From Old Foes to New Friends: Maldivian Opposition Unites in London

Former President Mohamed Nasheed will lead a “united opposition” partnership alongside former Vice President Mohamed Jameel Ahmed and political parties whose leaders have been jailed by President Abdulla Yameen.

Credit: Twitter

Former President Mohamed Nasheed (centre) and other members of the Maldives United Opposition. Credit: Twitter

New Delhi: After being granted refugee status in the UK, former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed will lead a “united opposition” partnership on Wednesday in London, alongside his erstwhile political rival, former Vice President Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, and political parties whose leaders have been jailed by President Abdulla Yameen.

A website of the Maldives United Opposition is already live, with a resolution also being prepared to be issued for the launch of the new platform.

Speaking to The Wire, Hamid Abdul Ghafoor, international spokesperson for the Maldivian Democratic Party, said that “a united opposition has come together because President Yameen has derailed democratic transition”.

“We would like to see an interim transitional government that would prepare the groundwork for a return to democratic elections in 2018,” he said.

The gathering at the Royal Overseas League, London, will see the who’s who from among the island nation’s political opposition, many of whom now residing in exile in the UK. A number of special invitees will also be attending, including conservative members of parliament (MPs) and well-known British Indian entrepreneur Lord Karan Bilimoria.

Nasheed had recently been granted asylum in the UK – five months after he left the Maldives on a temporary medical leave from his 13-year sentence after having been convicted under the Maldives’ anti-terrorism law.

During most of their public career, Ahmed and Nasheed had been on opposite sides of the political spectrum, trading barbs at each other.

Jameel fled the Maldives before the parliament impeached him on grounds of “incompetence” and “dereliction of duty” last July. A day after the impeachment, Yameen’s then closest aid, tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb, became the new vice president, but lasted just four months.

An explosion on the presidential speedboat led to Adeeb being charged with trying to assassinate Yameen and his wife. Adeeb’s treason trial is still continuing in the Maldives. His wife, Fathimath Liusha, will represent him at the launch of the new coalition.

Similarly, Adam Azim, the brother of the former Defence Minister Colonel Mohamed Nazim – convicted for eleven years – will be part of the opposition alliance.

The Islamist Adhalaath party, one-time allies of Yameen’s ruling coalition, will be represented by party Vice President Ali Zahir. The leader of the party, Sheikh Imran Abdulla, was also sentenced to 12 years on terrorism charges, slapped on him after his speech at a May Day rally.

Besides, Ahmed Mahloof, an independent MP who was earlier part of the ruling Progressive Party of Madives (PPM), also travelled to London for the launch.

Ghafoor said that the coalition would be “open” to the PPM joining the “national unity government,” but obviously without Yameen.

Members of the new opposition alliance got together for a luncheon meeting on Tuesday, ahead of the formal launch.

The only no-show, officially, could be from the Jumhoree Party, whose leader, Gasim Ibrahim, returned back to the ruling coalition’s fold after the government put pressure on him financially by targeting his resort empire.

There has been pressure from the international community, through the Commonwealth and the United Nations, to bring political stability back to the strategically-located archipelago by promoting talks between the government and the opposition. But the have efforts have not shown much signs of life thus far.

Plastic Bottles Contaminate Medicines, Shows Study

Contradicting what the health ministry said in March, the Drugs Technical Advisory Board now recommends banning plastic bottles for medicines.

Contradicting what the health ministry said in March, the Drugs Technical Advisory Board now recommends banning plastic bottles for medicines.

Plastic vials. Credit: Wikipedia

Plastic vials. Credit: Wikipedia

Plastic or PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles contaminate the medicines stored in them, concluded laboratory tests ordered by the health ministry and endorsed by the country’s top statutory authority on standards for medicines, the Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB). Based on the result of the lab tests, the board has recommended banning the bottling of medicines in plastics and PET meant for vulnerable groups, such as children and pregnant women.

These recommendations, made in May 2016, by the statutory panel of experts, stand in complete contrast to what the health ministry told the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in March, discrediting the results of the lab tests as inadequate, based on another report from a committee it formed specifically on the issue, chaired by an ex-secretary M. K. Bhan.

The study, undertaken on the instructions of the health ministry, was conducted by the government’s All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health (AIIH&PH). It found that four heavy metals – lead, antimony, Di-(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (known as DEHP) and chromium – had leached into the five liquid medicine formulations that were tested. The leaching occurred even at ambient room temperatures. “To consider a level as safe level amounts to playing with fire [sic],” the institute said.

In the five brands it tested, the research institute found that the leaching of antimony, DEHP and chromium increased with a rise in room temperature. The leaching of lead increased in just three brands as the room temperature rose. On lead, the World Health Organisation (WHO) had concluded that there was no known level of safe exposure.

The lab tests were also carried out on juices, beverages, alcohol and oil packaged in plastic and PET bottles. But the results of these products are not known.

A long debate

Reacting to the preliminary report of the institute in August 2015, the health ministry had formed a temporary high level committee under Bhan. The committee had found faults with the institute’s lab results.

Subsequently, in an ongoing case before the NGT, the health ministry in March tabled only the Bhan committee report, which dissed the government’s internal lab tests report as inadequate. The results of the lab tests were not disclosed before the tribunal. The committee said there was no clear proof of PET bottles contaminating medicines inside them. It also recommended that PET and plastic packaging continue and standards be set for it. It admitted that there were no standards in India for safe plastic packaging, unlike in countries such as the US.

But in May 2016, government’s statutory DTAB experts met, as they do periodically. They endorsed the lab test results of the AIIH&PH. The DTAB recommended to the health ministry to prohibit the use of plastic-bottle packaging for any liquid oral formulations having “pediatric use, geriatric use, use by pregnant women and use by any women of the reproductive age group.” These recommendations were reviewed by Business Standard as were the Bhan committee report and the institute’s lab results.

The government research institute’s special group set up on this issue itself had recommended that at least 20% of any pharmaceutical liquid or semi-liquid oral product should be packaged only in glass bottles. It also said packaging companies should deploy 5% of profits in discovering better alternatives. In its final report, the institute also rebutted Bhan committee’s critique. The rebuttle was accepted by government’s DTAB.

The debate within government on this issue dates back to 2013 when DTAB first recommended that PET and plastic packaging should not be permitted for pharmaceutical products catering to children and other vulnerable groups.

In 2014, the Indian Council for Medical Research concluded that leaching from plastic bottles had been demonstrated in various studies, and these bottles should not be used for packaging drugs meant for the pediatric age group and pregnant women. The ministry said it was going for a ban and asked for comments.

The pharma industry as well as the plastic packaging industry argued against the ban. In April 2015, the ministry asked the AIIH&PH to carry out lab tests. This sequence of events was captured by the DTAB in its internal meeting. Now, the lab test results, confirming leaching, have been endorsed by the DTAB but have not been presented before the NGT.

The story so far

July 2013: India’s top pharma experts authority (Drugs Technical Advisory Board) agreed for the phase-out of PET bottling of medicines.

Sep 2013: Recommended ban of PET and plastics in liquid medicines for children and pregnant women.

March 2014: The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said studies proved leaching of dangerous chemicals from PET bottles.

May 2014: ICMR recommended PET plastic bottles not be used for vulnerable sections following precautionary principle.

Sept 2014: NDA government’s health ministry pre-notified the ban.

April 2015: Health ministry asked government health body to carry out tests for leaching.

August 2015: AIIH&PH conducted tests on pharmaceutical products, juices, beverages, oils and alcohol packed in PET. Results showed leaching in pharma products. Results of others not disclosed.

August 2015: Ministry created a high-level committee (HLC) under ex-secretary M. K. Bhan to review again.

March 2016: HLC submitted report, said no definitive proof, said lab study unreliable recommends standards but no ban.

March 2016: In on-going case before NGT, the government submitted Bhan committee report dissing lab tests, did not disclose actual results.

April 2016: AIIH&PH finalised report, stood by its findings, recommended restrictions on PET bottling.

May 2016: The government’s top pharma committee endorsed findings of AIIH&PH against conclusions of Bhan committee.

This article originally appeared on Business Standard. Read the original article.

Green Tribunal Orders Art of Living to Pay Fine, Sri Sri Vows to Fight Back

Through its order, the National Green Tribunal has settled a nearly 80-day old issue – but Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s foundation has challenged its assessment and the penalty amount.

Through its order, the National Green Tribunal has settled a nearly 80 day-old issue – but Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s foundation has challenged its assessment and the penalty amount.

Preparations for the Art of Living event. Credit: PTI

Preparations for the Art of Living festival that took place in March. Credit: PTI

New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Art of Living Foundation (AOL) to pay Rs 4.75 crores in cash to the Delhi Development Authority – the sum remaining of the penalty imposed on it for causing damage to the Yamuna floodplains while preparing for and hosting its World Culture Festival between March 11 and 13.

The panel struck down the AOL’s plea for accepting the amount through a bank guarantee. It also imposed on it a penalty of Rs. 5000 for filing unnecessary applications that lacked “bonafide.”

Although there was no word from the AOL in court on whether it would pay the amount or appeal the order in the Supreme Court, its founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar tweeted that since his organisation had not caused any pollution while holding its festival, it would continue to fight “till the end for justice.”

Screen shot of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's Twitter page. Credit: Twitter

Screen shot of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Twitter page. Credit: Twitter

Through its order, the NGT bench, chaired by Justice Swatanter Kumar, settled the nearly 80 day-old issue.

On March 9, the Tribunal had imposed an interim Rs. 5 crore ‘environmental compensation’ fine on the AOL and penalties of Rs. 5 lakhs and Rs. 1 lakh on the Delhi Development Authority and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee respectively, for allowing the festival to take place on the floodplain, despite its clear directions on January 13, 2015, to not allow any construction in the environmentally-sensitive zone.

The NGT had further directed the AOL to pay the Rs. 5 crores prior to the commencement of the festival. This sum would then be adjusted against the total compensation, which would be determined on the basis of a report submitted by its Principal Committee within four weeks, it said.

The AOL submitted an amount of Rs. 25 lakh before the festival and stated that it would submit the remaining amount within three weeks. However, it went on to repeatedly plea for relaxations of the NGT’s order and failed to deposit the remaining sum.

Heading the NGT bench on May 31, Justice Kumar addressed the AOL: “Your conscience should be clear, let people say what they want to. You fulfil your obligations.” The AOL must now deposit the remaining amount within a week.

As for the question of the total value of the penalty, the NGT ordered the Principal Committee on May 25 to visit the site, assess the damage done and submit a report. However, when the panel tried to do this, it was stopped by the AOL on the grounds that cleaning operations were still underway.

The AOL subsequently questioned how the panel could judge such massive ecological damage on the basis of a mere viewing of the site. In a statement issued by its chief spokesperson Sonia Madhok, the AOL “objected to the existing expert committee led by Sashi Shekhar, and including AK Gosain, Brij Gopal and CR Babu” and to their “arbitrary figure of Rs. 120 crore based on a very brief and mere visual assessment without following the scientific process [sic].”

On Monday, May 30, the AOL moved a petition in the NGT demanding the committee be reconstituted. “The committee has pre-judged the issue and are under self-imposed pressure to justify that figure, creating a bias for itself [sic],” the petition alleges.

The NGT seeks a response from the petitioner, environmentalist Manoj Misra. The matter will be taken up after the summer.

Scrap New Draft Rules on Protection of Wetlands, Activists Tell Government

In a submission to the environment ministry, activists representing the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People have asked that the new draft rules be scrapped entirely, lest they “jeopardise wetland conservation” in India.

In a submission to the environment ministry, activists representing the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People have asked that the new draft rules be scrapped entirely, lest they “jeopardise wetland conservation” in India.

A flock of migratory birds fly across a wetland in Hokersar on the outskirts of Srinagar. Credit: PTI.

A flock of migratory birds fly across a wetland in Hokersar on the outskirts of Srinagar. Credit: PTI.

Activists representing the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) have called on the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) to scrap new rules it has drafted on the protection of wetlands, saying that the new draft rules are “seriously watered down” and that they “can jeopardise wetland conservation in the country and need to be rejected in (their) entirety”.

In April this year, the ministry released the new draft rules despite the existence of the Wetland (Conservation and Management) Rules 2010, on the basis that the older rules were poorly implemented across states, with the exception of Odisha. The environment ministry is seeking suggestions over the rules until June 6 this year.

In a letter to the ministry, SANDRP has taken serious objection to the draft rules and has called for new rules to be constituted a participatory consulting process and for the 2010 rules to be implemented in the interim. The representatives of the network have said that the ministry has “disregarded” a consultation process that began in 2008, when the first draft regulatory framework for wetland conservation in India was issued by the MoEF.

The activists point out that wetlands are incredibly important to biodiversity and livelihoods in India:

“They store water, recharge groundwater, purify water (East Kolkata Wetlands, also a Ramsar Site, are a remarkable example of sewage treatment by a wetland ecosystem), moderate floods, help fight droughts, are important refuge of biodiversity and also act as carbon sinks making them irreplaceable and invaluable in the context of climate change. They provide livelihoods to millions of Indians directly, while providing indirect benefits to many more people. (…)A study on the Bhitarkanika mangrove ecosystem in Orissa (second largest mangrove forest of India mainland), estimated that cyclone damage avoided was highest in the village that was protected by mangrove forests. The loss incurred per household was greatest  in the village that was not sheltered by mangroves and lowest in the village that was protected by mangrove forests.”

The network has called the new draft rules a “phenomenal low,” and has pointed out key problems with the rules, including the fact that they do not include a role for the Central Wetland Authority or for local communities and non-governmental members in the State Wetland Authorities. In addition, the network’s submission points out that the rules would permit states to notify wetlands in any matter they see fit, as there are no criteria or guidelines given on the matter. There is also no mention of activities that should be regulated or prohibited at wetlands.

This is despite the fact that environment minister Prakash Javadekar said this May that the use of wetlands for sewage disposal is “disturbing.”

The full text of the submission is below:

“Wetlands are some of the most valuable ecosystems that we have. (They are) irreplaceable and invaluable for the goods and services that they provide. They have been facing unprecedented abuse at our hands. The importance of wetlands has been highlighted recently in Chennai and (after) the Jammu and Kashmir floods,” said Parineeta Dandekar, associate coordinator at SANDRP.

Dandekar argued that the ministry’s act of scrapping existing legislation for the protection of wetlands and the Centre’s abdication of responsibility on the matter “is a new low in (the) environment governance of the country.” She said that the states have a “dismal track record” when it comes to protecting wetlands.

The network has requested a wider public consultation on the matter, involving stakeholders such as fisherfolk, farmers, boatsmen and urban planners.

The Gender Beat: Woman Gangraped in Kolkata; Child Marriage Rampant, Says Census Report

A round-up of what’s happening in the worlds of gender and sexuality

A round-up of what’s happening in the worlds of gender and sexuality

Child marriage in India. Credit: Reuters.

Child marriage in India. Credit: Reuters.

 

Woman gangraped in Kolkata

Four men gangraped a 25-year-old woman in a moving car in Kolkata on the night of May 28, say reports.

The woman, who is reportedly from Nepal, took an Uber cab late at night to go to a coffee shop, but got the location wrong. Stranded, she asked a bystander for help. He called his accomplices and they offered the woman a lift. As soon as she got in, their car sped off and the men gangraped the woman for several hours, before throwing her out.

Police are scanning CCTV footage to identify the car. The woman has undergone a medical examination and doctors have confirmed rape.

Child marriage is rampant, says latest Census report

Almost one in every three married women was married before the age of 18, according to the latest Census report on the decadal headcount in 2011, The Indian Express reported. Of these, 78.5 girls were married when they were less than ten years old. The data also shows that 91% of all married women were married by the age of 25 years.

The data shows that the more education a woman has, the later she is likely to get married.

Welfare body demanded for transgender people

Transgender activists in Jharkhand are demanding that a transgender welfare board be created in the state, in keeping with the 2014 Supreme Court judgement recognising the rights of transgender people, says a Times of India report. Around 150 transgender people from various districts in the state gathered at a workshop on May 30 in order to share their grievances.

Recently, The Wire reported on the remarkable lack of progress in implementing the 2014 judgment in India, and how a lack of basic rights continues to adversely impact transgender people across the country.

India’s bonded labour assistance to include transgender people, boost payouts

A Reuters report says that India is revising its rehabilitation scheme for forced or bonded labourers to include transgender and other marginalised people.

Although India abolished bonded labour in 1976, the country is home to almost half the world’s 36 million slaves, says the report.

The Indian government plans to speed up court proceedings and will award higher compensation to rescued bonded labourers.

Four out of five Indian women are sexually harassed in public spaces: ActionAid UK survey

A new survey by ActionAid reveals that four out of five Indian women – 79% – have experienced some form of harassment or violence in public, according to a report in the Indian Express.

Respondents from north Indian states reported the highest percentages of “situations of harassment” while on public transportation, walking the streets and on the way to/from work.

Anti-trafficking draft bill is toothless: experts

An India Today report says that women’s rights experts have called the government’s new anti-trafficking law “toothless,” arguing that brings nothing new to the table.

“The new bill proposes mandatory registration of placement agencies, but registration of these agencies is already mandatory. There are still lakhs of illegal placement agencies trafficking women and children for domestic and sex work without any tab,” Ranjana Kumari, the director of the Centre for Social Research told India Today.

Kumari also said she fears that the new fund proposed by the government for the welfare of survivors of trafficking may meet the same fate as the Nirbhaya Fund, which remains largely unused. “There is no clarity on this fund such as what would be the amount, who will manage it, how would it used categorically etc,” she told India Today.

Activist Barkha Singh said that the bill needs inputs from more consultation with states and experts.

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Freedom Under Fire: IAS Officer Asked to Explain ‘Anti-Modi’ Post; Shiv Sena Leader Says Tanmay Bhat Should be Whipped in Public

A round-up of news, both bad and good, on the rights front from India.

A round-up of news, both bad and good, on the rights front from India.

Tanmay Bhat. Credit: Facebook

Tanmay Bhat. Credit: Facebook

Days after transfer for praising Nehru, IAS officer asked to explain ‘anti-Modi’ post on Facebook

The BJP government in Madhya Pradesh on Monday asked IAS officer Ajay Singh Gangwar to explain a purported Facebook post calling for a people’s revolution (jan kranti) against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, The Indian Express reported. This comes days after Gangwar was transferred following another post in which he praised Jawaharlal Nehru.

The notice sent today is silent on the Nehru post. The one-line notice has sought his explanation within seven days on a different Facebook post dated January 23, 2015, which referred to an opinion piece in the editorial page of Jansatta. The piece, written by a contributor, was critical of Modi’s Make in India programme.

Gangwar claimed the post in question is not on his timeline and that he may have ‘liked’ an article shared on Facebook but never made that comment. “I will ask them about the source of that post. They probably got it from social media. They are doing this because their action of transferring me for my comments on Nehru boomeranged on them. They are doing this to divert attention,’’ he said.

Tanmay Bhat should be whipped in public for his actions: Sena leader Sanjay Raut 

According to a report in The Indian Express, the Shiv Sena on Tuesday lashed out at AIB comedian Tanmay Bhat for his ‘roast’ on cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar and singer Lata Mangeshkar, saying that such “sick” people should be beaten with hunters in public.

“I guess Tanmay Bhat and all involved in such actions are sick. These people should be whipped in public,” Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said.

In the last 17 months, 2,234 get HIV after blood transfusion

In the last 17 months alone, 2,234 persons across India have been infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) while getting blood transfusions, a report in The Hindu states. The maximum number of such cases (361) was reported from Uttar Pradesh due to unsafe blood transfusion practices in hospitals. Gujarat (292 cases), Maharashtra (276) and Delhi (264) were the other leading states where patients have been transfused unsafe blood.

The data was revealed by the National AIDS Control Organisation in response to a right to information query by activist Chetan Kothari. “The government has been slackening on raising AIDS awareness due to budget cuts. Cases like these keep happening over and over again, and no action is taken against erring hospitals and blood banks. This is an extremely serious issue and the government needs to address it urgently,” said Kothari.

Congo victim’s family in capital, India assures them speedy trial

Ten days after Congolese national Masonga Kitanda Olivier was beaten to death by three men in South Delhi’s Vasant Kunj, his uncle and cousin arrived in the capital on Monday morning to take his body back to Kinshasa, The Indian Express reported. Birender Yadav, joint secretary (west Africa), met the family on their arrival at the airport and said India has assured them a speedy trial.

Olivier was involved in a argument with three men, who got into an autorickshaw flagged down by him. The trio hurled racial slurs at Olivier and brutally assaulted him. Although he was rushed to a local hospital, he was declared dead on arrival. The incident occurred minutes before his 24th birthday.

African students in the capital had organised a protest demonstration in the capital on Tuesday, but called it off after assurances from the government.

Prime accused in the murder of Tamil Nadu Dalit boy walks out of jail to a hero’s welcome

After spending six months in prison, Yuvaraj, the prime accused in the murder of Dalit youth Gokulraj, walked out from the Vellore Central Prison on Tuesday, The News Minute reported. The Madras High Court had granted Yuvraj conditional bail last week.

The 34-year-old leader of the Dheeran Chinnamalai Gounder Peravai received a hero’s welcome from his supporters who were present in large numbers at the prison. His supporters garlanded the murder accused and lifted him upon their shoulders.

Talking to reporters outside the prison, he said, “I have evidence to prove that the case is suicide and not murder. Be it Hindus, Muslims or Christians the common temple for all of them is the court and the common God for everyone is the judge. I have full faith in him, and I will bring out the truth through the court. I will also prove that DSP Vishnupriya’s death is a planned murder. Those two people who are guilty will be punished”.

Yuvaraj is accused of murdering 21-year-old Gokulraj for talking to a girl from the Gounder community at a Tiruchengode temple. Gokulraj’s body was found on the railway tracks near Erode.


Do you know of any other incident we should highlight in this column? Write to me at jahnavi@cms.thewire.in.

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Number of Afghans Uprooted by Violence Doubles in Just Three Years, Says Amnesty

The rights group said that situation of people uprooted from their homes in Afghanistan has deteriorated in recent years as global attention and aid money have been diverted to other crises, and over a million are now “on the brink of survival”.

An internally displaced Afghan girl holds a child at a refugee camp in Kabul, Afghanistan May 31, 2016. Credit: Reuters/Mohammad Ismail

An internally displaced Afghan girl holds a child at a refugee camp in Kabul, Afghanistan May 31, 2016. Credit: Reuters/Mohammad Ismail

London: The number of Afghans internally displaced by conflict has “dramatically” doubled to 1.2 million in just three years, Amnesty International said on Tuesday, warning that a lack of basic services was putting people on the brink of survival.

The rights group said that situation of people uprooted from their homes in Afghanistan has deteriorated in recent years as global attention and aid money have been diverted to other crises.

“While the world’s attention seems to have moved on from Afghanistan, we risk forgetting the plight of those left behind by the conflict,” said Champa Patel, South Asia director at Amnesty International.

“Even after fleeing their homes to seek safety, increasing numbers of Afghans are languishing in appalling conditions in their own country, and fighting for their survival with no end in sight,” she said in a statement.

The insurgency in Afghanistan has gained strength since the withdrawal of international troops from combat at the end of 2014 and the Taliban are stronger than at any point since they were driven from power by US-backed forces in 2001.

The Taliban launched a spring offensive in Afghanistan last month, vowing to drive out the Western-backed government in Kabul and restore strict Islamic rule.

Amnesty said displaced Afghans lacked proper shelter, food, water, access to healthcare, employment and education.

Internally displaced Afghan children stand inside their shelter at a refugee camp in Kabul, Afghanistan May 31, 2016. Credit: Reuters/Mohammad Ismail

Internally displaced Afghan children stand inside their shelter at a refugee camp in Kabul, Afghanistan May 31, 2016. Credit: Reuters/Mohammad Ismail

“Even an animal would not live in this hut, but we have to,” Amnesty quoted a 50-year old woman living in a camp in the western Afghan city of Herat as saying.

“I would prefer to be in prison rather than in this place, at least in prison I would not have to worry about food and shelter.”

With food being scarce, some people were struggling to have a one meal per day, Amnesty said.

“We mostly live off bread or spoiled vegetables from the market,” Raz Muhammad, a community leader in Kabul’s Chaman-e-Barbak camp, told Amnesty.

Access to healthcare was limited to mobile clinics operated by charities or the government, which were only available occasionally, forcing displaced people to seek private care which they could hardly afford.

“If we are ill, then I have to beg and find some money to go to the private clinics,” a 50-year-old woman in Herat told Amnesty. “We have no other choice.”

The rights group said the international community and the Afghan government must address the needs of the displaced people “before it’s too late”.

(Reuters)

Armed Forces Tribunal Order on Triple Talaq Plagiarises Article from The Wire

According to a plagiarism software, 79% of the article was presented verbatim in the order, with no reference no to the original whatsoever.

The Lucknow Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal has delivered an order on triple talaq, stating that the Constitution overrides personal law as well as any other provisions and practices that may curtail the constitutional rights of a person or group. The order has also deemed triple talaq to be “inhuman”. The bench of Justice D.P. Singh and Air Marshal Anil Chopra were ruling on a petition received under section 14 of the Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007. The applicant was unhappy with the payments he had to give his former wife, allegedly divorced under Muslim Personal Law.

Interestingly, the order quotes verbatim from an article published in The Wire in September 2015, written by A. Faizur Rahman (without any mention of his or the publication’s name).

According to the plagiarism detection software used by The Wire, 79% of the article was presented verbatim in the order, with no reference to the original whatsoever.

Rahman’s article was an explainer on the Quranic injunctions on divorce, penned as a critique of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board. Everything in bold typeface below was a part of the original article and has been copied in the order. What is presented in italics was not in the original article but has been added in the order.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board’s (AIMPLB) incorrigible obstinacy on the issue of instant triple talaq was on display yet again when, last week, it rejected suggestions to outlaw the abhorrent practice.  The board’s spokesperson Abdur Rahim Qureshi was quoted as justifying the irrevocably binding nature of triple talaq despite its categorisation as “a crime” in the Quran and hadees.  Not surprisingly, Qureshi did not bother to explain the reasoning behind the shocking legitimisation of an act considered illegal by the Quran and Prophet Muhammed, the original exponent of the scripture. Perhaps he expects Muslims to perpetually endure such incredible syllogistic fallacies that have come to define AIMPLB’s attitude towards Islamic law.

In this context, it is worth taking a look at the Quranic injunctions on divorce for a better understanding of marital rights in Islam.

Four steps before the first talaq

As a first step, when there is a marital discord, the Quran advises the husband to talk out the differences (fa’izu hunna) with his wife. If misunderstanding persists, the parties are asked to sexually distance themselves (wahjuru hunna) from each other in the hope that temporary physical separation may encourage them to unite.

And if this procedure too fails, the husband is instructed, as a third step, to once again discuss (wazribu hunna) with his wife the seriousness of the situation and try to bring about reconciliation. In pursuance of wazribu hunna, the husband shall explain to his wife that if they do not resolve their differences soon enough, their dispute will have to be taken beyond the confines of their house which may not be in the interest of both parties. This is because, if the dispute still remains unresolved, as a fourth step, the Quran requires the matter to be placed before two arbiters, one from the family of each spouse, for resolution.

Three talaqs

It is only after the failure of the aforementioned four attempts at reconciliation that the Quran allows the first talaq to be pronounced followed by a waiting period called the iddah. Not more than two divorces can be pronounced within this period, the duration of which are three monthly courses. For women who have attained menopause or suffer from amenorrhea the period of iddah is three months, and in the case of pregnant women it is till the termination of pregnancy.

And if the parties are unable to unite during iddah as envisaged by verse 2:228, the final irrevocable talaq can be pronounced, but only after the expiry of the iddah. Once the final talaq has been invoked the marital bond is severed and the parties cease to be of any relation to each other. However, even after iddah has lapsed, the Quran offers the contending parties a chance to reunite, provided the final talaq has not been pronounced. It says, “When you divorce women and they complete their term (iddah), do not prevent them from marrying their husbands if they mutually agree on equitable terms”. In other words, after the expiry of iddah, as per verses 2:231 & 232, the parties are given the options of remarriage and permanent separation- the separation being the third and the final irrevocable talaq to be pronounced in the presence of two witnesses.

Thus, it can be summarised from the above discussion that after four serious attempts at reconciliation a Muslim husband is permitted to divorce his wife once or twice within the period of iddah to resume conjugal relations without having to undergo the procedure of remarriage. After the expiry of iddah he can either re-contract the marriage on fresh and mutually agreeable terms or irrevocably divorce her by pronouncing the third and the final talaq. It is understood here that the woman cannot be left hanging without either being united with her husband or irrevocably divorced. The parties have to decide one way or the other within a reasonable period of time. This is clearly implied in the verse 2:231 which says “but do not take them back to hurt them or to take undue advantage. If anyone does this he wrongs himself.”

However, to emphasise the sanctity of the marriage tie and the enormity of breaking it for frivolous reasons, the Quran warns that once the parties choose to separate after the expiry of the iddah, they cannot entertain hopes of marrying again unless the wife takes another husband and he divorces her. It is understood here that a divorce may result only if the new husband has serious differences with his wife, and in the rare event of such differences cropping up, he is required to follow the Quranic procedure of divorce as discussed above.

Divorce as practiced in India

Despite the clarity of the Quran on the issue the concept of divorce has been completely misunderstood. As per the prevailing understanding of “shariah” in India, talaq is broadly categorised into talaq al sunnah and talaq al bid’ah. The first form refers to divorce pronounced in accordance with the Quranic procedure as explained by the Prophet, and the second one alludes to a sinful innovation (bid’ah) supposedly justified by the Caliph Umar. In this type of divorce the husband is authorised to repudiate his marriage by saying the word talaq thrice in quick succession in the presence of his wife who then ceases to be his spouse with immediate effect. The Caliph is said to have legalised this innovation to discourage Muslims of his time from resorting to it.

This account may not be authentic for two reasons. First, a hadith in the collection of Abu Dawud states that Caliph Umar himself punished people who uttered three divorces in one go. Second, why would the Caliph legalise the very misogynist practice he was trying to abolish? It would have made sense to issue a decree to the contrary, delegitimising the annulment of marriage on the pronouncement of three divorces in one sitting. What is even more astonishing is, Hanafi jurists consider talaq al bid’ah a grave sin and yet legalise it as the AIMPLB has just done. No theological (or logical) explanation is offered to rationalise this indefensible position.

The legality of instant triple talaq has also led to the abominable circumvention of the Quranic injunction discussed above to overcome its impracticality. To help the victims of this law a pliable person is set up who marries the divorced wife, consummates the marriage overnight and divorces her the next day so that the original husband can remarry her in accordance with 2:230. This outrageousness which an innocent woman is subjected to for the ruthlessness of an un-Islamic and inhuman law is known as halala. Although many ulema have outlawed this disgraceful practice, it still prevails clandestinely in some Muslim societies.

The invalidity of triple talaq is also established from a Prophetic hadees. When informed about a man who gave three divorces at a time the Prophet was so enraged that he said, “Are you playing with the Book of Allah who is Great and Glorious while I am still amongst you?” (Mishkat-ul-Masabih). The reference to the “Book of Allah” in this report is a clear admonition to [of] Muslims not to deviate from the gender-just, egalitarian philosophy of the Quran.

Reforms in Muslim countries [Changing Muslim world]

The good news is that [It shall be appropriate to consider the changing Muslim world from the material made available.] several Muslim countries have reformed their laws in an attempt to bring them in conformity with the Quran and authentic teachings of the Prophet. The Moroccan Family Code (Moudawana) of 2004, for instance, puts the husband and wife on an equal footing and states that neither of them, especially the husband, can pronounce divorce unilaterally except under judicial supervision. This, the Code explains, is to control and restrict the abusive arbitrary practices of the husband in exercising repudiation. The Code also contains mechanisms for reconciliation and mediation both through the family and the judge. Additionally, it invalidates irregular pronouncements of divorce by the husband and stipulates that divorce cannot be registered until all vested rights owed to the wife and children have been paid in full by the husband.

Nearer home, Pakistan enacted a similar legislation as far back as 1961 entitled The Muslim Family Laws Ordinance. According to this law any man who wishes to divorce his wife shall, after the pronouncement of talaq in any form whatsoever, give the Chairman of the state appointed Union Council notice in writing of his having done so, with a copy to the wife. Within thirty days of the receipt of notice the Chairman shall constitute an Arbitration Council consisting of himself and a representative of each of the parties for the purpose of bringing about reconciliation between the parties. Contravention of this procedure is punishable with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with fine which may extend to 5000 or both.

Even Algeria, Indonesia, Iran and Tunisia have derecognised a husband’s right to unilateral divorce by legislating that all divorces must go through a court.

Featured image credit: Camilo Rueda López/Flickr CC BY-ND 2.0

Afghanistan: Alleged Taliban Gunmen Kill Nine, Kidnap 170 Bus Passengers

The identity of the victims was not immediately clear but a campaign of kidnappings against Shi’ite Hazaras in the past year has became a source of ethnic tension.

Afghan security forces sit on top of a vehicle as they patrol outside of Kunduz city, October 1, 2015. Credit: Reuters/Hamid Shalizi

Afghan security forces sit on top of a vehicle as they patrol outside of Kunduz city, October 1, 2015. Credit: Reuters/Hamid Shalizi

Kunduz: Gunmen in Afghanistan killed nine bus passengers and kidnapped 170 on Tuesday outside the northern city of Kunduz in an attack blamed on Taliban insurgents, a provincial official said.

The attackers stopped three buses on a road and ordered the passengers out, shot dead nine of them and kidnapped the rest, said Massoum Hashemi, deputy police chief of Kunduz.

Government forces later freed most of the abducted passengers in a rescue operation.

“The Taliban have brutally killed nine civilians and taken about 20 with them,” Hashemi said.

There was no claim of responsibility and Taliban spokesmen were not immediately available for comment. The Taliban have in the past denied accusations of attacks on civilians.

The identity of the victims was not immediately clear but a campaign of kidnappings against Shi’ite Hazaras in the past year has became a source of ethnic tension, fuelling concern about sectarian violence.

Since persecuting Hazaras and other minorities during their rule in the 1990s, the Taliban have largely avoided specifically targeting Shi’ite Muslims.

But a rise in Afghanistan in the number of militants claiming allegiance to Islamic State, a hard-line Sunni movement that emphasises purging Shi’ites and is a rival to the Taliban, has coincided with a number of attacks on Hazaras.

The brief capture by the Taliban of Kunduz last year was a major blow to the government of President Ashraf Ghani.

The deterioration of security in the north has coincided with heavy fighting in the southern province of Helmand.

(Reuters)

Resurrecting Century-Old Muslim Women’s Voices From Urdu Magazines

A new performance based on the writings of Muslim women from about a century ago has important implications for the Indian feminist movement today.

A new performance based on the writings of Muslim women from about a century ago has important implications for the Indian feminist movement today.

A performance of Hum Khawateen in progress. Credit: Vinayak Srivastava.

A performance of Hum Khawateen in progress. Credit: Vinayak Srivastava.

On watching the performance of Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues, Gloria Steinem’s initial reaction was, “I already know this: it’s the journey of truth-telling we’ve been on for the past three decades”. My initial reaction on seeing the performative reading Hum Khawateen (We, Women) by a theatre group called Raschakra was in total contrast to Steinem’s response. I asked myself, “Why did I not know about this? How could such silence shroud the existence of these writings for over a century?”

Hum Khawateen is a reading of a selection of articles from Urdu women’s magazines published in India about a century ago. These magazines were serendipitously discovered by a team of researchers from the feminist group Nirantar who were working on issues related to Muslim women’s education. Nirantar also published a compilation of Devnagri transliterations of these writings called Kalaam-e-Niswan (Women’s Words). Its editor Purwa Bharadwaj says, “Although it was published in 2013, despite the team’s efforts the collection could not make a mark outside the NGO community”.  

Earlier this year when Raschakra came up with the idea to put up a performance directed by Vinod Kumar to mark Ismat Chughtai’s birth centenary, it was logical to begin with an extract from the autobiography of Chughtai. The group was scouting for more material for the performance when Bharadwaj (also one of the founder members of Raschakra) suggested the inclusion of a few articles from Kalaam-e-Niswan. While this suggestion was enthusiastically accepted, the extract from Chughtai’s autobiography could not make it to the final performance due to the unavailability of one of the group members.

Bhardawaj says, “The original title of the show was to be Ismat ke bahaaney (Ismat as Pretext) and the intent was to showcase the range of concerns and tones characterising Muslim women’s writing of the time.” The series of chance occurrences focused the performance on the voices of Muslim women feature writers, journalists and editors of these century-old Urdu magazines. The pretext was no longer required.

The pieces included in the Hum Khawateen performance on May 1 display this amply. Phat padey woh sona jinse tootey kaan (Be damned the gold that hurts ear lobes) is a scathing but satirical critique of the practice of wearing gold danglers that are too big according to the author, Aalia Begum. It was published in a magazine called Khatoon (Lady) in 1911. Ustani ka taa’arruf (Introduction of ‘The Teacher’) is the introductory editorial of the magazine Ustani (Lady Teacher) in 1919.

School ki ladkiyaan (School-going girls) is a spirited counter-offensive by Zafar Jahan Begum on prevalent stereotypes of the time about young women who attended school, published in Tehzeeb-e-Niswan (Refinement of Women) in 1927. Jins-e-lateef ki sargarmiyaan (Engagements of the gentler sex) is a report on political activism of women across the globe. The anonymous author displays intimate acquaintance with women activists involved in the anti-colonial movement in India, labour unions of Nottingham, the establishment of women’s courts in England and the Khilafat movement in Constantinople. This piece was published in Ustani in 1920.

The cover of Kalam-e-Niswaan. Credit: Nirantar.

The cover of Kalaam-e-Niswaan. Credit: Nirantar.

Khaddar-poshi (Wearing khaddar) is a deeply nuanced and confident piece on the everyday problems of using hand-spun and woven khadi fabric and the politics of protest, published in Tehzeeb-e-Niswan in 1927, also authored by Zafar Jahan Begum. And last but not the least is the time-defying piece titled Gavarment hawwa nahin hai (Government is not an ogre), which delineates and demystifies the modern (albeit colonial) state-subject relationship and encourages women readers to critique the government and not be afraid of it.

While the Nirantar team and Bharadwaj must be lauded for recognising the significance of these writings, what is also appreciable is their perseverance in efforts to put up this performance, re-infuse these words with voice and lend them an audience.

To come back to my initial reaction – why did I not know of this? Or, rather how did these voices get obscured? Well, I did know of Chughtai and Rashid Jahan, who have probably managed to stay on in the memory of the nation due to their dealing with taboo subjects and the resultant controversies. But, by and large, the impression one had of women writers in Urdu is that they wrote fiction or poetry, with some notable exceptions made by the writers of autobiographies. Even today, in most feminist cultural expressions, including theatre as method and in performances, metaphorical and poetic imagery dominate over direct articulation.

The voices get trapped in the politics of what counts as art and artistic expressions, or rather in the hierarchy of ‘authors producing literature’ and ‘journalists writing about the mundane’. That Muslim women writers’ voices were vocalising and confronting political, social and cultural concerns in a directly journalistic tone in the Indian public sphere 100 years ago is something not many can claim having known. I cannot exaggerate the importance of these voices in highlighting the questions of Muslim women (which have long been trapped in the limiting discourse of victimhood), and in their potential to lend them agency and intellect.

Left to Right: The covers of Tehzeeb-e-Niswan, Ustani and Ismat. Credit: Rekhta and Nirantar.

Left to Right: The covers of Tehzeeb-e-Niswan, Ustani and Ismat.
Credit: Rekhta and Nirantar.

It was perhaps inevitable then that the four performers of Hum Khawateen – Alka Ranjan, Bharadwaj, Rizwana Fatima and Shweta Tripathi – seemed to demonstrate a sense of not just taking in history but also participating in the making of history. Audience reactions, too, mirrored this sense. The electric atmosphere of the small seminar hall at the India International Centre annexe and the laughter was a celebration of the pleasure of discovering a piece of history of Muslim women in India. The collective and open wonder of the audience at how sharp the writing was, and how contemporary and still relevant the material was, can also be read as an indication of the state of Muslim women’s speech – often thought of and vaguely eluded to as having been erased, if not believed to be non-existent.

That theatre is the medium of resurrecting these voices in the age of digital reproduction needs to be noted too. Feminist use of theatre in activism is not new but Raschakra’s performance of Hum Khawateen still strikes one as a pioneering effort because the aesthetics employed in its performance are so much in congruence with the politics and significance of these writings for the women’s movement in India – to bring back Muslim women’s voices and views in public sphere. The performers, sitting on the very low stage, created no illusion of the fourth wall. They recited in lively but balanced voices that did not try to enact or interpret what was being spoken of. In fact, although they recited from memory, they held in their hands the sheets of paper with the text printed on them. The text, more than the performers, was in the spotlight. As the performance brochure declared, “Hum Khawateen. These are nearly hundred-year-old voices – of women, of Muslim women, in Urdu. Muslims and Urdu which stand marginalised today in India. But these voices are from the time when neither the Muslims felt repressed, nor did Urdu”.

Can we ensure that these voices and the women behind them reach the spaces where they have never been before? Can we ensure afresh ‘creation of memory’ of these voices through repeat performances of Hum Khawateen all over India? The prolific and creative performances and numerous adaptations of the Vagina Monologues not only as a political expression but also to raise support for action against patriarchal violence could serve as a strategic inspiration.

Hum Khawateen gestures at the arrival of an important moment in the journey of the feminist movement in India. Could it also be a point of unfolding of the limiting swaddling of Muslim women’s questions by the snug blanket of sisterhood, so that potentially startling reflective experiences and histories can be confronted? The movement needs to celebrate Muslim women’s voices from the past in Hum Khawateen, so that it can lend some confidence to the voices of the Muslim women of today.

Ghazala Jamil is assistant professor at the Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, Jawaharlal Nehru University.