SACW | 12-13 March 2006 | Pakistan: Quake Aid gives stage to Mullas; India: Support Legal justice in Gujarat; Private militias; Politics of Rape and Prostitution

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire | 12-13 March, 2006 | Dispatch No. 2231

Contents:

[1] Pakistan: Quake aid gives radical Islam a stage (David Montero)
[2] India: Appeal for Lawyers for Legal Justice in Gujarat
[3] India: Statement on the Banaras Bomb blasts ... (All India Secular
Forum)
[4] India: Militarisation and Private militias
   - Maoists Vs Militias (Edit, The Times of India)
   - Killer Gangs in AP (S Jeevan Kumar, K Balagopal)
[5] India: Appeal on Right to Information
[6] India: The Politics of Rape (Anuradha Bhasin Jamwal)
[7] India: Ridiculous Changes in Prostitution Law (Indira Jaising)
[8] Events and New Publications:
- M.N.ROY MEMORIAL LECTURE 2006 (New Delhi, March 21)
- Review: 'For Life, Peace and Justice by Maisoon Hussein'
- Opium City: The Making of Early Victorian Bombay by Amar Farooqui
- Diary 2006 : Women of Pakistan: Struggling for Legal Rights
- Diary 2006 by Zubaan

____________________________________


[1]

The Christian Science Monitor
March 10, 2006 edition

QUAKE AID GIVES RADICAL ISLAM A STAGE
Militant groups have become a vital part of Pakistan's quake relief,
raising concerns that extremism will spread.

By David Montero | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

MUZAFFARABAD, PAKISTAN – The long-bearded doctor won't reveal his name
or where he's from, but he's certain his camp has the best medical
facilities in town.

His organization, Jamat-ud-Dawa (The Society of the Call), was once
suspected of ties to terrorist groups on the Indian side of Kashmir, but
today it's a lauded front-runner in the dispensation of earthquake
relief aid. And unlike some donors and nongovernmental organizations, it
seems to have no sense of fatigue.

"The camps will close, but we will remain," the doctor says. "We will
establish dispensaries in each and every area, in every village."

Radical Islamist groups like his have become an indispensable part of
the relief effort following the devastating Oct. 8, 2005, earthquake.
Their efforts are greeted with hearty gratitude by survivors and local
officials alike. But this newfound prestige has some analysts worried
that the extremism of Jamat-ud-Dawa and other groups will only spread,
shrinking the space for tolerant thought.

In nearby Balakot, Nasir Uddin is proud of the largess bestowed by his
organization, Al-Rasheed Trust, which is blacklisted by the US State
Department for its alleged ties to Al Qaeda. Mr. Uddin says the group's
popularity has grown so much that its tents are overflowing with donated
food items.

"We are working only for the will of the almighty Allah," he says,
revealing behind a tent door more than a hundred children attending
daily Islamic instruction.

"Being a government official, I have no help from any [nongovernmental
organization or international nongovernmental organization]. If someone
from Jamat-ud-Dawa offers their help, why should I resist? A hungry
person needs bread," says an official in Muzaffarabad, who asked not to
be named. Many, including President Pervez Musharraf, have shared in
this sense of gratitude, winning radical groups unprecedented praise
from Kashmir to Islamabad.

There is hope that groups like Jamat-ud-Dawa, having seen the benefits
of relief work, are trading the mantle of militancy for social work.
Others say this might be a sign that Jamat-ud-Dawa is following the lead
of Palestinian Hamas, saying it wants eventually to pursue more
mainstream political ambitions.

"The earthquake suddenly gave them a new opportunity to serve the
people. They realize that militancy and violence have no future," argues
Ershad Mahmud, a specialist on Kashmir at the Institute for Policy
Studies in Islamabad.

Pakistan officially cracked down on extremist groups after 9/11, when it
sided with the US in its war on terror. Groups like Jamat-ud-Dawa, once
allegedly supported by the state in Kashmir, were banned, but many
adopted new names. The government also allowed the social welfare wings
of some groups to continue operating, allowing them to thrive in the
gray areas furnished by state policy.

Jamat-ud-Dawa enjoyed a reputation for effective social activism even
before the earthquake, with a wide and well-funded network of clinics
and schools. It insists it has no militant agenda, although many point
out that its leader, Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, was once the leader of
Lashkar-i-Tayyaba, a jihadi group that some Indian officials suspect for
the recent serial blasts in the Indian Hindu city of Varanasi, where 14
died and 40 were injured Tuesday.

"There is no link between Lashkar-i-Tayyaba and Jamat-ud-Dawa, as some
people think," says Jamat-ud-Dawa's spokesman, Yayha Mujahid. "This is a
religious organization to preach, educate, and propagate Islamic
teachings in the society."

Many analysts welcome the participation of these radical groups. "It's a
good opportunity to transform the militant workers into relief workers,"
says Mr. Mahmud.

"It's a process, it's a journey from extremism to liberalization to
social welfare," says Arif Bahar, an analyst from Muzaffarabad. "If you
are giving Hamas a margin in Palestine, why not Jamat-ud-Dawa in Kashmir?"

If such an agenda is in the cards, Jamat-ud-Dawa certainly isn't saying.
It denies any such political ambitions, maintaining its only role is to
provide welfare. "We do have our own opinion on different issues in
Pakistan," says Mr. Mujahid. "But we don't have any ambition to take
part in electoral politics like Hamas."

A greater role for Jamat-ud-Dawa is certainly not welcomed by all. "They
have not said they have abandoned their path," argues Hasan Askari
Rizvi, an independent defense analyst based in Lahore, adding that the
group's Urdu language newspapers have never officially renounced a
militant ideology.

"If you look at this in a broad context ... inherently it endangers the
long-term project of promoting tolerance and democracy," he says.

If radicalism does spread, there's hope it can be counterbalanced by the
goodwill generated by the US because of its role in earthquake relief.
Because of American efforts, 78 percent of Pakistanis have a more
favorable opinion of the US, according to a November 2005 poll released
by Terror Free Tomorrow, a Washington-based nonprofit. The US, the poll
says, also fared better among Pakistanis than radical Islamist groups.

On March 31 camp dwellers are scheduled to return to their villages,
marking the beginning of the next phase of this tragedy. Some feel the
influence of radical groups will wane, particularly if the government is
efficient in its efforts to build schools and create jobs.

But Jamat-ud-Dawa and Al-Rasheed Trust see themselves as integral and
lasting parts of that journey. "If the government decides to close down
these camps, there is a lot more work to do in reconstruction; for
example, construction of houses, mosques, and schools," says Mujahid of
Jamat-ud-Dawa.

Their access to survivors may even surpass that of international
agencies, some say. "NGOs are not so big in number that they can make
these groups irrelevant," says Rizvi. "[Islamist groups] can go to a
local mosque and give a sermon to reach the people. An NGO cannot."

(Photograph) 		
ISLAMIST RELIEF: Women from mountain villages carry supplies on the
outskirts of Muzaffarabad, Pakistan, aided by Jamat-ud-Dawa volunteers.
FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES


____


[2]

March 11, 2006
  	 	 	 	
  APPEAL FOR LAWYERS FOR LEGAL JUSTICE IN GUJARAT
Nyayagrah: People’s Campaign for Justice and Reconciliation in Gujarat

Gandhi spoke of Satyagraha as a people’s struggle for truth. In the
context of continued injustice, impunity and economic blockade faced by
people in Gujarat only because they follow a different faith, a people’s
campaign for justice and equal rights guaranteed under the constitution,
peace and reconciliation in under way in Gujarat called Nyayagrah.

We believe the struggle for defending secular democracy in India is in
the nature of a second freedom struggle. And healing and justice for the
survivors of the brutal state-sponsored massacre of 2002 in Gujarat, has
become both the symbol and necessary condition for the success of this
vital democratic battle for equal rights of all citizens.  The battle
for justice is important to prevent the recurrence of such mass crimes
in the future.  It is also important for upholding the dignity, equal
rights and freedom from fear and intimidation of the survivors.  Justice
is an essential feature of reconciliation because no genuine
reconciliation can be constructed on fear and injustice.  The battle for
justice must be resolute but must also create spaces for dialogue and
healing.  As Desmond Tutu of South Africa says, ‘there is no future
without forgiveness.’

In the face of this colossal degree of state impunity, subversion and
open hostility to minorities, and extensive bias in the judiciary, the
resistance by human rights groups and many who have never engaged in
legal justice work in the past but feel impelled to now join the fight
for these, has been utterly remarkable, and in the long history of
communal violence in India unprecedented.

Most organisations decided to focus all their attention and resources on
a few selected ‘major’ test cases, where there was a great deal of loss
of life, and to fight these with the best legal talent, and considerable
resources and efforts for witness protection and support. The outcome of
these efforts has been salutary. The recent orders obtained through the
streling efforts of Citizens for Justice and Peace in the Best Bakery
case have greatly strengthened the battle for justice. Before this, away
from the media spotlight, the Foundation for Civil Liberties has also
secured two extraordinary convictions, in the mass murders of Gharghoda
and Anjanwada.

Nyayagrah is attempting to complement and support the major efforts for
justice. Despite the very important wider impact of the legal efforts
focussed on a few major cases, in a practical sense an estimated 80 to
90 percent of the victims are still struggling on their own to fight
their legal cases. This would be a formidable human rights challenge
even in more ‘normal’ circumstances, but it can be devastating both for
justice and people’s morale in the situation of massive unprecedented
state subversion of justice.  This is compounded further by the
atmosphere and intimidation, in which large numbers of people are being
coerced to concede to humiliating ‘compromises’ of agreeing to withhold
or even reverse their evidence that can bring the guilty to book.

We believe that this struggle for justice and equal rights before the
law that must be waged primarily by people themselves, and further that
the greatest contribution can be made by resolute and courageous peace
and justice workers or nyaya pathiks, both Muslim and Hindu, who emerge
from among the very communities that have survived the mass violence.
The majority are youths; most from working class or farming backgrounds.
These nyaya pathiks are trying to help the survivors to rise above the
hate and fear that has bitterly divided their communities and almost
broken their spirits.  They try to work without compromise, hate or fear
with steadfast commitment to justice, and with compassionate support for
the survivors and witnesses.

The historic order from the Supreme Court in September 2004 to
re-examine all cases that were summarily closed or acquitted opens up
the opportunity to secure justice for thousands of survivors of the
Gujarat carnage. More than 2000 cases that were closed after
investigation without even trial, and nearly 300 cases which were heard
in court with deliberately weakened and openly partisan investigation
and prosecution resulting in the accused being acquitted. An enormous
success is that the Gujarat government in January 2006 has finally had
to bow down to the repeated pressures in the Supreme Court as well as on
the ground, and ordered the reopening of all but 22 of the closed cases.
This means that the opportunity to secure justice has been successfully
reclaimed for thousands of the victims of the massacre.

Beginning with three major districts, Ahmedabad, Anand and Sabarkantha
that account for an estimated 50- 60 percent of all cases and affected
people, teams of nyaya pathiks and young lawyers have been set up.  The
teams are identifying all legal infirmities by examining the record,
making contact with the complainant victims and witnesses, and
attempting to build and sustain their confidence to pursue the cases and
help them overcome fear and despair. Numerous people were reached out to
and were able to overcome their fear and to give evidence. This has now
become the main immediate challenge, to reach to as many of those
complainants and witnesses of these reopened cases. Hundreds of
applications have also been filed for compensation.

The other major challenge is the on-going social and economic boycott in
all villages where people returned after violence, and the hundreds of
villages where return is not possible. A structured process of
reconciliation is imperative in these villages, but most agreed that
reconciliation can be authentically built only on the foundation of
acknowledgement, remorse and justice.

Some young lawyers are on board, but more are needed with the
motivation, integrity, secular values and professionalism. With
literally several hundred cases in hand, we desperately need more legal
hands, especially young lawyers who are willing to spend a year or two
steadfastly in fighting for legal justice. Each case brings its unique
challenges: of many forms of intimidation, fear and boycott, people
occupying the properties of internal refugees, prejudices of police,
prosecutors and judges and so on, and each demands a specific legal
response, to be crafted together by the community workers and lawyers
for peace.

Those interested, please write in at harshmander at vsnl.net; or
amanbiradari.delhi at gmail.com

____


[3]


All India Secular Forum
9b Himalaya Apartment, Santacruz (E)(Bombay)

The terrible bomb blast on the Sankatmochan temple in
Varanasi is utterly disgusting and most condemnable.
The loss of over twenty innocent lives is a matter of
serious grief for all of us. One hopes the state will
do all possible to support the families who have lost
their near and dear ones.

The cowardly terror attacks and tactics are a matter
of anguish for all of us irrespective of our religious
identity. The attempt by some to paint these terror
attacks as Islamic or coming from Muslims is motivated
and aiming to split the communal bonds of our Indian
nation. One has to see that terrorism has nothing to
do with religion, it is a political phenomenon. Be it
the terrorism of LTTE, ULFA, Khalistanis or Irish
Republican army, all these have roots in the social
and political problems. The terrorism being witnessed
currently is the aftermath and product of US which had
propped up Al Qaeda which was the beneficiary of huge
sums of money and ammunition for throwing away the
communist troops from Afghanistan. It was during this
manipulation of global political events that the word
Jihad was brought in as the war cry of Al Qaeda. Again
all this was supported and aimed at by US in order to
occupy Afghanistan and control the oil zone of the
region. The politics of oil is being presented as the
clash of civilizations and religions. The cult of
terror has roots in the formation of Israel,
displacement of 14 lakh Palestinians, and extension of
the same in Kashmir via the conduit of Pakistan which
was acting hand in glove with the US imperialist
designs.

It is time we realize this and ensure that terrorism
is not associated with this or that religion. The
response of BJP like formations to begin Yatras is
fraught with dangers as the nation has witnessed
earlier. One urges that sanity prevails and we try to
deal with the cancer of terrorism in a political way
rather than giving way to the communal forces which
are itching for searching one or the other pretext to
bring back their divisive politics to the fore.
Citizens of India cutting across all the religions
have condemned these insane acts. We do need to bring
back our social agenda to the issues of social and
economic development, and deal with terror mongers
firmly without making a religious issue out of it.

Ram Puniyani/Irfan Engineer

(All India Secular Forum)


____


[4]  Militarisation and Private militias


The Times of India - Editorial
Maoists Vs Militias

[ Friday, March 10, 2006 12:00:00 am TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]

Parts of Chhattisgarh are witnessing a strange sort of militarisation
that is depriving people of their basic political and economic freedoms.

On one side are Maoists claiming to represent the interests of oppressed
tribals and waging a violent war against arms of the Indian state.
Opposed to them are political forces which resist the process of
democratisation.

They also speak the language of violence. Unfortunately, the Indian
state has preferred to actively support the latter. Salwa Judum is a
state-sponsored movement to fight Maoists by arming village youth.

It was launched by a local Congress MLA and later endorsed by the
state's BJP government. Salwa Judum, which translates as peace campaign,
has led to the militarisation of society at grass roots.

Caught in this spiral of repression, people have been denied access to
democratic institutions and means of political expression. Scores of
people have migrated from this zone of armed conflict.

The rest of India can no longer ignore this spectacle of violence and
bloodshed. Maoists have killed more than 60 people in Chhattisgarh since
January.

They must realise that politics which reduces human beings to
dispensable entities in a war of attrition has nothing liberating about it.

Such ideology does not address the social and economic deprivation of
oppressed people or posit an alternative paradigm of governance that is
more egalitarian. The state is no less guilty.

It appears to have abdicated its role as a facilitator of democracy.
Private militias can't be allowed to maintain law and order. Initiatives
like Salwa Judum strike at the roots of democracy.

They legitimise violence as an instrument of political expression and
governance. Maoist politics seeks to exploit the failure of democratic
institutions towards addressing the social and economic concerns of poor
peasants and tribals.

The political mainstream has failed to address them. In many cases,
democratic spaces have been appropriated by the very interests that are
inimical to social change. This contradiction has to be addressed
politically.

The battle against Maoists has to be fought in the realm of ideas, and
not with weapons. In a democracy, power does not flow from the barrel of
a gun.


o o o


Economic and Political Weekly
February 25, 2008
Letters

Killer Gangs in AP

Over the last decade, the people of Andhra Pradesh have been hearing of
killer gangs describing themselves by various names, such as ‘Green
Tigers’, ‘Tirumala Tigers’, ‘Kranti Sena’, etc. Now we are hearing of
‘Narsa Cobras’ and ‘Kakatiya Cobras’. Threats are publicly being issued
by these outfits, mainly to persons working in civil rights
organisations or various mass organisations, alleged by these outfits to
be close to the Naxalites. That these are not idle pranksters is
attested by the fact that they have owned up to a number of murders.

Green Tigers claimed to have killed T Purushotham and Azam Ali, both of
the Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee (APCLC), in the years 2000
and 2001 respectively. Someone calling himself Singamalai of Tirumala
Tigers claimed to have kidnapped and tortured G Laxman of APCLC in the
year 2004. The Kranti Sena claimed to have killed a number of rural
supporters of the People’s War group in the 1990s. One person claiming
the name of Haribhushan used to repeatedly threaten Burra Ramulu and
other office-bearers of Human Rights Forum (HRF) at Warangal. Now, we
hear of the Narsa Cobras who have proclaimed the killing of Kanakachari,
teacher and democratic activist of Mahbubnagar district. Apart from
killing the above-named persons, these outfits have repeatedly been
issuing public statements threatening to kill a long list of activists
of various mass organisations.

Though this has been going on for more than a decade now, the
government’s response has been a deafening silence. Who are these
faceless gangs? How can the government of any civilised country turn a
blind eye to the presence of self-proclaimed killer groups in the midst
of society? How is it that the government has not a word to say about
them? In the case of the Naxalites, the police do a thorough
investigation and have in their possession all the personal details of
the leaders and cadre of the Naxalite groups. A hunt goes on for them
day and night. Many are arrested and some are killed. But how is it that
by contrast there is not even an acknowledgement from the government or
the police about these gangs? It is as if they do not read the papers
and have never seen the claims these outfits make to the authorship of
crimes of violence, and the threats they hold out to activists.

Would it be unfair to conclude from this that the government is not
unhappy to have these vigilante gangs around? Perhaps because what the
government cannot directly do, these anonymous killer gangs can, and the
former, if challenged, can pretend to be busily investigating the
matter. In all the crimes of violence listed above, some investigation
has been done, some individuals have been charge-sheeted, and tried and
acquitted by the courts. But there is not a word about the gangs
themselves. What has the investigation revealed about the Green Tigers,
the Tirumala Tigers, the Kranti Sena, the men called Singamalai and
Haribhushan? And what investigation has been taken up about Narsa Cobras
and Kakatiya Cobras? As Haribhushan was foolish enough to issue threats
even during the “peace period” of 2004-05 when the government could not
ignore such complaints, he was identified and arrested. He turned out to
be an ex-police constable by the name Javed. But he had no personal
grievance against the HRF whose office-bearers he used to threaten. He
was somebody else’s tool. Who set him up? Was his criminal activity
unknown to the higher-ups of the Warangal police? As for the rest of
these gangs, the silence of the government continues.

This is a matter of the credibility of the government as much as the
safety and security of the people. After all, the gangs are operating in
public and indulging in extortion, threats and homicide in broad daylight.

S Jeevan Kumar, K Balagopal
Hyderabad

____


[5]


  Initiatives For Democratic Rights
   (IFDR)
   Chandigarh

Dated: 10/03/2006
   Appeal on Right to Information
   Three months have passed since the enactment of Right to Information
Act 2005 (RTI) but the progress made by the Punjab and Haryana
government to live up to the spirit of the Act is lacking till today.
Interestingly, both the Centre and State governments are under the
supervision of the Congress led coalition, but Punjab and Haryana seems
to be undoing what the UPA has done by passing this Act. In this
situation it becomes extremely significant to write and send as many
letters and emails and raise the following issues with the Central
Information Commission, State Information Commissioners, Governors and
Chief Ministers of both the states. We have prepared a sample format to
pursue this issue.
   Write or email your concern to;

           Srno
     Name
     Designation
     Address
     Phone/Fax
     Email
       1
     Mr. Wahajut Habibullah
     Chief Information Commissioner
     Central Information Commission, Old JNU Campus, Block IV, 5th
Floor, New Delhi- 110067
     Phone- 011-26717354
     whabibullah at nic.in, pkgera at nic.in

       2.
     Mr. Rajan Kashyap
     State Chief Information Commissioner
     Punjab State Information Commission, SCO 84-85, Sector 17-C, Chandigarh
     Phone- 0172-2740541, Fax- 0172-2740543
     kashyap_rajan at rediffmail.com, scic at punjabmail.gov.in
       3
     Gen. S.F. Rodirgues
     Governor Punjab
     Punjab Raj Bhawan, Sector 6, Chandigarh
     Phone- 0172-2740740, Fax- 0172-2741058
     governor at punjabmail.gov.in
       4
     Mr. Amrinder Singh
     Chief Minister Punjab
     House no. 45, Sector 2, Chandigarh
     Phone- 0172-2740325, 2740769
     cm at punjabmail.gov.in

       5
     Dr. A.R. Kidwai
     Governor Haryana
     Haryana Raj Bhawan, Sector 6, Chandigarh
     Phone- 0172-2740654
     governor at hry.nic.in
       6
     Mr. Bhupinder S. Hooda
     Chief Minister Haryana
     Kothi no. 1, Sector 3, Chandigarh
     Phone- 0172- 2749396, 2749409
     cm at hry.nic.in
       7
     Mr. G. Madhavan
     State Chief Information Commissioner
     SCO 70-71, Sector 8-C, Madhya Marg,  Chandigarh
     Tel/Fax- 0172- 2726568
     madhavang at hry.nic.in

   Rajeev Godara
   (for IFDR)


   Draft letter to be sent to CIC/SCIC/Governor/CM
   Dear Sir,
   Right to Information Act, 2005 has been one of the most significant
piece of legislation in Indian history as it opens up immense
possibilities for democratizing our institutions. But there are some
very serious issues which need to be raised immediately otherwise the
very purpose of the RTI may be dissolved.
   RTI specifies a nominal fee fixed by the respective Commissions which
has to be submitted along with the application fee. It is clearly
specified in the Section 7 (sub-section 5) of the Act that the ‘fee
prescribed shall be reasonable’. The Fee Rules prescribed by the central
government has fixed Rs.10 as the application fee and Rs.2 for each page
created or copied. But the Fee Rules released by the Punjab and Haryana
government have prescribed exorbitant fee of Rs.50 with the application
form and Rs.10 per page created or copied. Besides this, for information
provided in diskette or floppy the central government has fixed a fee of
Rs.50 while the Punjab and Haryana government has fixed a fee of Rs.50
for floppy and Rs.100 for diskette.
   We condemn such exorbitant fee prescribed by the Punjab and Haryana
government. It is against the provisions of RTI and is extremely biased
against the common people. The governments have forgotten the principle
of cost which should have been applied while framing these rules. It is
anti-people and is aimed at dissolving the potential of the RTI
   We demand immediate correction in the fee rules so that these can be
brought at par with the central government. Even Karnataka and Rajasthan
government have adopted the fee specified by the central government.
Further, RTI states that as soon as the rules are notified these shall
be laid before the State Legislature. But the government seems to be
disinterested in this matter.
   Punjab and Haryana government has also shown laxity in suo moto
declarations of Public Information Officers in various departments and
most of the offices have till today not received any notification in
this regard. We demand that immediate steps should be taken to release
the list of Public Information Officers and the provisions of this act
be made available to the common people by translating it the regional
language. It is high time that governments realize that this Act is not
a mere piece of enactment; it is a social document and it has special
significance for our democracy since it opens up immense possibilities
for evolving a new political culture in India.
   We demand immediate action for timely correction in Fee Rules and
making the act accessible to the common people of Punjab and Haryana.

   Yours truly,
   *********
   PS: Kindly circulate this letter to as many people as possible to
raise concern over laxity of government on RTI.



     CRITIQUE
A Students' Discussion Forum
Panjab University
Chandigarh
Email- pu_critique at yahoo.co.in
Groups- pu_critique at yahoogroups.com


____


[6]

Kashmir Times
March 12, 2006

Editorial

POLITICS OF RAPE

by Anuradha Bhasin Jamwal

On a day when it is important to celebrate the existence of women, and
acknowledge their struggles and activism, it may also be worthwhile to
look at how the worst kind of crimes against women are often so
trivialized more by the traditionally and culturally reinforced notions
of honour, rather than justice. Unfortunately, another women’s day has
just gone by, marked by celebrations, and everybody wishes away the
ugliness of rapes from their minds, even as they talk about other women
issues. Ironically, any discussion on rapes is associated with greater
stigma than the rape itself. This is despite the growing incidence of
women abductions and rapes in the state. This is more so, in the ongoing
situation of violence in Jammu and Kashmir. In an armed conflict,
women’s bodies, which feminists believe are considered by the various
players in the conflict as markers of community identity, become
vulnerable to violations.
The problem with rapes in Kashmir conflict is not only that these are
allowed to be happened, at the hands of militants, security forces and
their paraphernalia of surrendered militants and informers, who enjoy
unlimited authority and impunity. The problem is also that there is a
serious failure in putting rapes into a proper perspective.
Unfortunately, the woman’s tragedy is usurped, manipulated and subverted
by political organizations and individuals for their narrow interests
and this relegates the victim to the background. The collective strength
of civil society crumbles as political parties, bureaucrats and other
vested interests politicise victimization, thus subjecting women to
another kind as well.
The politicization of rapes makes it important for different players to
see who the rapist is and who is being raped. Is the perpetrator a
security force personnel, a surrendered ultra or a militant from a
banned organization? And is the victim a Hindu, Muslim, relative of
militant or of a security forces informer? The political affiliations of
a particular community or ethnic group shapes the entire discourse of
politics of rape. This has created the absurd notions on two sides of
the divide: one that more rapes have been committed by security forces
and another that more are committed by militants. Firstly, there is no
documentation of rape cases to support either of the two beliefs.
Secondly, such notions tend to rob the woman of her right to grieve. Her
victimization becomes a political motif in the hands of everybody. She
is forgotten but her victimization becomes eternal. What the woman gets
in turn is pure stigma for two reasons. One is the cultural and
traditional framework within which rape is defined. Second is the manner
in which this is highlighted and protested by various players in field.
It is common in the case of Kashmir Valley, for separatist leaders to
jump into the fray of protests against cases of rapes and molestations
by security forces. The outrage is justified but the direction it takes
may not do much service to women. It brings the victim centre-stage as a
mascot of stigma and humiliation, after which she is forgotten. There is
no bid to provide her any kind of psychological counseling or any kind
of a rehabilitation programme. In a couple of cases women were abandoned
by their husbands or unmarried rape victims failed to get married after
they were raped, also creating economic problems for them. This is
primarily because the protests and the media coverage seems to define
the rape within the parameters of ‘honour’ and ‘dignity’. Rape is
certainly used as a tool in wars and conflict, worldwide, with an
intention to seek revenge from the enemy and humiliate his entire race
through bodies of women. But employing the same discourse in support of
the women victim has actually done more harm since it questions the
inability of the woman, who is simply deemed as a symbol of chastity, to
maintain her virtuosity. Besides, it tends to project the man or the
patriarchal community as the one dishonoured. The public rant of veiling
the women as deterrence for rapes further puts the onus of rapes on the
victim itself, leading to greater trauma and stigma. Her ostracisation
becomes complete. The propaganda unleashed through official handouts and
defence press notes, seeking to blame militants for rapes and abductions
of women again tends to portray the woman in poor light. Not only this,
the victimization is highly glamourised in all its political content. It
becomes difficult for the victim to escape the stigma.
While the key players in the armed conflict politicize the rapes, it is
the silence of civil society and women groups that is more damaging. Any
bid to put rapes in the proper perspective without yielding to the
discourse of ‘honour’ and ‘dignity’ might lessen the trauma of victims.
The psychological repercussions of rapes and molestations go very deep
and cannot be wished away by long spells of silence. It needs to be
talked about. The misplaced stigma associated with rapes certainly
cannot go away by deeming the subject of rapes itself as stigma that
should forbid women groups, civil society and intellectuals to talk
about. It needs to be talked about more to ensure that rape is not
politicized and that rape victims can lead dignified lives. They have
the right to and they must. Mukhatarn Bi’s case shows a beacon of light.



_____


[7]

Rediff.com
March 09, 2006

RIDICULOUS CHANGES IN PROSTITUTION LAW

by Indira Jaising

In my mailbox arrived the usual invitations for International Women's
Day and the several morchas that it brings with it.

Here is a sampling of this year's demands: Reservations for women in
Parliament and state legislatures, a law against sexual harassment, a
comprehensive law on violence against women, a law against sexual
violence against children, special provisions relating to women under
the Employment Guarantee Act, justice for Jessica Lal, and an end to
globalisation.

Nothing special about these demands, but yes, there was one demand that
did amuse me -- that March 8 be declared a holiday!

'Jessica's real culprits: Those who didn't speak up'

On a more serious note, while the whole world is focusing on the
India-United States nuclear deal, there is another kind of US agenda
that is now being pushed through Parliament -- only very few people seem
to care about it.

The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1986 is being rewritten.

And while it seems that the rewriting is motivated by the desire to
protect vulnerable women and children, it is nothing of the sort.

Ever since the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the Eastern
European countries, poverty has increased to levels which has compelled
their people to seek employment options all over the world.

Women have been the most vulnerable of all sections of the population.
Many women from the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe have taken to
commercial sex work as a means of livelihood.

Large-scale migration of these women to the US and Western Europe has
been noticed. That is when the US, faced with an immigration problem,
came up with a policy of rating nations for sanctions, depending on
their ability to stop trafficking of women.

Nepal, Bangladesh and India were put on the watch list, to monitor their
progress in changing their laws and preventing trafficking in women.

US funding agencies have been told not to fund non-governmental
organisations working with sex workers. Often, this is a condition of
the grant.

'It was a crime that I was born a woman'

One such organiSation seeking USAID funding has filed a suit in the US
against USAID for discriminating against them because they didn't give
an undertaking that they will not work with sex workers.

India, not wanting to be left behind, has also proposed amendments to
its laws.

It has proposed changes to Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1986 . This
is being done by introducing a definition of 'trafficking.'

While no one can disagree that trafficking of women for the purpose of
prostitution by the use of force and coercion is immoral and needs to be
criminalised, the manner in which this is sought to be done will only
marginalize sex workers and place them at the mercy of the police.

On the one hand the proposed law intends to remove Section 8
(soliciting) as it enables the police to pick up any sex worker, on the
other hand, it introduces a section that makes it an offence for a man
to go to a sex worker.

So there we have it: You can solicit sex work, but no man can have sex
with a trafficked woman!

The first question one must ask is how is a man who goes to a sex worker
to know that she has been 'trafficked' as defined in the Act?

What happens next? Do all men who go to red light areas get arrested?
And what about the women they are having sex with? Will they too not be
arrested for abetting a crime?

This is a rather dishonest way of going about reforming the law. We do
not seem to be clear whether we want to protect these women or victimise
them.

That is why the demonstration by the all India sex workers coalition in
Delhi was an extremely important and focused one.

Out attitude to sex workers will expose our attitude to women in
general. It seems quite possible for policy makers to swear by women's
rights and at the same time throw sex workers out of work and into prison.

Preventing trafficking is a different thing from punishing sex workers.

There is no serious attempt to get to the traffickers.

Trans-border trafficking is not dealt with at all -- where the police
alone have the power to allow a trafficker to enter the country.

There is a cosy relationship between the police of different countries,
India and Nepal, India and Bangladesh over traffickers.

A look at the profile of a sex worker often tells the story of every
woman. Many of them are women who have been driven out of their homes by
their husbands and rendered destitute -- in an environment in which the
government and the law have nothing to offer them.

Surely, a society that has no options to offer to women has no right to
prevent them from pursuing their chosen occupation.

But, compulsions of falling in line with US policy on the subject --
namely the demand that the Convention of 1949 on the Suppression of the
Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others
International Covenant on Trafficking be implemented -- has compelled
the Indian government to fall in line with a law that makes no sense,
that abolishes the ban on soliciting but arrests the customer.

Indira Jaising is a distinguished Supreme Court lawyer

o o o

The Times of India
6,000 sex workers march to demand equal rights
[ Wednesday, March 08, 2006 03:49:11 pm IANS ]

NEW DELHI: Protesting against criminalisation of their trade, around
6,000 sex workers from across India rallied on International Women's Day
on Wednesday to demand equal rights for themselves and for their children.

"We have gathered from different parts of the country to demand equal
rights so that the government legitimises sex work in the country," said
Bharti Dey of Kolkata-based NGO DURBAR.

She said the government should include sex workers in AIDS/HIV awareness
programmes and anti-trafficking efforts so that they could play a role
in protecting young people being forced into the trade.

"We have worked in the colonies where sex workers live and carry out
their work therefore we can help the police in controlling trafficking,"
Dey explained.

  "We are being treated like criminals and the police are always trying
to harass us in different ways so the government should legitimise the
trade so that we are not harassed by the police," said Rani, who had
come from Kolkata to take part in the rally.

"If the government legitimises sex work then we can force customers to
use contraceptives and can also play a role in controlling HIV/AIDS,"
she said, adding: "We are human and should be equal respect and rights
as others."

According to Rani, sex workers should be allowed to support their
children till they were settled in life.

"The government does not allow us to support our children once they have
turned 18. We fear that if we do not support our children till the time
they complete their studies and get jobs, they might join the same
trade," said Suman, from Delhi.

  The protesters had gathered at the Ramlila ground in central Delhi and
marched from there to Jantar Mantar near Parliament House.

"We will present a memorandum to the prime minister and ask him to take
action on the demands of the sex workers," said S Jana, a member of the
National AIDS Council that is headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

According to him, the government should legitimise the trade so that sex
workers are not forced to carry out their work in a clandestine manner.

___


[8] [Events and New Publications]

Events:


INDIAN RENAISSANCE INSTITUTE&
INDIAN RADICAL HUMANIST ASSOCIATION

   Cordially invite you to

   M.N.ROY MEMORIAL LECTURE 2006

   "Democracy, Rural Reconstruction and Humanism"
   by
   Professor Amlan Datta
   A noted economist & former Vice-Chancellor,Visva Bharati
   Chair : Dr. N.Innaiah
   Secretary, Indian Radical Humanist Association

   Tuesday, 21ST MARCH,2006,
   5.30 PM
   Gandhi Peace Foundation,
   223, Deen dayal Upadhyay Marg,New Delhi-110002.

   N.D.Pancholi
   Secretary, Indian Renaissance Institute
   A-12, Neeti Bagh, New Delhi-110049
   Ph: (M) 9811099532, 22614710

--

New Publications

(i)

Dawn
March 12, 2006

[Book] REVIEWS: Commitment matters

Reviewed by Rumana Husain

TWO years after her untimely death, journalist Maisoon Hussein’s
articles on socio-political issues have been published in the form of a
book, For Life, Peace and Justice, by the Pakistan Institute of Labour
Education and Research (Piler), in collaboration with the Pakistan Study
Centre, University of Karachi. Of the few hundred articles, 55 have been
included in this book.

In the preface, Karamat Ali, Director, Piler, pays accolade to Maisoon
Hussein for the commitment and perseverance with which she went about
fulfilling her duties, reporting on the darker side of life. Visiting
jails, interviewing lawyers and judges, criminals and victims, (also
their families) as well as the police, must have been a daunting task,
particularly when the conscientious journalist continued to revisit the
issues and the places where these ills were perpetrated.

Hussein worked as Dawn’s sub-editor for over two decades, holding charge
of the paper’s women’s and children’s pages and the letters to the
editor page. At the same time, she wrote on the injustices and wrongs
that are continuously meted out to the underprivileged sections of our
society.

The 330-page book, with a somewhat flawed binding, provides the reader
with a testimony of the journalist’s commitment to the cause of human
rights (Hussein was a member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
— HRCP — playing an active role in the organisation until her death in
March 2003) as well as an insight into the seriously faulty and
repugnant workings of our legal system.

In the introduction to the book, the compilation’s repetitive quality
(as at times it may get a tad tedious going through the same topic) has
been justified on the ground that the articles have intentionally been
included to show Maisoon’s persistence and propensity of returning again
and again to an issue she had reported earlier. She wished to see if any
changes had come about in the situation.

The book has, therefore, been divided into four sections: (1) Prisons;
(2) Women; (3) Labour; (4) Human rights. Each section includes between
eight to 20 different articles written during the several years that the
writer dedicated to the above-mentioned causes.

Consider, for example, the very first article in the book, “Open jails”,
written exactly a decade ago. This is about an interesting concept,
similar to “open-book tests” that some enlightened educational
institutions here are familiar with. Hussein writes about her experience
of visiting Badin’s Open Jail, which lies about 32 kilometres from the
city of Badin. Conceived in 1958 as a jail without walls, “locks, bars,
gates or any other means of security”, the Open Jail is a sort of
transitory house for prisoners who are on their way to be rehabilitated
and integrated into society as useful citizens. The freedom within
confinement or the confinement, despite a wall-less jail, obviously has
many tried and tested advantages like the skills learnt and the
potential to return to a job or family life. If the prisoners so desire,
their family members can also spend time with them at the Open Jail, to
prevent families from breaking up due to long periods of separation.

In this article, Hussein laments about the more or less abandoned
project, housing just five prisoners and 22 prison officials who are
posted on the desolate land near Badin, extending to some 2,800 acres.
She moans the decay of this humane institution and blames the
bureaucrats who cannot digest innovation, therefore letting the original
plan die its own death.

She then revisits the issue in another article, this time some five
years later, announcing its ultimate death. Meanwhile she compares the
local Open Jail experience with India where, she reports, 27 such jails
have been functioning. She further explains that the open prisons of
India are being presented as “one alternative model by the London-based
Penal Reform International to other countries, as closed prisons have
failed in the very objective for which they were set up, namely, the
reform and rehabilitation of prisoners.”

The above claim is substantiated by the journalist in her quest for
learning and reporting all that goes on behind bars, which is by and
large hidden from public view, and forgotten by the upholders and
custodians of law and justice. In a selection of six articles, the book
provides us an insight into the offensive and horrific facts about
Borstal and juvenile jails where young offenders spend their time, and
more often than not, emerge as hardened criminals rather than reformed
children. This, in a country where, according to Hussein, each year some
35,000 juveniles between nine and 19 are booked by police and sent to
confinement.

In shocking detail, “Corruption in jails” tabulates how a prisoner or
his family has to pay bribes at every stage, to obtain the basic rights
accorded by law, or else he suffers. It is obvious that while the rich
and the powerful get away, literally, with murder, the poor and the weak
are vulnerable to all kinds of injustices that are meted out to them.
Hussein cites good examples where they are due, whenever there was
greater transparency, checks and balances. But such examples are
unfortunately few and short-lived, as good people get transferred and
these programmes get nipped in the bud.

The root cause for committing crimes can be attributed to disparity in
wealth, which leads to inequity at all levels. The ingrained apathy and
corruption of the people, however, who wield power over prisoners, child
workers and labour, as well as over women and the minorities at all
levels, is both appalling and at the same time inexcusable.

Investigative and committed journalists who are also social activists
and who not only report and reveal the deplorable ills of society but
also show how dedication and integrity can bear fruits are but few and
far between. Maisoon Hussein was one such journalist. This book will be
of value to those who want to study Pakistan’s socio-political scene
from the 1980’s to the new millennium.


For Life, Peace and Justice
By Maisoon Hussein
Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER)
in collaboration with Pakistan Study Centre,
University of Karachi
330pp. Rs300

o o o

(ii)

"Opium City": The Making of Early Victorian Bombay
by "Amar Farooqui"

xiv + 114 pages, Demy 8vo
2006  ISBN 81-88789-42-9 Paperback Rs150 (India)

Three Essays Collective
B-957 Palam Vihar
GURGAON (Haryana) 122 017
India
www.threeessays.com

o o o

Diary 2006 — Women of Pakistan: Struggling for Legal Rights
Uks — A Research, Resource & Publication Centre on Women and Media,
House 10, Street 71, F-8/3, Islamabad
Tel: 051-7111419
Email: uks at comsats.net.pk

Diary 2006
Zubaan, an Imprint of Kali for Women,
K-92, FF, Hauz Khas Enclave, New Delhi-110016,
Tel: 91-11-26521008, 26864497, 26514772.
Website: www.zubaanbooks.com

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

Buzz on the perils of fundamentalist politics, on
matters of peace and democratisation in South
Asia. SACW is an independent & non-profit
citizens wire service run since 1998 by South
Asia Citizens Web: www.sacw.net/
SACW archive is available at: bridget.jatol.com/pipermail/sacw_insaf.net/

DISCLAIMER: Opinions expressed in materials carried in the posts do not
necessarily reflect the views of SACW compilers.