India has been elected to the board of a new UN agency to promote equality for women but Iran failed to win a seat due to strong opposition from the US and human rights groups. UN Women is the amalgamation of different United Nations bodies focused on women. It was created this year to look exclusively at gender equality and empowerment of women. The 41-member executive board also includes the US and...
More »SEARCH RESULT
What is wrong with MG-NREGA?
Can we afford to leave MG-NREGA alone? Why is the civil society crying foul? Are the rural activists demanding too much? Is the UPA-II trying to take back what UPA-I gave before the elections? Let us face it, the MG-NREGA is in a big crisis. NAC members like Aruna Roy and Jean Dreze have alleged (See links below) that the present remuneration of rural workers is declining by the day and it...
More »8 Indian States have 421 million multidimensionally poor people by Aarti Dhar
Eight Indian States are home to 421 million multidimensionally poor people, more than the figure of 410 million in 26 poorest African countries. The Multidimensional Poverty Index — which identifies serious simultaneous deprivations in health, education and income at the household level in 104 countries — brought out in the latest United Nations Human Development Report has calculated that South Asia is home to half of the world's multi-dimensionally poor population,...
More »US prez has given dalits a reason to smile: NCSC chief by Subodh Ghildiyal
Barack Obama's mention of Mahatma Gandhi as the man who made his presidency possible and his invocation of "a dalit", Ambedkar, as the author of the Constitution had the MPs in audience gushing that his words could boost the struggle for social justice like few statements can. PL Punia, chairman of the National Commission for SCs, said that "Obama identified himself with champions of dalit rights" which was unheard of for...
More »More about Dalit hopes and despair by S Viswanathan
Last week's column, “The plight of Dalits and the news media” (October 25, 2010), has generated a lively and interesting response from several readers. The column was about the prioritisation of the tasks before the National Commission for the Scheduled Castes (NCSC) by its new Chairman, P.L. Punia (not P.J. Punia as erroneously mentioned in the column.) The concern of most who wrote was over the failure of successive governments...
More »