The proposed criminalisation of consensual sex between youngsters in the 16-18 age group is seen as regressive and in denial of social realities. THE minimum age for consensual sex has been raised from 16 to 18 in the amended Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Bill, 2011, recently approved by the Union Cabinet. If approved by Parliament, this will make sexual activity with a person below 18 a criminal offence,...
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Mulling overseas wheat sale via government deals: Food Minister
-Reuters India is exploring the possibility of selling wheat under government deals to countries in Africa, the Middle East and neighbours such as Afghanistan and Pakistan, Food Minister KV Thomas said, as open market exports stall on low prices. "There are some countries like Uganda, the Gulf, Afghanistan and Pakistan which need wheat," he said. A panel set up to look at the issue of India's surplus stocks was examining whether to sell...
More »Age of consent 16 in most liberal countries-Manoj Mitta
Going by just the number of countries, the global average for the age of consent is 16. The government's proposal of criminalizing consensual sex with any person below 18 will put India in the company of countries such as Rwanda, Uganda, Chile, Peru and Egypt, none of whom can be counted among liberal democracies. While the age of consent across the world ranges from 13 to 18, the bulk of the...
More »Wife beating justified, feel most Indian women
-CNN-IBN A Unicef report titled Progress for Children, a report on adolescents, holds that available data for developing countries (India included) show that nearly 50 per cent of girls and women aged between 15 and 49 also believe that wife-beating is justified under certain circumstances. About 57 per cent of male adolescents aged between 15 and 19 years in India think that a husband is justified in hitting or beating his...
More »Women Still Trapped Below Glass Ceiling of Party Politics by Thalif Deen
The right of women to participate in political life is guaranteed by several international conventions, but transforming an abstract right into a reality requires hard work on the ground, says a new study released here. Published jointly by the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) for International Affairs, the 118-page report points out that although 40 to 50 percent of members of political parties globally are women,...
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