychological counselling related to sleep with provision for blood investigations and sleep studies.

A good night's sleep takes care of many of the physiological and metabolic parameters of our life.

So look after your sleep and enjoy a good health. Wake up every day feeling refreshed to face the challenges of life with renewed vigour.



Shobha Shukla(The author is the Editor of Citizen News Service (CNS), has worked earlier with State Planning Institute, UP, and teaches Physics at India's prestigious Loreto Convent. Email: shobha@citizen-news.org, website: www.citizen-news.org)

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World Tuberculosis (TB) Day is on 24 March in Year of the Lung (2010)

The World TB Day is just a week ahead of us. This year 2010 is the year of the lung. In the lead up to the World TB Day, CNS is reproducing an exclusive article written in December 2009 (Cancun, Mexico) where 2010 was announced as year of the Lung. Read more



2010 is Year of the Lung

The Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) convening at the 40th Union World Conference on Lung Health in Cancun, Mexico, declared the year 2010 as the Year of the Lung. This was done to recognize that hundreds of millions of people around the world suffer each year from treatable and preventable chronic respiratory diseases. This initiative acknowledges that lung health has long been neglected in public discourses, and understands the need to unify different health advocates behind one purpose of lung health, informed Dr Nils Billo, Chair of FIRS. The FIRS partners include the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), American Thoracic Society (ATS), Asian Pacific Society of Respirology (APSR), Asociacion Latinoamericana de Torax (ALAT), European Respiratory Society (ERS), Pan African Thoracic Society and American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP).

The New York Times carried a series of articles on different parts of human body, but forgot the lungs! It is difficult to remain alive without lungs for more than few seconds!

The Declaration signed by the partners of the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) read as following:

[Begin]
WE NOTE WITH GRAVE CONCERN THAT:
Hundreds of millions of people around the world suffer each year from treatable and preventable respiratory diseases, including tuberculosis (TB), asthma, lung cancer, H1N1, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

WE RECOGNIZE THAT:
Despite the magnitude of suffering and death caused by lung disease, lung health has long been neglected in public discourse and in public health decisions.

WE CALL UPON OUR PARTNERS TO:
Enact smoking cessation legislation and programs to reduce the prevalence and stigma of tobacco-related lung diseases.
[Ends]

There are a range of health and environmental factors that affect our lung health. This includes tuberculosis (TB), tobacco smoke, biomass fuel smoke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, pneumonia among other respiratory infections. The evidence of their potentially devastating effects on global public health is increasing and they require a coordinated approach for control. These diseases all occur in predominantly resource-poor countries. They are perpetuated by poverty and inadequate resources and their control and management require coordinated approach among health programmes at all levels.

Statistically, there is 1 TB-related death that takes place every 18 seconds, 1 HIV death every 16 seconds, 1 child dies of pneumonia every 15 seconds and 1 smoking-related death every 13 seconds. The enormous public challenge posed by the combined epidemics of tobacco smoking, HIV, TB and COPD, is undoubtedly alarming.

More than 2 billion people or a third of the world's total population, are infected with mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is now the world's seventh-leading cause of death. It killed 1.8 million people worldwide last year, up from 1.77 million in 2007. It is one of the three primary diseases that are closely linked to poverty, the other two being AIDS and malaria.

Tobacco smoking is unquestionably the primary risk factor for COPD. More than 5 million deaths are attributed to tobacco use every year. Smokers have two fold higher risk of developing active TB disease. Tobacco smokers have 2 times more risk of dieing of TB. Tobacco smoke increases the risk of pneumonia, influenza, menningococcal meningitis, among others. Evidence is accumulating that smoking is a risk factor for TB. However there is no published data on the cellular interactions of tobacco smoke and mycobacterium tuberculosis. The risk to develop active TB disease is higher when tobacco smoking is combined with alcohol.

Dr Donald Enarson stressed that tobacco smoking cessation is an important part of the comprehensive tobacco control programme, and not the only part. So all components of the comprehensive tobacco control measures should be implemented for improving public health outcomes. Dr Enarson was referring to MPOWER report from Tobacco Free Initiative (TFI) of WHO which outlines the MPOWER package, a set of six key tobacco control measures that reflect and build on the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC, global tobacco treaty). Another delegates remarked that MPOWER is in line with the global tobacco treaty - FCTC - and we should be demanding implementation of the treaty to which governments have committed to enforce. The WHO FCTC is the first public health and corporate accountability treaty, said a delegate from India. Comprehensive tobacco control programmes can yield major public health outcomes, as 30% of male TB patients die of tobacco smoking.

Asthma is yet another major lung health challenge. It is a chronic disease that affects airways. When people have asthma, the inside walls of their airways become sore and swollen. That makes them very sensitive, and they may react strongly to things that they are allergic to or find irritating. When airways react, they get narrower and lungs get less air. This can cause wheezing, coughing, chest tightness and trouble breathing, especially early in the morning or at night. When asthma symptoms become worse than usual, it's called an asthma attack. In a severe asthma attack, the airways can close so much that vital organs do not get enough oxygen. People can die from severe asthma attacks.

More than 300 million people around the world have asthma, and the disease imposes a heavy burden on individuals, families, and societies. The Global Burden of Asthma Report, indicates that asthma control often falls short and there are many barriers to asthma control around the world. Proper long-term management of asthma will permit most patients to achieve good control of their disease. Yet in many regions around the world, this goal is often not met. Poor asthma control is also seen in the lifestyle limitations experienced by some people with asthma. For example, in some regions, up to one in four children with asthma is unable to attend school regularly because of poor asthma control. Asthma deaths are the ultimate, tragic evidence of uncontrolled asthma.

According to the Global Burden of Asthma Report, the majority of asthma deaths in some regions of the world are preventable. Effective asthma treatments exist and, with proper diagnosis, education, and treatment, the great majority of asthma patients can achieve and maintain good control of their disease. When asthma is under control, patients can live full and active lives.

Pneumonia claims two million children under five each year, yet no new drug, vaccine or special diagnostic test is needed to save their lives. The answers are at hand, and effective treatment is both inexpensive and widely available.

Host of other conditions that affect the lungs, are preventable, and often treatable.

Let us hope that 2010 Year of The Lung initiative of FIRS puts the spotlight on the long neglected part of human body which New York Times missed, the lungs.

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'Meena' Radio programme launched in UP

As the world stood poised to celebrate the hundredth year of the International Women’s Day, the children of Uttar Pradesh received a much awaited gift: The launch of the Meena Radio programme in the state. This launch made UP the first state in the world to receive a radio incarnation of the much loved character of Meena. Read more

The cartoon character of a nine year old girl has been adapted for radio in a special 15-minute programme designed for broadcast during school hours with interesting and entertaining content centered around the world of Meena.

Launched simultaneously from Lucknow and Lalitpur, two radio stations at Jhansi and Chattarpur will be broadcasting the programme six days a week.

But what makes the broadcast special is that it will be heard by children in Uttar Pradesh in their classrooms Monday-Saturday at 12.30 in the afternoon on AIR. And the kids make no secret of the fact how excited they are to be able to hear their favorite cartoon character come to life and chat with them on radio.

Fifteen year old Adil from Amethia Salempur a small district in Uttar Pradesh can’t stop talking of ‘Meena,’ Starry eyed he declares, “Listening to Meena in class has inspired me to become a police officer. Just like Meena I too want to clean up the social evils like alcoholism, gambling and theft which is a huge problem in my village. Meena has helped bring in a tremendous change in the mindset of my friends and family and now they show more respect for women and girls and they encourage their daughters and sisters to go to school and study too.”

Twelve year old Reshma Bano from Gosaiganj, on the other hand credits ‘Meena’ for giving her the inspiration to become a lawyer, “When I hear Meena speak I can identify completely with her, in fact I feel that I am better than Meena and can do lots more for my village and community. That’s why I encourage all those people who don’t send their children to school to listen to Meena and understand how important it is for children to get educated. My parents to love to hear Meena speak and accompany me to the homes of the people who don’t send their children to school and speak to them. I also tell them like Meena we should all work for the betterment of our society and help each other to build a better life.”

But Adil and Reshma are not the only one’s in Uttar Pradesh who are talking of ‘Meena’ a role model of millions of children across the South Asian region Meena, a spirited nine year old along with her brother Raju and garrulous parrot Mithu have been inspiring school children, teachers and the parents to through entertaining stories that help children live a much fulfilling life.

Explains Lalita Pradip, Director, District Institute of Education and Training (DIET), “Until now children were listening to the stories of Meena in English and the character has been instrumental in ensuring a change in mindsets by taking away the fear attached with speaking English that most children feel coming from rural backgrounds. Even the teachers were very excited about the students who responded instantly. Through Meena kids learnt lessons without being under the pressure of exams and tests. This model has been extremely successful in most schools under us. Now with the launch of the Meena Radio Programme in the regional language as well the audience base will further broaden with community, parents and educationists all getting even more sensitized. Even those children who drop out from school will benefit with AIR now broadcasting it for all.

And that’s precisely the reason Meena was brought to Uttar Pradesh in her first radio incarnation. Conceptualized by UNICEF in early 1990s with the help and guidance of Hanna-Barbera, the creators of Yogi the bear, this Smart, fun-loving and simple child represents the girls in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Nepal.

Along with her pet parrot ‘Mitthu’, Meena confronts extreme discrimination against girls in this region. She has endeared both the young and the old. Meena material is available in a number of languages, including Bengali, English, French, Hindi, Nepali, Portuguese, Spanish and Urdu.

“There is no better way of celebrating the 100th year of International Women’s Day than welcome this radio incarnation of Meena” said Adele Khudr, Chief of UNICEF UP. In this incarnation children in remotest villages will be reached and touched by the world of Meena.”

And will she be the same as the printed version?

Avers Angela Walker the Chief of Communications of UNICEF India, “She returns with her usual charm but with added roles. Using the powerful medium of radio she will now communicate messages on many important aspects of child rights, gender and child-friendly schools. While she will address key issues related to social and behavioral changes, she will do it in the most entertaining manner.”
Terming it a landmark decision to launch Meena on radio Santosh Yadav, former bureaucrat and the only woman to scale Mount Everest twice, flagged off the inaugural broadcast of the show.

In a personal account of how an ordinary and simple girl from a village of four house holds reached the top of the world, Santosh Yadav interacting with large number of school girls who had come from the eight blocks of Lucknow, told them how Meena was an inspiration to her too.

“There is no such thing as desity. It is important is to aim high and go for it. The society is invariably against the girl. Many families succumb to social pressure and silence and discourage their daughters. But as daughters we persist with determination and march on. Then parents and family will support us and eventually the society will fall in line. Education through radio is a powerful medium of self instruction as well, I myself learnt English listening to radio and was able to clear the tough IAS exams. So I feel Meena is a very apt gift through radio to all the children in UP who have dreams to become something in their lives,” she said.

And she is not wrong eithe. Surveys by the Basic Education Department reveal that Meena has proved to be a successful advocacy and teaching tool promoting girls’ education and children’s rights through short films, spots, book, videos etc.

Since use of Meena advocacy material began not only has the attendance in school upped by 30% but the rate of dropouts to have reduced with children’s learning achievements like reading and writing increasing as well.

An achivement not many real life characters have been able to replicate but then as the character herself declares, “I am motivational, I am inspirational and most importantly I am enjoyable!” all three factors required to make education meaningful and Meena has them. So litle wonder she struck a chord.

So here’s welcoming Meena To apna Uttar Pradesh


Anjali Singh(The author is a Special Correspondent to Citizen News Service (CNS) and also the Director of Saaksham Foundation. Email: anjali@citizen-news.org, website: www.citizen-news.org )

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33% women quota vital for a more balanced society

By giving 33 per cent quota to women in the Parliament and state assemblies a  ground will be laid down for a more balanced society. When decision making power will be entrusted to women they will use it to better the lot of women and children which will in turn improve society. Read more

These views were expressed by different speakers at an open house organized by Media Nest, an organization working for the welfare of journalist and their families under the banner Media for Children at the Uttar Pradesh Press Club on Saturday afternoon of 12th March 2010.

Stressing that the reservation is essential for the development of society Dr Shibani Roy, a Delhi based anthropologist who has worked with Muslim women for 40 years said.

“At present it is clear that on the Quota Bill issue  society is now divided in two categories –the man and woman. While the former oppose the Bill the latter support it. It is clear that the Bill that assures the interest of women, diminishes the position of men and they resent it,” she said.

Dr Roy who has traveled to Iran several times in connection with her work said it is wrong to presume that a woman will not be able to fulfill her responsibilities if she gets into Parlaiment.

“How naïve to believe that a woman will cease to be a mother, sister,  wife if she takes upon herself the mantle of a Parliamentarian. Trust a woman to have more sense.” Said Dr Roy .

Shakila who heads an organization Aagaze  Insaaf that works for the rights of Muslim women said that men must learn to respect woman first as human being before they call her a political entity. A great advocate of Reservations for women she said that it is the right of ensuring a just society.

“Only political and economic independence will lead to the true emancipation of women and empower them,” said senior journalist and member of the Press Council of India, Suman Gupta.

“Why should the sole responsibility of looking after the children and home be left to the woman alone, men should be equal partners in this work. Then the question of women neglecting their house if she steps out to be in politics will not arise,” said Ms Gupta.

Asserting that only a woman can understand the pain of a woman sensitively she said that is why it is important that women come in the mainstream.

She said it is foolish to believe that a woman will get spoiled if she steps out of her house.

“It is difficult to imagine the universe without a woman, her entry in politics will ensure a better deal for both men and woman.”

Endorsing the valid demand of women for 33 per cent reservation irrespective of religion and caste bars senior journalist Mr.  Durgesh Narain Shukla said that it is the ploy of political parties to create confusion and disorder and in that melee the reservation bill will hang fire.

He said while many men are doing lip-service to the Bill because they cannot openly oppose it deep within they fear that their places will be usurped and they are not keen that the Bill be passed.

Urging religious political leaders not to link the Bill with any religious politics Kulsum Talha, secretary Media Nest said that women must stand united in support of the bill and not get divided on issues of religion and caste.

Kulsum Mustafa
(The author is a senior journalist and secretary of Media Nest)