Page 360 - Social Issues
Jemima Kirke talks about being raped at 22
Following Dr. Christine Blasey's sexual assault allegations on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, American artist and actress Jemima Kirke recently revealed that she was raped as a young adult.The 33-year-old actress, best known for working with Lena Dunham on the HBO show 'Girls' took to Twitter and made a statement to support Blasey as she relayed her alleged sexual assault by Kavanaugh.The star began her heartbreaking note, writing, 'When I was 22 I was raped by my drug dealer. After I kindly asked him to leave (I didn't want to make him angry), I dragged myself to the hospital. After the various STD tests, the doctor said sympathetically, "You gotta start looking after yourself." I believed what he meant was, "This could have been prevented if you weren't hanging out with a drug dealer.''My rape had nothing to do with my choices. Drug dealers don't rape people any more than a family man does,' she added.Mentioning about her daughter Rafella Israel Mosberg, she concluded the ..
Kejriwal not adopting health scheme fearing Modi's popularity: Shah
BJP President Amit Shah on Friday slammed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for not adopting the Centre's Ayushman Bharat scheme, claiming he feared it will increase Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity among the people.
Naveen inaugurates 'Kalahandi Dialogue' conclave
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Friday launched the three-day 'Kalahandi Dialogue', a global conclave on development for the district. Using the platform, the chief minister also launched several projects for the district. Though Patnaik was not present at the function due to health issues, he launched the conclave via video-conferencing. Sujeet Kumar, the Chairperson of Kalahandi Dialogue, explained the reason behind creating the collaborative platform to engage the youth in development dialogue and action. Kalahandi has undergone transformation from an example of poverty and hunger to a surplus agri-producer, Kumar said/ Odisha Skill Development Council chairman Subroto Bagchi shared several examples of entrepreneurs from Kalahandi to highlight the contribution they are making to the socio-economic transformation of the district. The ITI of Kalahandi is now 58 years old and has trained more than 15,000 students who have been employed or have created employment in
Amnesty India welcomes SC order on Sabarimala Temple
Human rights watchdog Amnesty International India Friday welcomed the Supreme Court's order to allow entry of women of all ages into the Sabarimala Temple in Kerala, terming it a "laudable step" towards gender equality. In a landmark verdict that gave a boost to gender equality, the Supreme Court Friday threw open the doors of Sabarimala Temple in Kerala to girls and women of all age groups by lifting the ban on the entry of those between the age of 10 and 50, holding this centuries-old Hindu religious practice is illegal and unconstitutional. "The judgment is a welcome recognition of women's right to equal treatment. It questions age-old beliefs that exclude women based on notions of inferiority, patriarchy and ideologies of chastity and purity," Amnesty India Programmes Director Asmita Basu said in a statement. She further said traditional, cultural and religious norms have long been used to justify violations against women, asserting that practices that perpetuate the subjugation ..
DTC to prove free ride to senior citizens on October 1
The Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) will provide free travelling facility to the elderly in its buses on the occasion of Senior Citizens Day on October 1, a spokesperson of the public transporter said. A senior citizen have to produce statuary documents to avail the facility, he said. The documents include passport, school certificate, driving license, pension book, radiological report, birth certificate, PAN card or Aadhaar card to the bus.
Introduce section in IPC to make infedility an offence;TRS MP
: The Supreme Court verdict on adultery has led to an impression it is now acceptable, going by some reports,TRS MP B Vinod Kumar said Friday and urged the Centre to introduce a section in the IPC, making infidelity an offence to protect the institution of marriage in the country. "Unfortunately, judging by the cartoons and reportage in some sections of the media that is being wrongly interpreted by a large section of the public, as reflected in the social media posts - wherein an impression is being created that amongst the public that adultery is now acceptable," he said in a letter to Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. The impression that adultery is acceptable could cause irreparable damage and chaos to the institutions of marriage and family in society," Kumar, Lok Sabha member from Karimnagar in Telangana, said. Such an impression would have a traumatic effect on children, who would suffer the unpleasantness of such adulterous relationships, he said. It has to
Deploying foolproof technology to plug border gaps: BSF DG
Outgoing BSF DG K K Sharma Friday said the border guarding force is deploying "foolproof" smart technology tools to plug vulnerable gaps along India's borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh to check infiltration by illegal migrants, criminals and terrorists. The Border Security Force (BSF) chief said they had been successful in "containing" the influx of Rohingya Muslims into India, after they fled Myanmar in large numbers. "We have successfully contained the influx of Rohingya into India. I am happy to say that we have not allowed Rohingya into India," Sharma told reporters here. "Also, we are deploying smart and foolproof technology solutions to plug gaps along the two borders that we guard." While the first such "smart fence" pilot project was inaugurated by Home Minister Rajnath Singh along the Indo-Pak border in Jammu sometime ago, a similar project along the India-Bangladesh border in Assam's Dhubri is expected to be launched by the end of this year. Asked to comment on his recent
U'khand HC orders quota for transgenders in edu institutions, public appointments
The Uttarakhand High Court on Friday directed the state government to provide reservation to transgenders in educational institutions and public appointments. The high court gave the state government six months' time to implement the decision. A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Rajiv Sharma and Justice Manoj Tiwari said transgenders lead a miserable life and are often treated unfairly. "Noproper measures have been provided for medical care to transgenders. No social welfare schemes have been framed for the betterment of the transgenders," the high court said. Observing that they have the right toa life of dignity, the high court asked the state government to frame a scheme within six months to give transgenders quota in admission to educational institutions and public appointments. The court order came on a petition filed by two members of the community seeking protection to their lives and liberty.
SC takes note of contradictory stands of two amicus curiae in Sabarimala case
Two senior lawyers, appointed by the Supreme Court as amicus curiae to assist it in deciding the sensitive issue of ban on entry of women of a particular age group in Kerala's Sabarimala temple, took diametrically opposite stands. Noted senior lawyer Raju Ramachandran took a progressive modern view and supported the PIL of Indian Young Lawyers Association, saying that women have "universal and legal right" to enter into the temple, which is a public shrine. "It is the freedom of conscience and the right to practise and profess their religion which is recognized under Article 25 of the Constitution of India... encompasses the liberty of belief, faith and worship, pithily declared as a constitutional vision in the Preamble to the Constitution of India," Ramachandran had submitted before the five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra. However, another senior lawyer K Ramamoorthy, assisting the bench as an amicus curiae, had a different take over the controversial ..
Hazare firm on hunger strike at his village from Oct 2
Saying that the BJP-led government at the Centre came to power because of the Lokpal agitation, social activist Anna Hazare has said he is firm on his decision to launch a hunger strike from October 2 for the appointment of anti-corruption ombudsman. Hazare wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday, alleging that in the last four years the government kept dilly-dallying and did not appoint Lokpal and Lokayukta. "On August 16, 2011, the entire country took to the streets for appointment of Lokpal and Lokayukta...Your government came to power because of that agitation," Hazare wrote. "Gratefulness is our culture. You (government) should have been grateful towards people and given priority to their demand," Hazare, who launched an indefinite fast over the issue in Delhi in 2011, said. "Four years have passed but the government is avoiding appointment of Lokpal and Lokayukta on one or the other pretext," he said. He also alleged that the Prime Minister did not .
Kejriwal said no to Ayushman Bharat fearing it will enhance Modi's popularity: Shah
Launching a blistering attack on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, BJP president Amit Shah claimed on Friday that he denied one-and-a-half crore Delhi'ites the benefits of the Centre's Ayushman Bharat scheme fearing it would enhance Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity. Inaugurating the Karol Bagh district office of the BJP, Shah also targeted the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government over its pet project 'Mohalla Clinics'. "They (AAP government) excused from implementing (health insurance scheme) Ayushman Bharat saying Mohalla Clinics can take care of health needs of people. I want to ask Kejriwal if cancer treatment and heart transplant can be done there. He himself should get treatment from Mohalla Clinics to know their realities," Shah said. The BJP president charged the Kejriwal government with blocking development of Delhi on "political" grounds. "The Government of India sent them reminder after reminder but they did not implement Ayushman? Bharat. Kejriwal feared it will ...
Will go on indefinite strike if demands not met: Chemists' body
The All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD), which led the day-long strike of chemists across the country against the online sale of medicines, said they would go on an indefinite strike if their demands are not met.
317 child marriage instances in Assam during 2017-18: Minister
Assam has witnessed a 10 fold rise in child marriage since 2015-16 with 317 instances recorded during 2017-18, said Social Welfare Minister Pramila Rani Brahma in the Assembly Friday. There were 32 instances of child marriage during 2015-16 which rose to 96 during 2016-17 and 317 during 2017-18, the minister told the House while replying to a question of MLA Roselina Tirkey of the Congress. From zero record in 2015-16, Kamrup district with 59 such instances this year topped the list of child marriage cases, which are recorded by the district child protection units in 27 districts of the state, Brahma said. Neighboring Barpeta district followed with 39 and Baksa district with 26 instances this year, she added.
3-month extension to Haryana DGP Baljit Singh Sandhu
Senior IPS officer Baljit Singh Sandhu was on Friday given three-month extension, till the end of this year, as the chief of Haryana police force in public interest, according to an order issued by the Personnel Ministry. Sandhu, a 1984 batch IPS officer of Haryana cadre, was due to retire on Sunday. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved extension in service of Sandhu as Director General of Police, Haryana, for three months beyond his superannuation, that is 30.09.2018, in public interest, it said.
States should compete on good governance: Kumar
Niti Aayog vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar said Friday that the government think tank wants states to compete on good governance. Kumar further said the country has started deriving benefits of India's demographic dividend. "There cannot be any modern civilisation based on market economy where we can't take care of people who are most disadvantaged in the society," the Niti Aayog vice chairman said while speaking at an event here. Kumar also emphasised that 2018-2022 will be a crucial phase in India's development story since the year 2022 marks the 75 years of India's independence. At the same event, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in India Yuri Afanasiev said India will continue to grow at 7-9 per cent in the coming decades. Afanasiev also pointed out that India is progressing very quickly in reducing multi-dimensional poverty. "We have witnessed that multi-dimensional poverty reduction in backward states like Jharkhand and Arunachal Pradesh is quicker than India's
Elder child likely to learn about sex from parents
Turns out, first-borns are more likely to learn about sex from their parents as compared to their younger siblings.According to a new study led by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), birth order may play a significant role in how children learn about sex, especially for boys. Researchers found that first-born children were more likely to report parental involvement in sex education than later-born children, a pattern which was especially pronounced in men.The study is the first to look at the relationship between birth order and two key sexual health outcomes: parental involvement in sex education and early sexual experience.The study's authors say that a better understanding of the relationship between birth order and parental involvement in learning about sex could help to improve the design and delivery of sex education programmes.Dr Lotte Elton, who led the research as part of her MSc project at LSHTM, said, "Although there has been much research into how
EU offers an extra USD 46 mn to Palestinian refugee agency
The European Union says it's offering an extra 40 million euros (USD 46 million) to the UN Palestinian refugee agency to help educate children and provide health care in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The EU move announced Friday is intended to help fill a USD 217 million budget short-fall left after the United States effectively ended its USD 350 million contribution to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. The deficit led to the elimination of 113 jobs and 584 staff positions being converted to part-time. UNWRA's Gaza employees went on strike Monday to protest pay cuts and dismissals. The agency serves millions of Palestinians who fled or were forced from homes in the Arab-Israeli war of 1948, and their descendants. Israel accuses UNWRA of perpetuating the refugee crisis.
Govt to conduct livestock census from Oct 1
The 20th livestock census will be conducted from October 1 across the country and breed-wise details will be collected that will help in framing policies for breed improvement, the agriculture ministry said Friday. The data will be collected through tablets/computers and a mobile application software has already been developed for collecting and transferring the data online, it said. So far, 19 such census have been conducted in participation with states and union territories (UTs). The last census was conducted in 2012. "States and union territories have been requested to start the census operations from October 1. ...the enumeration will be done in all villages and urban wards," an official statement said. Various species of animals -- cattle, buffalo, mithun, yak, sheep, goat, pig, horse, pony, mule, donkey, camel, dog, rabbit and elephant and poultry birds such as fowl, duck, emu, turkeys, quail among others -- possessed by the households, household enterprises/non-household ...
7.68 lakh voters in Mizoram electoral lists
As many as 768,181 persons have been registered as voters ahead of the Mizoram Assembly elections, likely to be held in November, an official said here on Friday.
SC-SABARIMALA-CHRONOLOGY
Following is the chronology of events in which the Supreme Court Friday paved the way for entry of women of all ages into the Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala in Kerala: *1990: S Mahendran files plea in Kerala High Court seeking ban on women's entry to temple. *Apr 5, 1991: Kerala HC upholds age-old restriction on women of a certain age-group entering the temple. *Aug 4, 2006: Indian Young Lawyers Association files plea in SC seeking to ensure entry of female devotees between the age group of 10 to 50 at the Lord Ayappa Temple at Sabarimala. *Nov 2007: LDF government of Kerala files affidavit supporting PIL questioning ban on women's entry. *Jan 11, 2016: Two-judge bench of SC questions practice banning entry of women at the temple. *Feb 6: Congress led UDF government takes U-turn, tells SC it is duty bound to "protect the right to practice the religion of these devotees". *Apr 11: SC says gender justice endangered by ban on women. *Apr 13: SC says tradition can't justify ban on women's ..
