Page 136 - Social Issues
Egypt's top cleric calls polygamy 'injustice,' draws debate
Egypt's top Muslim cleric has stirred up controversy after saying that polygamy is an "injustice" for women, but stopped short of calling for a ban on the practice. "Those who say that marriage must be polygamous are all wrong. We have to read the (Quranic) verse in full, said Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, Al-Azhar's Grand Imam. He said that monogamy was the rule and polygamy a restricted exception. It is restricted in Islam and requires fairness and "if there is not fairness it is forbidden to have more than one wife," he said. Al-Tayeb said the practice came from "a lack of understanding of the Quran and the tradition of the Prophet" and it is "often an injustice to women and children." The Grand Imam also called for a broader revamp of how women's issues are addressed. "Women represent half of society. If we don't care for them it's like walking on one foot only," he said. His comments, aired Friday on state TV, sparked a heated debate on social media, with some siding with scholars ...
Delhi Assembly to go paperless ahead of vote
The Delhi Assembly has sought help from the state government for turning paperless after the delay in the implementation of the Centre's project for paperless Assemblies.
Egypt's top cleric stirs controversy with polygamy remarks
Egypt's top Muslim cleric has stirred up controversy after saying that polygamy is an "injustice" for women. Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, Al-Azhar's Grand Imam, said "those who say that marriage must be polygamous are all wrong." He said polygamy is restricted in Islam and requires fairness. "If there is not fairness it is forbidden to have more than one wife," he said. He added that polygamy came from "a lack of understanding of the Quran and the tradition of the Prophet." His comments, aired Friday on state TV, sparked a heated debate on social media, with some siding with scholars calling for a ban on the practice. Al-Azhar sought on Saturday to clarify the comments, saying that al-Tayeb wasn't calling for a ban on polygamy.
Rally demanding inclusion of Meitei community in ST list
A mass protest rally was organised here by Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee (STDC) on Sunday demanding Scheduled Tribe status for ethnic Meitei community in Manipur. Addressing the rally, the STDC leaders stressed the necessity of enlisting Meiti community under ST category to protect them from the "unabated influx of illegal immigrants". STDC convenor Laishram Romesh said the committee has been demanding the inclusion of Meitis in the ST list for six years. But the BJP government and the previous Congress dispensation of the state had not even considered forwarding a recommendation to the Centre, on enlisting the community under ST category, Laishram said. "The recommendation should be sent to the Centre before the model code of conduct comes into force before the upcoming parliamentary elections," he said. Meiteis are the only indigenous people in the state who are not included in the ST category thereby making them vulnerable in all aspects, he said. "The demand for ..
Nitish assures PM of winning all 40 LS seats in Bihar
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and NDA leaders from Bihar Sunday resolved to win all the 40 Lok Sabha seats from the state in order to bring back Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister of the country. "People have turned up at the rally in very large numbers. The Lok Sabha polls are impending...I want to assure you 'Pradhan Mantri jee' (Prime Minister) that we will win 40 out of 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar in the general elections. "This is our Sankalp (resolve)," Kumar said while addressing NDAs 'Sankalp' rally at Gandhi Maidan here. Kumar also congratulated the Prime Minister, the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force for taking action against terror outfits and those who promote terrorism. Indian fighters bombed terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp near Balakot, deep inside Pakistan early Tuesday. The Indian strike on the JeM camp came 12 days after the terror outfit claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a CRPF convoy in Kashmir, killing over 40 ...
Ahmedabad: Visually-challenged navigate sighted drivers as part of awareness rally
In a unique initiative, visually challenged persons were made to navigate sighted drivers here on Sunday as part of an awareness rally. The 23rd edition of Round Table Car Rally was organised by Blind People's Association (BPA), a voluntary organization that works for the social and economic rehabilitation of the blind and disabled people, to create public awareness about the potential of blind people.To instill the feeling of leadership among the blind, they were made to navigate sighted drivers while reading out from Braille maps, hence creating an exceptional situation where the sighted drivers were entirely dependent on their visually impaired navigators to make their way through the course."I'm overwhelmed by the car rally conducted by this organization. People have always helped us but now it is our chance to guide them. With the help of the specific holdings on the Braille map, we were able to navigate the directions," said Devrath Thakur, a participant in the rally.As many as .
Delhi Assembly to go paperless
In view of delay in implementation of the Centre's project for paperless legislative assemblies in the country, Delhi Vidhan Sabha has decided to implement it on it's own with financial help from the city government. The general purposes committee (GPC) of Delhi Assembly in it's report has opined that the project, NeVA (National e-Vidhan Application), for all the Legislatures has been "badly delayed" and hence the Assembly should implement it from the funds provided by the AAP government. The GPC report was tabled and adopted in the recently concluded budget session of the state assembly. "The Assembly Secretariat has sought Rs 20 crore in the budget estimates of 2019-20. The project will be modified to best suit the need of the Delhi Assembly and it's members," said the report. A Delhi Assembly Secretariat official said the government has allocated the required sum in the budget for 2019-20. The project will involve Information and Technology department of Delhi government and ...
Making WCD Ministry more than 'post office ministry' was biggest challenge: Maneka
Defining the Women and Child Development Ministry and making it more than just a "post office ministry" was the biggest challenge after coming to power, Union Minister Maneka Gandhi has said. Speaking on the challenges faced by her in dealing with women and child issues in the past five years, Gandhi said when she took office, the job of her ministry was only handing out salaries to Anganwadi workers. "The major challenge right at the beginning was defining the ministry. The ministry was undefined even though it has been there for 10 years. It was a post office ministry simply handing out salaries to Anganwadis who are on strike from morning to night," she told reporters. She said another challenge faced by her when she took office was bringing everyone on board, to get opinion from the whole country. "We started by dividing everything into three categories of policy, defence and economic regeneration. We then repaired CARA (Central Adoption Resource Authority) which was almost ...
Rose McGowan reveals she had abortion
Rose McGowan has said that she once had an abortion and she is "not ashamed" of her decision. The 45-year-old actor-activist made the revelation on Twitter while sharing abortion statistics. "I have had an abortion and I support this message. I am not ashamed, nor should you be. That 60% of those who choose to have abortions are already mothers says a lot- they understand more than anyone. "I was on birth control and it failed. I realized I could not bring a child into my world and simultaneously change the world," McGowan wrote. The "Charmed" alum made a pro-abortion case, adding if a woman does not want to terminate the pregnancy, one should not go ahead with an abortion. "I do not regret my decision and it was not made lightly. If you do not want an abortion, don't get one. My body, my choice, my life. Have you had to make a choice? Let's talk and use hashtag #HonestAbortion," she said. McGowan, however, did not disclose when she went in for an abortion.
Australia to bar visitors with domestic violence convictions
Visitors who have been convicted of violence against women and children will be kicked out or barred from entering Australia, Immigration Minister David Coleman said Sunday, as Canberra steps up its crackdown on foreign criminals. The new laws, which came into force Thursday, build on existing legislation requiring visitor visas to be cancelled if the holder has been sentenced to 12 months or more in jail. "Australia has no tolerance for domestic violence perpetrators," Coleman said in a statement, adding that no minimum sentence threshold was required. "If you've been convicted of a violent crime against women or children, you are not welcome in this country." Canberra has in the past denied visas to American R&B singer Chris Brown and boxing star Floyd Mayweather following their domestic violence convictions. New Zealand has previously expressed frustration with Canberra's law on deporting convicts, which has seen Kiwi-born criminals sent back home after serving their jail terms
IAS officer's wife alleges desertion, moves court
An IAS officer's wife has alleged that her husband deserted her after injuries in an adventure sport in 2014 left her partly paralysed and has moved the court for securing maintenance.
Karnataka to deliver citizen services at home in Bengaluru
The Karnataka government on Saturday launched here its pilot project to deliver citizen services at the home of the people.
EPICs and 11 other photo ID cards valid for voting: ECI
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has asked all electors, who have been issued Electors Photo Identity Cards (EPICs), to produce it for their identification at the polling stations before casting their vote, a government release said Saturday. Electors who will not be able to produce the EPIC can produce any of the 11 alternative photo identity documents for establishing their identity such as passport, driving license, service identity cards with photograph issued to employees by the central or the state government or PSUs or public limited companies, passbooks with photograph issued by a bank or a post office, PAN Card, smart card issued by the Registrar General of India (RGI) under National Population Register (NPR), MGNREGA job card, health insurance smart card issued under the scheme of Ministry of Labour, pension document with photograph, official identity cards issued to MPs/ MLAs/ MLCs and Aadhaar Card, the government release. In the case of EPIC, a ...
Punjab cabinet okays Rs 10,000 monthly pension for parents of CRPF Pulwama martyr
The Punjab cabinet on Saturday approved Rs 10,000 per month pension for the bereaved parents of CRPF constable Kulwinder Singh who lost his life in last month's Pulwama terror attack.Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh had met Kulwinder's family at their village in Anandpur Sahib last month and promised full support from the state government.During his visit to the house of Darshan Singh and his wife in Rauli village, Captain Amarinder announced a special monthly pension of Rs 10,000 to them (either or surviving parents) since they had no other children and the deceased was unmarried.The chief minister had then said the agenda note for the pension would be presented by the Department of Defence Services Welfare at the next cabinet meeting.
Kerala role model in making tourism disabled-friendly:Minister
A video brochure in sign language and a braille brochure on local attractive spots were unveiled Saturday by State minister Kadakampally Surendran, who claimed Kerala was the first in the country to create basic amenities for the disabled in tourism centres. The Tourism minister was speaking after unveiling the new initiatives of Thenmala Ecotourism Promotion Society (T.E.P.S) at a function here. Surendran launched the refurbished website of Thenmala ecotourism besides a braille brochure on the attractive spots at Thenmala and video brochure in sign language. A 'Buddha Mayuri Corner' set up at Butterfly Safari at Thenmala which gives information about the states butterfly Buddha Mayuri, a guiding mobile application on android platform, and description boards about deer species, to be put up at Deer Rehabilitation Centre, Ottakkal, Thenmala were also unveiled. "So far over 100 tourism centres in the state have been equipped with disabled-friendly facilities. Its the ...
Johnny Depp slaps $50mn defamation suit against Amber Heard
Actor Johnny Depp has sued actress and former wife Amber Heard for defamation, seeking $50 million.
Kerala Tourism turns disabled-friendly
Kerala is the first state in the country to create basic infrastructure and amenities for the disabled at tourism centres, thereby setting an example for others, said Minister for Tourism, Kadakampally Surendran, here on Saturday.
Manipur to increase monthly pension for retired journalists
The Information and Public Relation Minister of Manipur Th Bishwajit Singh Saturday said the process to increase the monthly pension for retired journalists and ex-gratia for families of the deceased scribes is underway. A cabinet memo regarding this has been prepared as well, Singh said in the assembly, while responding to a query raised by a legislator, O Surjakumar. "The cabinet will soon pass the welfare scheme despite being delayed due to some obstacles," Singh said. He told the assembly that at present the monthly pension for retired journalists is Rs 4,000 and it will be increased to Rs 10,000. The family pension (for families of the deceased journalists) will be increased from Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per month, Singh said. Singh also said that the one time ex-gratia for families journalists, who died in unfortunate incidents, will be increased from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh. The retirement age of journalists in the state is 60 years, officials said.
Sensitivity to emotions change with growing age: Study
Ever wonder why we tend to become more positive as we grow older? And why are adolescents so sensitive to negative social cues? As part of a recent study, researchers have found that sensitivity to anger cues improves dramatically during early to mid-adolescence and decreases as people age.For the study, researchers created a digital test of emotion sensitivity that was completed by nearly 10,000 men and women, ranging in age from 10 to 85. The test allowed researchers to measure how much each person was able to detect subtle differences in facial cues of fear, anger, and happiness.The test also identified how people in different age groups displayed changes in their sensitivity to those facial emotions.Findings of the study were published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.Rutter, the study's lead author, explained that participants were tested using the web-based platform TestMyBrain.org. They were shown images of faces, presented in pairs, and were asked "Which face
Tension in Kashmir worries migrant labourers in Himachal Pradesh
Many Kashmiri migrant labourers working in Himachal Pradesh have gone back to the Valley fearing safety of their loved ones who are living near the LoC, since tension between India and Pakistan escalated over the killing of 40 security personnel in a terror attack on February 14. "Some people have gone back to Kashmir as their families are residing there. Shimla is a much better place. We are not facing any problem here," Maqsood, a Kashmiri migrant, told ANI.Abdul, another migrant, too expressed similar sentiments saying, "I do not want to go back. My family keeps calling me to come back home. I am worried about my kids."Nearly 30,000 migrant labourers from Jammu and Kashmir work in different parts of Himachal Pradesh. Of this, nearly 8,000 work in Shimla. In the past week, nearly 30 per cent of them has shifted back in the Valley.
