Analysis of Rights and Duties in Nepal

Women's Property Rights Movement in Nepal by Binda Pandey Nepal is still running under strong feudalistic social values and norms. There were no clear provisions regarding Nepalese women and property rights until 1975. Following the UN Declaration of 1975, which was International Women's Year, the Nepali government began to celebrate International Women's Day on the 8th of March. That same year, the Civil Code was amended and a clause on women's inheritance and property rights included.The clause states that if a woman remains unmarried up to 35 years of age, she would have a right to inherit property. However, the amendment limits itself as it continues â€Å"if she gets marriage after having property that should be returned back to the brothers by deducting the marriage cost. † With the restoration of multiparty democracy in 1990, the new constitution guaranteed that no one should be discriminated against on the basis of sex. Furthermore, in 1991, the government ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW-1979).The nation's Women's Movement demanded that all inequalities in Nepali law be eliminated and focused attention on the equal right of women to inherit property. All political parties have included this demand in their respective election manifestos. The opposition party in parliament, the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist, has raised this issue repeatedly but the government has neither considered it seriously, nor taken any initiation to amend discriminatory laws. In 1993, a case was finally filed in the Supreme Court with a demand to amend the Civil Code to give women equal rights over property.After two years, in 1995, the Supreme Court issued a directive to the government to introduce a Bill in parliament that would guarantee a woman's rights to inherit property. Following the Supreme Court directive, the Ministry of Women and Social Welfare drafted a Bill, popularly known a s the â€Å"Women's Property Rights Bill† in order to amend the existing Civil Code. It was tabled for discussion in the 11th session of Parliament. It took almost six years more to be passed through parliament, despite a number of other Bills being adopted in this time parliament.During this period, different political parties and parliamentary committees have made a number of changes to the original Bill. On July 17, 2001, a parliamentary committee unanimously declared that women should have equal rights to inherit property. However, the ruling Nepali Congress party expressed some disagreement and proposed that inherited property â€Å"should be returned back to respective brother/s if she gets marriage†. The ruling party passed the Bill with a majority vote in the Lower House of Parliament in October 2001.But, the Upper House – National Assembly, which is dominated by the opposition party, failed the Bill and it was sent back to the Lower House for reconsider ation. In due process, the Bill came back to the Lower House. Here, the ruling party was pressing for the Bill to be adopted while the main opposition party, supported by almost all women organizations, was pressing hard to guarantee inherited property rights for women equivalent to that of their brother/s. In this situation, there was a risk that the Bill would not be passed again and it might take several more years to go through another round of discussion.At this point, the opposition party made the tricky decision to vote for a Bill with its reservation on the provision, which do not recognize the equal right of sons or daughters to inherited property after marriage. Major Achievements through 11th Amendment in Civil Code-2020 (1963) After all these turning points, the bill was finally passed in parliament on March 14, 2002. It was sent to the King for his seal of approval and came into effect from September 27, 2002. The major achievements of this amendment are as follows: â⠂¬ ¢ Women's Right to PropertyToday, women in Nepal can enjoy their right to inherit property from birth. But when they marry any property will be returned to the parent's family. The new law establishes a wife's equal right to her husband's property immediately after marriage, rather than after she reaches 35 years of age or has been married for 15 years as before. A widow's right to claim her share of property from the joint family after the death of her husband, and to use this property even if she gets re-married, is now also established in law. †¢ Women's Right to DivorceThe Bill gives women the right to seek divorce from her husband if he harasses her physically or psychologically; if he establishes sexual relationships with other women; if he is incapable of producing children; or if he is affected by and std, including hiv/aids. Previously, the law allowed a wife to claim only food stuff from her husband for the five years following their divorce. Today, a woman can als o claim property. †¢ Increase Penalty for Polygamy Polygamy is still rampant in Nepal, though it was declared illegal in 1975.Previously, those who violate the law in this regard face a punishment of 1 to 3 months in prison or a fine of 1000 to 2000 Rupees, or both. The new amendment increases these punishments, a man can now face 1 to 3 years in prison or a fine of 5000 – 25,000 Rupees, or both. †¢ Women's Right to Abortion Previously, abortion was illegal unless a doctor advised that a mother's life was endangered unless a foetus was aborted. Charged with this crime, more than five dozen women are imprisoned across Nepal. The new law legalizes abortion with some conditions.In normal cases a woman can make her own decision to go through with an abortion, though only within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. However, if the child's delivery endangers the mother's life, or if a women becomes pregnant through rape or incestuous sexual relations then abortions can take p lace within 18 weeks of pregnancy. Nepal is the first South Asian country to legalize abortion in this way. †¢ Stern Action against persons involved in Rape Rape is one of the major issues that has been raised by the women's movement in Nepal.In this regard, the amendments to the civil code make the law stronger and increase the punishment for rapists. According to the new provisions, a rapist can be imprisoned for 10-15 years, if their victim is below 10 years of age; 7-10 years of imprisonment, if their victim is between 10 and 16 years of age; and 5 – 7 years of imprisonment, if the victim's age is above 16 years. In each category, an additional five years of prison can be given if the victim is a pregnant or disabled woman. Lacunas still remain It is a big achievement that women have been granted more legal rights with this amendment. But, there remain issues to be addressed.One major issue is to establish equal rights of property inheritance regardless of a women's marital status. The struggle to achieve rights based on gender is ongoing. If gender equality has not been achieved even when important goals are met then the struggle should continue. Challenges ahead There is a bigger challenge ahead of the women's movement. Until and unless women and men in wider society are aware of these new legal instruments, they cannot bring any remarkable change to the real lives of Nepalese women. In this regard, it is the role and responsibility of the women's movement to make women and men aware of their legal rights.At the same time, social and bureaucratic structures including those in civil society and government must institutionalize these changes. Only in this way will feudal and traditional attitudes towards women's rights change. To ensure the impact of these legal rights, authority should be delegated in a practical way and the implementing apparatus should be correctly managed. The women's movement can lead the campaign to make people aware and to check that the law is implemented properly. We can prove that legal instruments are important tools and play a crucial role in creating gender equality in society. Updated version of the published article in Workers News 32, March 2002) Women's Movement Scenario in Nepal Nepal is one of the least developed countries in the world. Our socio-economic life and hence the national life is largely dependent on agriculture. 42 percent of the national income is being contributed by agriculture and almost 81 percent of the population is employed in this sector. However, agriculture itself is in a very miserable condition. It has become away of life to majority of the population, but its fruitfulness is decreasing every year.In the Nepalese context, the women struggle started against British imperialism. Patriotic struggle against British imperialism dates back to the battle of 1814 at Nalapani. Women marched shoulder to shoulder with men in the civil right movement of 1948. Women took act ive part in the democratic revolution of 1951 which overthrew the 104 year autocracy of the Rana family. Its goal was to overthrow the 104 years of Rana autocracy from Nepal. The first women organization the â€Å"Nepal Women Association† was established in 1948, it worked to inculcate political awareness among women.After the fall of the Rana regime and dawn of democracy in 1951, political parties became active. Women's organization began to be affiliated with various political parties. During the thirty year rule (1960-1990) of the party-less Panchayat system, all political parties and independent women 5 organizations were banned. However, the left democratic forces continued their struggle against the suppressive political system. The communist organized peasants and workers to fight against the exploitative regime. Women came out in large number during the struggle for democracy.The All Nepal Women Association (ANWA) functioning under the party, was very active in organi zing revolutionary women. It is during this period of struggle that ANWA established itself as a revolutionary wing of the party. Many members of ANWA were tortured by the rulers. The persistence in the struggle attracted women to join the movement. The movement was successfully expanded throughout the country. Also there were some sectoral women movements in existence against the feudal exploitation of landlord and Rana regime. But they were limited in coverage and could not take larger shape to include women from all over the nation.In order to understand the shaping of the movement, it is necessary to mention how the women's political and organized form of movement was connected with the political parties. The first underground mass meeting of All Nepal Women Association was held in 1980. The gathering discussed and analyzed situation of the country, set goals and strategies of women struggle to achieve the women's rights and liberation. It formulated the long term and short term national policy and programme for the women struggle. The period of eighties is the most active and important period for Nepalese women movement.The oppression from the then rulers was intolerable. Many women activists were jailed and tortured, more than 70 women activists were full-time underground and semi-underground activists. They developed thousands of activists who were over-ground, and they continued their underground activities. It played a crucial role in creating political awareness and played significant role in organizing women of different class, profession and strata. During its underground political training, the All Nepal Women Association equipped its cadre with true ideals in the struggles for political rights, social justice and economic equality.It also made best use of the 8th March International Women's Day (started since 1972, 8th march), and national festival such as Tij (exclusive women festival) and Tihar (festival of light) celebrated each year for five days culminating the worshipping of brothers by sisters on the last day. On this day women folk gather at their parental houses, hence an opportunity to make best use of gathering. ANWA organized its first National Conference in 1989 in underground way, second National Conference in 1992 and the third National Conference in 1995 with the theme â€Å"Social Security and Employment, Equal Rights in all Sectors†.All members of ANWA and other women organizations cultivated a dream-a dream of new progressive and democratic Nepal where women participation in all walks of national life is ensured. In spite of all these struggles, sacrifices and enthusiasm, women have been marginalized in politics as in any other sectors. The paternalistic structures of the family, society and the male-dominated political organizations gave little space to women. There exist a big gap between saying and doing, preaching and practicing about women's participation and leadership in Nepal.Constitutional ly, 5 percent seats of the total candidacy in the parliamentary election are reserved for women, in each political party. Recently the government has decided to provide 15 percent reservation in each VDC and Municipality. Altogether there are 4000 VDCs and 58 Municipalities and in each VDC there are 9 Wards (Unit). Each ward of the VDC will have 5 members including chairperson elected. Among four members one seat is reserved for women. There is a provision of Advisory Committee in VDC and municipality and participation of women is provisioned.Thus, at the local level altogether more than 120,000 women will be mobilized representing all parties. It is a welcome step forward to include women in politics at the local levels. The position of women in civil service is also very bleak. While the 1990 High Level Administration Reform Commission gave suggestions to improve the situation, only 5 percent of the civil servants at officer level were women in 1992. National and international eff orts have been made to bring multilateral and bilateral agencies for aid and assistance for women's cause.In spite of all these efforts, gender gap is still very wide. Inequalities are rampant in all fronts–cultural, social, economic, political and in education. Women have no separate identity of herself. They are identified in relation to her father, husband, son and grandson. Women in the society The Patriarchal system is the root cause of social injustice in Nepal. Sons are preferred over daughters. Sons are considered economic insurance in old age. They carry the family name, perform death rituals and rites.Girls are considered as other's property to be given away in marriage. They are unwanted, neglected ad overworked. They are seen as auxiliary contributors to the household. Thus, the women are caught in the corrupt circle of the family system of exploitation and deprivation. The socialization pattern of Nepalese society is very discriminative. From the childhood, boys are groomed towards productive work and decision making and girls are confined to an â€Å"inside world† conditioned to be home makers, dutiful wives, loving mothers and service providers.A woman is subjected to the protection of man and has no mobility. Women are controlled by men and are considered as a property of men. Hence they do not have their own property. Even religion, education and rituals are denied to women. A women's life is not for her self. Health status of Nepalese women is deplorable. Nepal is one of the three countries in the world where the life expectancy of women is lower than that of men. In Nepal 20 percent of pregnancies are said to be in the â€Å"high risk† category. Violence on girl-child and child prostitution is alarmingly increasing.Trafficking of girls into India are increasing and of those trafficked 20 percent are minors under 16 years of age. The overall health condition is alarmingly poor in Nepal. The average life expectancy is 55. 9 for males and 53. 5 for females. Only 10 percent of the pregnant women get maternal service. The maternal mortality rate is 850 per 100,000 live birth. Average child bearing age among 40 percent of women is 15 to 19 years. The fertility rate is as high as 5. 7. Women have been the focus of population policies and the main target for family planning and fertility control.The girl malnutrition rate is double than that of boy under 5 years. 78 percent of rural women suffer by anaemia in the delivery period. 85 percent of women depend upon the traditional birth attendants instead of health post and hospital services. Even in the urban areas, the maternal mortality rate is 8. 5 per 1000 but in rural and geographically distanced rural area the MMR is 15. 4 per 1000. Economic Status of Nepalese Women Nepal is an underdeveloped agricultural country with a per capita GDP of US $ 202 (1994). Almost half of its population is below the poverty line.It ranks second among the poorest countries of the world. Studies have shown that women's contribution in the economy is large and significant with 57 percent of agricultural activities being carried out by women. They contribute about half of household income and work 11 hours a day. Despite women's substantial contributions both as cultivators and managers in the production process, all their labour is unnoticed, undervalued and unaccounted in the economy. Women as the workers Women constitute a little over one-half of the Nepalese population. 5 percent of employed women are confined to agricultural work compared to 75 percent for men. Besides agriculture, women are again mostly confined to traditional jobs such as sewing and knitting. They are rarely engaged in professional and technical jobs. Very few are in community services, commerce, manufacture etc. Jobs are low-paid, requiring relatively simple skills. In the service sector, women are mostly engaged in teaching, health and financial institutions. Women lag far behin d in the legal field and media service. Only 6 percent are found at officer level positions in the civil services.Women in Nepal generally work for longer hours compared to men, and rural women devote much longer hours than urban women. His Majesty's Government of Nepal has fixed the minimum wage and salaries in the industrial and organized sectors without any gender discrimination but in practice such discrimination are noticed. Discrimination in organized sectors are more prominent. Effective and in built participation of women in the development process, both as a producer and consumer of development output, has been accepted as a necessary condition for balanced, equitable and sustainable growth.But Nepalese women are yet to obtain such participation. In terms of labour force participation, women are behind men, are predominantly confined to agriculture, account for the majority of unpaid family workers, number predominantly among the unemployed and are heavily concentrated in l ow-paid jobs, The constraints against women's employment in industry can be summarized as follows, †¢ Women are poorly qualified or not suitably trained †¢ Protective legislation has acted as a deterrent to women's employment †¢ Women are prepared to work for lower wage Both women and men look upon women's income as supplementary †¢ There is no solidarity and no unions among women Women lack the collateral to become entrepreneurs, therefore have no access to †¢ They lack entrepreneurial knowledge They have dual responsibilities and lack societal support credit loans or Ninety percent of the employed women are confined to agricultural activities where as it is less than seventy five percent in the case of men. Less than 6 percent of them are engaged in personal and community services, 2 percent are found in commerce and 1 percent in manufacturing.The employment of women in sectors like electricity, gas and water, construction, transport and communication fina nce and business services is extremely low or negligible (table No. 3). Economically Active Population (10 years and above) by Major Industry and sex 1991 (in percent) Table 1: Occupational Structure of Women and Men (1991) |Occupation |Male |Female Total |Female as % of |Total | |Professional technical Workers |2. 5 |0. 7 |1. 8 |15. | |Administrative Workers |0. 4 |0. 1 |0. 3 |9. 3 | |Clerical Workers |1. 6 |0. 3 |1. 1 |10. 0 | |Sales Workers |3. 9 |1. 7 |3. 0 |22. 6 | |Service Workers |7. 8 |3. 8 |6. 2 |25. 1 | |Farm/Fish Workers |74. |90. 4 |81. 0 |45. 1 | |Production Labour Workers |5. 8 |2. 0 |4. 2 |18. 8 | |Others |3. 0 |0. 8 |2. 1 |15. 8 | |Not Stated |0. 3 |0. 2 |0. 3 |35. 9 | |Total |100. 0 |100. 0 |100. 0 |40. | Source: Population Census 1991 Table 2: Women in the Labour force 1991 |Describe |Male |Female |Total | |I. Population(in ‘000) |9221 |9270 |18491 | |2. Labour force |6445 |6554 |12999 | |(Population aged 10 years and above in ‘000) | | | | |3.Labour f orces% of total people |69. 9 |70. 7 |70. 3 | |4. Economically active population |4428 |2982 |7410 | |(Aged 10 years & above in ‘000) | | | | |5. Labour force participation rate |68. 7 |45. 5 |57. 0 | |(4 as% of2) | | | | |6.Economically inactive population |2017 |3572 |5589 | |(aged 10 years and above'000) | | | | |7. 6as%of 2 |31. 3 |54. 5 |43 | Source : Population Census 1991 Table 3:Economically active population (10 years and above) by major industries and sex, 1991(in percent) Industry |Male |Female Total |Female as % of |Total | |Agriculture |74. 9 |90. 5 |81. 2 |45. 0 | |Manufacturing |2. 6 |1. 2 |2. 0 |11. 9 | |Construction |0. 7 |0. 1 |0. 5 |10. 9 | |Commerce |4. 5 |2. 0 |3. |23. 7 | |Transport and communication |1. 1 |0. 1 |0. 7 |3. 9 | |Finance and business services |0. 4 |0. 1 |0. 3 |13. 4 | |Personal & community services |13. 6 |5. 3 |10. 2 |21. 0 | |Others |0. 6 |0. 1 |0. 4. |6. 7 | |Industry not stated |1. |1. 6 |1. 0 |23. 2 | |Total |100. 0 |100. 0 |100. 0 |40. 4 | Source : Population Census 1991 Women are facing problems created by government new economic policy of privatization and liberalization. The policy of privatization and liberalization is yet to show its full impact in Nepalese economy. Even then we expect to encounter the following problems in the field of women workers and employment in the days to come. 1. The employer may prefer men to women or unmarried to married one 2.Difference in salary of men and women may persist 3. Government may not be responsible for capacity building program for women 4. The dignity of women workers might erode as they will be treated as commodity by their employers. 5. Prostitution, sex tourism and sexual harassment will grow together with success of privatization and liberalization 6. Women will have to be restricted to low skilled and low paid jobs. The new policy will reduce the opportunities for formal education and vocational training for upgrading the skills, with a result that women d o not qualify for promotions, job up gradation and higher wage.Education and Nepalese Women For a long time, education was a privilege for a few in Nepal. The first government school for girls opened in 1948 a year after the Civil Rights Movement. It was only in 1951 that education was gradually prompted throughout the country. The literacy rate in the country is 40 percent. Literacy rate among women is only 25 percent. In the schools the dropout and irregularity of girls are higher compared to that of boys. Progress in the promotion of girls education has been made as a result of international women's year and the international women's decade. Several measures have been taken to augment girls education.Female teachers were appointed in each school. Nevertheless, education is yet to be effective in empowering women in Nepal. Education in Nepal is not yet linked with the lives of the people. Equality and empowerment of women is simply a lip-service. Government Policy and Women's Adva ncement There has been some changes in the interests and attitudes of the policy planners after the change in the political system. However, the changes are not satisfactory and are still sectoral. A new ministry looking after women issues has been created. The ministry is to coordinate and further the policies and programs related to the women.Women constitute half of the population in Nepal. Unless they participate fully in the nation building task, economic development of the country will not be possible. Taking this reality into account sectoral strategy and working policy were outlined in the eighth plan (1992-97), the first plan of fully democratic. The strategies to be followed as outlined in the plan are; †¢ Encouraging women's participation in traditional as well as non traditional sectors †¢ Extending access to be formal and non-formal education to women †¢ Adopting affirmative action in training program Increasing women's access to health facilities especia lly FP/MCH facilities †¢ Increasing women's access to credit, technical knowledge, entrepreneurship development programs, marketing facilities and employment opportunities †¢ Extending to rural areas those kinds of technological changes which reduce the time spend in gathering an fetching fuel fodder, water and household work †¢ Revising laws discriminatory to women Though the government of Nepal started a policy on Women In Development (WID) since sixth five year plan (1980-85). The policy aimed to promote the status of women by recognizing women as development agent.The plans stressed on technical and non technical fields of training for women. The Women Training Centre was formed under the Ministry of Local Development (MOLD) for skill development of rural women. Of course there has been some changes in the interests and attitudes among politicians and policy makers. However the change is not overall satisfactory and still is sectoral. Women should be recognized as partner and not as subordinate to men. No doubt, the newly formed Ministry of Women and Social Welfare should take up a leading role in asserting this concept. Girls trafficking and prostitution as major Social Problems of Women in NepalIn Nepal girls trafficking and prostitution problem are becoming similar to that of problems in Thailand, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Taiwan. Over 200,000 Nepali girls/women are reported to be indulged into prostitution in India. It is said that between 5000 to 7000 young girls are trafficked to India annually; of which one-third are trafficked forcefully. According to the Indian Health Organization (IHO) 100,000 Nepali girls/women are working as prostitutes in Calcutta, Mumbai and New Delhi alone. IHO estimates that of the 15,000 prostitutes working in the state of Utter Pradesh, 12,000 are Nepali girls and women.The Girls, sold against their will, are subjected to severe mental and physical torture. Most of the girls and women engaged in prosti tution are usually from broken families while others come from poor families. Many innocent teenage girls are abducted or lured from their homes in the countryside and are forced into the job. They are either lured or deceived on fake promises and sold to the brothel houses in Indian cities by the middlemen. As such the Nepali girls/women are found serving as prostitutes in almost every city and towns of India and the practice is, unfortunately increasing.Intra-regional and Inter-regional trafficking has also increased rapidly as more and more people migrate to the cities. There are more than 5000 girls/women from surrounding countryside working as prostitutes in Kathmandu and it is said that there are more than 200 brothels in Kathmandu city alone. Similarly, major market centres work as transit centres for ultimate trafficking into India. The East-west Highway is a fertile ground for prostitution which is being called commonly as highway prostitution.Some reports and investigation s have revealed that large number of girls/women have been trafficked via carpet and garment factories. Many who fall victim are those destitute and helpless women who are neglected, abused and abandoned by their husbands and relatives. Many women belonging to lower castes are also made to be the victims. No doubt the trafficking of girls/women to the urban areas of Nepal and to the brothels of foreign countries tell us a story of fraud exploitation, domination as well as despair frustration and poverty.We need to look beyond the facade of economic problems and try to come with the possible reasons within a larger cultural, historical and socio-political framework. While the subjects of sex remains taboo in Nepalese society, prostitution has gained a big momentum. It is no longer limited to the traditional red light areas of Salyan, Pyuthan and Dang districts where the women of the â€Å"Badi† community adopt prostitution as profession. They adopt prostitution as a social pra ctice. Under the â€Å"Deuki† system the girls are surrendered to temples by people by the way of religious gift or â€Å"Bhakal†.The Deukies are not expected to marry and thus, they adopt prostitution as a means of livelihood when they grow up. The Deuki system has been operating under the guise of religious and cultural beliefs. The cultural practice of Deuki system and Badi community have given way to socially recognized prostitution in Nepal. In Nepal as banning of prostitution remains a matter of dispute, there can be no question on the urgent need to address the issue that force girls and women into the flesh trade.The immediate risk groups like the poor and ignorant girls in the countryside, girls children working in the carpet and garment factories and the children on the streets should be made the immediate target for protection activities. All the government and non government organizations and the conscious citizens need to act actively to abolish the practi ce of flesh trade. Everybody should realize the gravity of the problem which is posing a big threat to a very fabric of Nepalese society. Everyone should work to contribute for he prevention and control of prostitution and girls trafficking.Well coordinated efforts need to be made in creating the congenial environment to discourage the sexual exploitation of women. There should be an effective implementation of laws relating to trafficking of girls. Income and employment generating programs such as knitting, sewing, weaving, bamboo work, sericulture etc. are necessary so that economic status of women in the countryside, the fertile ground for the traffickers is bettered. The profession of flesh trade can not be checked with the legal measures alone.Alternative means for survival are necessary. Both income generating activities as well as programs generating awareness are equally important in this respect. Despite all the existing laws, the enforcement and the threat of AIDS, girls/w omen trafficking and prostitution still remain a growing problem in Nepal. Nevertheless, it is a matter of great satisfaction that since the last few years some of the NGO and INGOs have started taking keen interests on the issue of women trafficking and practice of forced prostitution in Nepal.Similarly, the international and United Nations agencies have also started creating an awareness against girls trafficking and immoral prostitution practices. In the western and far western part of Nepal there is residue of slavery system called Karnaiya. The bonded labourers do not receive their full labour cost. They have to work free of charge for 15-18 hours/day The system is spread in 5 district of Kailali, Kanchanpur, Banke, Dang and Bardiya. In all these districts there is approximately 50 thousands Kamaiya. Generally women from Kamaiya family are required to work free for the landlord.Women under Kamaiya system are more exploited even than the Kamaiyas themselves. Physical and sexual abuse are common among Kamaiya women. Global context of and its effect to Nepali Women In the present context globalization has inflicted its worse effect all over the world. Globalization is generally used t0 designate an aggregate of policy measures which seek to expand market relations on world level and to enlarge the scope for the free movement of capital internationally. Some of the key components of globalizations are trade liberalization i. e. reakdown of tariff barriers, privatization of formerly public sector companies and the reduction of state intervention and the promotion of export oriented production for instance pf cash crops agriculture. In the countries of the south , such policies are generally imposed by WB. IMF , in the name of structural adjustment. while the ideology of globalization states that such polities serve to promote human welfare an increasingly large body of literature migration from rural areas and to a shift from secure to insecure forms of employ ment and production.Under structural adjustment programmes, government world wide have been compelled to sell of public sector companies to the private sector, and such transfers to the private sector have frequently been accompanied but massive dismissals and the flexibilization of labour relations under structural adjustment and liberalization, workers loose various forms of minimal security previously provided by the state or state owned companies. The declarations and programs of action adopted at the four global women's conferences held since 1975 have added important dimensions on the empowerment of women.The second global conference in Copenhagen in 1980 and the third one in Nairobi in 1985 contributed to the adoption of the advancement of women by the year 2000. Now the UN is working on the fourth phase of progress of women. All the four conferences have the message that no progress is possible without a full and equal participation of men and women. Although in many countri es women remain most deprived, discriminated and powerless in most societies.With this global context we should raise some pertinent points regarding Nepalese women's movement which will give the picture of Nepalese women, their social, cultural, economic and political status who are the threshold for the 21st century. Conclusion From the mid 1980s women's movement in Nepal can be characterized in three distinct features. Firstly, women's movement was all activism. The role of academia was insignificant. But now there has been forging links between these two in a variety of ways in different fora, conferences, conventions, and demonstrations.A strong belief among many groups has emerged that the struggle against gender inequalities can not be waged in isolation from struggle in many other fronts. Thirdly, the women's movement is not secluded within the country and is increasingly interconnected with the international women's movement. The four international conferences on women have been successful in bringing women's all over the world in common platform of action (Country Report on International Women's Conference, 1-5 August 1997, Malmo, Sweden; prepared by Sujita Shakya & Umesh Upadhyaya)

Essay on Machiavelli’s “The Prince” Essay

Since the beginning of civilization man has continually been faced with the complexity of creating a peaceful and unified existence for all, without resistance or violence. People have been trying to develop a system of how to rule effectively while acting ethically and morally to avoid chaos and destruction. However, as history has shown us this has not been an easy endeavor and very few rulers have been able to accomplish this. â€Å"This leads us to a question that is in dispute: Is it better to be loved than feared, or vice versa?† (Machiavelli, 51) An effective ruler would be one that relies upon fear without hatred, rather than love, as described by Niccolo Machiavelli in his book The Prince. In a perfect world all people would be good-hearted, all would treat each other equally, and all would follow and respect the rules of society. Machiavelli points out that people tend to focus how the world should be rather than how it is. â€Å"Let us leave to one side, then, all discussion of imaginary rulers and talk about practical realities.† (Machiavelli, 48) It is easier to complain about problems and society than it is to become a leader and produce positive change. All individuals have different perceptions of what it takes to keep order in a world where not all is good and not everyone gets along. It is easy for one to discuss ideals of how things ought to be, and to use reality to form a dream of something different that we believe would be better than the current state of affairs. Dreams though can not be actualized without action, and all the discussion in the world will accomplish nothing if everyone sits idly by. We all want peace, and in order to have peace there must be structure and in order to have structure you must have an effective leader that you trust to design the framework of how things will work. Ideally all would want a leader that is trustworthy, just, intelligent, compassionate, giving, and loyal to the people while at the same time having the ability to protect society from harm. â€Å"Now I know everyone will agree that if a ruler could have all the good qualities I have listed and none of the bad ones, then this would be an excellent state of affairs. But one can not have all the good qualities, nor always act in a praiseworthy fashion, for we do not live in an ideal world.† (Machiavelli, 48) Unfortunately in reality we can not have a leader that stands on a platform of extreme love or extreme hatred, if we expect to  remain safe and unharmed from the rest of the world. You need someone that is tough, and has the ability to enforce and maintain order upon people who are not always good and reliable, people who are selfish and have their own interests above all else. In reality people do not act responsibly out of love and consideration for others, but of fear what will happen if they do not act accordingly. It is important to keep in mind that to be feared is different than being hated. â€Å"But fear restrains men because they are afraid of punishment, and this fear never leaves them. Still, a ruler should make himself feared in such a way that, if he does not inspire love, at least he does not provoke hatred. For it is perfectly possible to be feared and not hated.† (Machiavelli, 52) If there were no consequences for bad behavior, people would have no reason to act any differently. It is not that punishment in itself creates hatred, but it is how the people are punished that will determine the fear or the hatred they have for their ruler. For example if one is caught stealing and then punished by having to serve some time in jail, that would cause them to fear you and to abide by the law. On the other hand if the punishment were death it would cause the people to hate the ruler for being so un-just and immoral. When a ruler becomes hated they lose all respect and control over the people, for they will reach a point that they can no longer endure the cruelty and rise against you. â€Å"Indeed, one of the most effective defenses a ruler has against conspiracies is to make sure he is not generally hated. For conspirators always believe the assassination of the ruler will be approved by the people.† (Machiavelli, 57) When people feel as they have been oppressed and abused for to long they will revolt and not think twice about getting rid of the ruler they are discontented with. For once the people have become determined to over throw their ruler, they have already lost all faith and feel there is nothing else to lose whether they are successful or not. It is not enough for a Ruler to be strictly feared, but to also appear to have some compassion and respect for the people that he oversees. It is imperative that an effective ruler is one that can balance fear, goodness, authority, respect, and compassion if he wishes to maintain harmonious  control. â€Å"So it is necessary for a ruler, if he wants to hold on to power, to learn how not to be good, and to know when it is and when it is not necessary to use this knowledge.† (Machiavelli, 48) The point Machiavelli makes here is that it is not enough to be completely good or completely evil, but to know when to do bad things in order to create good. Power is ultimately based on violence, and sometimes in order to preserve sovereignty and authoritative command, a ruler must engage in what society deems as immoral acts such as lying, betrayal, and even murder. So the conclusion is: If you take control of a state, you should make a list of all the crimes you have to commit and do them all at once. That way you will not have to commit new atrocities every day, and you will be able, by not repeating your evil deeds, to reassure your subjects and to win their support by treating them well. He, who acts otherwise, either out of squeamishness or out of bad judgment, has to hold a bloody knife in his hand all the time. A hated, thus unsuccessful ruler would be one that would not know his limits, and continue to use violence to obtain desired results. A wise ruler would be one who could look ahead and see when it is necessary to do harm so that he can know exactly what needs to be done, how to do it, and when to do it. Most importantly the ruler must have the ability to stop once what he has set out to do is accomplished. Violence and evil doing must be used sparingly to prevent the populous from hating you. A powerful leader needs the ability to equally rely upon intelligence and brute force, he must be able to discern when to use the different characteristics and be able to step into the role of either the lion or the fox at any moment. â€Å"Since a ruler, then, needs to know how to make good use of beastly qualities, he should take as his models among the animals both the fox and the lion, for the lion does not know how to avoid traps, and the fox is easily overpowered by wolves. So you must be a fox when it comes to suspecting a trap and a lion when it comes to making the wolves turn tail.† (Machiavelli, 54) Machiavelli is referring to the symbolism of the lion over the monarch power in England. The lion represented courage, strength, and  leadership; it was seen as being the dominant animal that could wipe out smaller animals. A fox on the other hand is timid, reserved, and clever; it thinks before it acts. There are only two ways to obtain power, either lawfully or un-lawfully. To do it lawfully is to be considered human and to do it un-lawfully by inciting violence is to be considered animalistic, so when stepping outside the law a ruler must choose whether to be lion and exercise brute force or to be the fox and exercise the mind. Nevertheless, you should be careful how you assess the situation and should think twice before you act. Do not be afraid of your own shadow. Employ policies that are moderated by prudence and sympathy. Avoid excessive self-confidence, which leads to carelessness, and avoid excessive timidity, which will make you insupportable. Machiavelli is reinforcing the significance of a ruler to have the ability to know when to act like a man and when to act like an animal. A feared but not hated ruler is one that does not act upon impulse but carefully calculates his moves in order to do what is necessary for the people, even if it means acting outside of the law. This essay began with the notion that if one wishes to be a successful ruler he or she must induce fear among the people to gain their respect as opposed to loving and being loved. How a ruler treats the people and how the people treat the ruler is the determining factor of how successful society will be. We have to look at the relationship between the people and the ruler as we would the relationship between a child and a parent. To be an effective parent you can not inflict harm upon your child, but you can inflict fear by imposing consequences to their negative behavior. If a child does something wrong we do not physically abuse him or her, but make them sit in time out or perhaps take away a privilege like playing video games. The child may be upset with you for a short time, but will not hate you and will respect your authority enough to abide by the rules in the future. On the other hand though, if you play the role of the best friend and consequences for negative behavior are non-existent then the child will go about doing what they please without regard for anyone else. Once the child realizes that he  or she will not be punished they have the ability to over power the parent. Religion also uses fear in order to enhance positive behavior and love among the people. No matter which religion one chooses to believe, he or she does not always willingly act with morals and ethics because in their heart they believe its right, but do so because they fear what will happen to their soul if they don’t. People fear negative consequences whether it is timeout, prison, or even hell and will most always act how they are told in order to avoid such punishments. Ruling with fear to create stability and harmony can be used in many everyday situations whether running the country, the household, the office, or the church. Bibliography Wootton, David, ed. The Prince. Indiana: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 1995.

killing fields essays

killing fields essays This essay will discuss the events that happened in Cambodia and how these events were similar to the war events that occurred in Vietnam, the essay will also discuss the important differences in the wars in both countries. In the early 1960s many people thought that Cambodia was near to perfect place with such things as flourishing economy e.g.: Fertile rice fields. This can be also compared with a flourishing Vietnamese economy also with such things as rice fields flourished greatly and many other economical similarities. The Cambodian people went though many years of turmoil and suffering this was a very similar comparison that the Vietnamese had to suffer also with many years of being governed by different countries. The Khmer Rouge were a Cambodian activist movement which was led by Pol Pot. Pol Pot could be seen as a ruling similar to Diem, such as ruling with an iron fist. Diem would force people to do things and killing for unnecessary reasons; Diem was put in power by Americans and had worldwide condemnation. Diem would put peasants in strategic hamlets that were similar to the labour camp Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge had in place for the Cambodian peasants. In these strategic hamlets of Diems many of the peasants suffered and died, as did the Cambodians in the labour camps of Pol Pot. Many of the peasants in Pol Pots labour camps suffered greatly also, they worked hard on the rice and rubber plantations and a great number of them lost their lives. Cambodian went through a five year civil war, this can be compared to the for ever battles of the French or US backed South Vietnam against the Communist North Vietnam led by Ho Chi Minh. In Cambodia the Party center consisting of Pol Pot and some other leaders lead the Khmer Rouge to a victory over the US-backed Republic of General Lon Nol. The Communist North also had many success in defeating a well better equipped US- Backed force. The well better equipped fo ...

Analytical Essay Sample on Same Sex Marriage and Artificial Insemination

Analytical Essay Sample on Same Sex Marriage and Artificial Insemination Same Sex Marriage and Artificial Insemination By eradicating the significance of the functional complementarity between men and women, those with ardent feminist agendas and with other ulterior motives may be seeking to (ultimately) undermine the humanity of males in our society; in other words, if men are already being pushed out of the lives of their children through systemically biased divorce and family law courts, then suggesting that men are not needed for the procreative process, either (courtesy the wide-spread use of artificial insemination), may lead to a general sense that maybe men are not needed for anything – be it in the professional workplace or in the home. In the end, with sex-specific abortions now becoming popular in Canada, a wholesale assault upon male fetuses and upon males in general could result. Finally, there is sufficient evidence out there highlighting the negative effects of households headed by homosexual couples upon children for society to re-examine its current acceptance of the idea that homosexual couples (perhaps couples inseminated by artificial means) should automatically be given right to be parents. In the end, too many questions have been left unanswered – and it may be our children who suffer as a result. In his searching examination of same-sex marriage and its ethical (and pragmatic) viability, William E. May notes that the book of Genesis holds both men and women to be equal – to be complementary partners in a union created by God. More than that, the ancient and authoritative biblical texts make it abundantly clear that God is the creator of marriage and that this union is to be a personal and intimate one wherein man and woman unite in one body (by choice) and remain locked in this embrace for all-time. In effect, spouses are â€Å"non-substitutable† entities that must be linked to one another (May, â€Å"Marriage and the Complementarity of Male and Female,† 1-5). To put what has been stated above in the simplest terms, May is suggesting that the Holy Scriptures expressly call for marriage to be a partnership between equals, a union that is to be entered into freely, and a union that is to remain in place until (literally) death separates the pair. Seen in th at light, there is really no place for homosexual unions insofar as the Scriptures call for man to be conjoined to woman – not man to be conjoined to man or woman to woman (May, â€Å"Marriage and the Complementarity of Male and Female,† 2-3; for a further defense of the idea of complementarity, please see May, â€Å"On the Impossibility of Same-Sex Marriage,† 6-7). The reasons why homosexual union appears to be frowned upon by the Church ties into the notion of complementarity; that is to say, pairs of men and pairs of women cannot conceive children via natural means. In short, the procreative process (at least if it involves natural means) is only possible if one man and one woman are involved. As May understands the matter, (natural) fertility is a blessing of God and demands the active participation of both genders. More than that, the ability to procreate gives human couples the creative power that would otherwise be limited to God alone; thus, the natural process of mating is an act that should not be trifled with inasmuch as man and woman – in their natural states as God designed them – have been rendered in Gods image (or at least man has been rendered in Gods image) and have been given the responsibility of carrying out a procreative act sanctioned by the Almighty (May, 5). Clearly, man and woman have been designed the way they have for a reason, and it would be unwise to alter this complementary state by allowing lesbians to become pregnant via artificial insemination. Moreover, it is fair to ask what ulterior purposes lurk in any effort to rend man from the procreative process. At the present time, it is surprisingly difficult to find scholarly articles that detail and measure the degree of bias that exists against father seeking custody of their children in Canada. However, there has certainly been a sense that Canadian law, Canadian child services agencies, and political elites (each for its own reason or reasons) have all favored women over men in custody and child visitation battles – with children becoming undeserving victims in these situations (Sillars, 39-42). As one can reason, if there is a general sentiment that fathers should not have generous visitation rights, and if statistics indicate that less than 10 percent of single-parent households in Canada are headed by a man (Denike et al, Myth 1) then it is plain to see that fathers are not being sufficiently encouraged to participate in the raising of their children; indeed, ther e may even be an active movement afoot to discredit them as care-givers and to harass them out of pursuing greater involvement in their children’s lives. For a good example of this sort of mind-set, please refer to a web page maintained by Simon Fraser Universitys Feminist Research Education Development and Action Center wherein it is stated, quite frankly, that fathers who petition the courts for greater access to their children and for a greater involvement in their lives are simply doing this so that they might â€Å"harass† their ex-spouses (Denike et al., Myth 2). Clearly, this sort of aggrieved material is proof of a broader effort to undermine the contributions of men to families and to the lives of their children. If what has been stated above is at all true (and it is hard to argue that it is not) then the next logical step on the part of those favoring artificial insemination for lesbian couples is for them to challenge the entire notion of complementarity; specifically, if fathers are not needed for child-rearing (or at least are not valued as child-rearers), then why should women have to endure men in the procreative process itself? The ultimate effect of this is to make men dispensable in a fundamental and troubling way – and, given as our society now has the technology available to permit wealthy women to engage in sex-specific abortions, it may not be long before male fetuses are aborted strictly because of their sex and because they are not needed in a world where artificial insemination, affirmative action programs and controversial child custody battles have all conspired to make roughly half of the population unwanted and unneeded. While it should certainly not be over-stated , any broad policy measure that diminishes the humanity and importance of any group of humans (especially those who are viewed as less important simply because of their gender) is one that desperately needs to be reviewed – and the insemination of lesbian couples is surely one such item.

LOVE (14% Discount) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

LOVE (14% Discount) - Essay Example Effect of a microorganism or virulence of a bacterium may be caused by an organism being physically present in the host where it releases toxins to the host directly or its preformed toxins get into another organism’s body system through various routes such ingestion, skin etc. The virulence of microorganisms varies across genus as well as species. In this paper, I am going to describe two bacteria, explain their ecological niche, and finally compare them. After a thorough evaluation of bacteria I have rested on Escherichia coli and Lactobacillus bulgaricus. The reason for selecting the two organisms is that they share a common feature of exhibiting a rectangular shape but their behaviors are totally different. Their similarities and differences are expounded below. Lactobacillus bulgaricus’ is a non pathogenic organism. It occurs in its natural environment and its ecological niche is where there is its requirements for growth are provided especially in dairy products that contain lactose. It is chemoorganotrophic meaning that it must obtain energy and carbon from organic compounds. It is a rod shaped and the rods join end to end to form a filamentous structure that are extensively long. This bacterium is a gram positive facultative anaerobe. Based on this fact, Lactobacillus bulgaricus can be homofermenative or heterofermentative. When it comes to motion, the bacterium is non motile because it does not possess locomotion. When conditions become unfavorable this particular bacterium does not form a spore. According to Guchte (2006) its size based on its shape ranges between 0.5-0.8 x 2.0-9.0mm. For this bacterium to grow it requires a medium whose pH ranges between 4.6 -5.4 (Guchte, 2006). The fact that it can only hydrolyse lactose sugar makes it quite important to food industry because of its by-products. When

Further discuss the plan identified in the case assignment Essay

Further discuss the plan identified in the case assignment - Essay Example HCPs are crucial participants in the pursuit to address medical errors. HAIs increase healthcare costs, thereby complicating the issue even more (Robinson, 2010). HCP should engage in constant communication to ensure that risk variables in relation to medical errors are adequately addressed. In so doing, it is possible to work through resolving HAIs problems and medical errors at large. Healthcare facilities should design, formulate and implement procedures that should be followed by patients, caregivers and clinicians. Protocols of observation could also be established to ensure that all risk factors are accounted for inside and outside caregiving facilities. Since HAIs emerge from the healthcare facility environment, such procedures and protocols will ensure that the occurrence of nosocomial infections is minimized or alleviated altogether (Coates, 2004). On the same note, imposing standard precautions in relation to HAIs and other medical errors would be fundamental. Healthcare teams can also design measures and policies that are designed to address HAIs and medical errors problems. Clinicians and bacteriologists can team up to design procedures and/or medical products that act as a preventative measure for HAIs. Hospital directors and employers can design internal mechanisms to address the problem, basically integrating patients in that pursuit. All these team participants should act more cautious in relation to the underlying medical

Outline the differences between negative and positive freedom.which do Essay

Outline the differences between negative and positive freedom.which do you see as more persuasive - Essay Example Moreover, based on the differences the paper will also discuss which kind of freedom persuades me more. In order to differentiate the two kinds of freedom it is necessary to understand their definitions. Negative freedom revolves around the concept of freedom without any interference. On the contrary positive freedom is a much complex phenomenon that is difficult to understand compared to negative freedom. This belief states to do something according to rules and regulations with system interference (Stanford Encyclopedia of Phiolosphy, 2012). Political systems across the world have been using negative and positive freedom simultaneously. When the systems are free from regulations that prevent their ability to act, they use negative freedom, similarly, when the system has enough resources to act as they want to, then they enjoy positive freedom. This increases the complexity for the audience to easily differentiate the two liberties effectively (Institute for Humane Studies, 1996). Different societies have their own understanding on how they differentiate the two kinds of freedom. For this reason these freedoms are sometimes peculiar with each other. When there are no barriers negative freedom takes place. It also highlights the absence of limitations, obstructions, or intrusions from any authority; in short a failure of a political system. One the contrary, positive freedom takes places under the legislative rules and regulations. In this kind of freedom a person or state acts autonomously (MacCallum, 1967). This can be understood with the help of an example. A person can enjoy a freedom over the property as long as no one interferes in it; this will fall under negative freedom. At the same time a person also has freedom over some property if he owns it and has control given to him by the laws; this will fall under positive freedom (Gray, 1978). Many philosophers and thinkers also studied and presented the differences