Full Coverage: South Asia

08.05.2008

07.05.2008

07.05.2008 Durgabai Deshmukh Award winner Daud Sharifa Khanam from southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu provided Muslim women a platform to challenge the oppressive patriarchal system. For this, she has had to face the ire of Muslim clerics. She was hated, abused and threatened but she never gave up the fight.

07.05.2008 Considered a taboo and anti-Islamic during Taliban regime, condom usage in Afghanistan is slowly increasing. The government however feels a need to boost its demand to achieve public health targets on STD prevention and reduction in maternal mortality.

07.05.2008 Sri Lanka’s worsening human rights record and failed promises for improvement undermine its claim for a place on the UN Human Rights Council, a coalition of national and international NGOs said in a letter released today.

07.05.2008 Members of Indian anti-poverty network WNTA met the HRD minister in the capital to present a memorandum urging the government to table the Right to Education bill in the current parliament session. WNTA campaigns to hold the government accountable to its commitments to end poverty, social exclusion and discrimination.

07.05.2008 New mobile text message service called Reuters Market Light has made it easier for poor farmers in western India to get farm-related information. By subscribing to the service they can get regular updates on their mobiles about weather forecasts, pest attacks and daily market prices for their produce.

06.05.2008 Traditional midwives or dais have been overlooked by India’s National Rural Health Mission that focuses solely on institutional delivery. In a country having the highest maternal mortality rate and collapsing rural health care, there is a need to integrate these women in public health programmes.

06.05.2008 Indian government has decided to table the contentious Women’s Reservation Bill in Rajya Sabha on May 6. Earlier in an interview with OWSA, Dr Ranjana Kumari, Director, Centre for Social Research spoke on the whole gamut of issues concerning the need for women in governance.

06.05.2008 Open Access to Knowledge and Information: Scholarly Literature and Digital Library Initiatives – the South Asian Scenario released by UNESCO, New Delhi illustrates South Asian initiatives to bridge knowledge gaps in the region. The book is a useful source for building up necessary information infrastructure for development.

06.05.2008 India's National Rural Employment Guarantee Act has increased the bargaining power of the poor, felt participants at a recent consultation by Indian anti-poverty network WNTA in the capital. They also called for increased investment by the government for effective monitoring of the scheme.

06.05.2008 Initially introduced in 1996 and subsequently in lapse; snatched and torn up in 1999, the contentious Women’s Reservation Bill is finally set to be tabled in Rajya Sabha on May 6. The Bill seeks to provide 33% reservation for women in state assemblies and the parliament.

06.05.2008 Indian government has decided to table the contentious Women’s Reservation Bill in Rajya Sabha on May 6. Earlier in an interview with OWSA, Dr Ranjana Kumari, Director, Centre for Social Research spoke on the whole gamut of issues concerning the need for women in governance.

05.05.2008 Nepalin vaalit voittaneet maolaiset haluavat kitkeä korruption kehitysavusta ja politiikasta. Maolaisten asialistalla ovat korkealla myös rauhanprosessin loppuunsaattamisen ja talouden nopea kehitys.

05.05.2008 Hot weather and lack of safe drinking water have led to a severe spate in diarrohea cases in Bangladesh. According to health experts, poverty, rising food prices and low levels of awareness on sanitation are driving people to eat cheap contaminated food.

05.05.2008 The devastating Cyclone Nargis that struck Myanmar early Saturday has claimed 350 lives, as death tolls mount. While aid operations were restricted by the military junta in the outskirts of capital Yangon, the state media announced the country will go ahead with the constitutional referendum on May 10.

05.05.2008 Attacks on freedom of press are akin to attacks on international law, humanity and freedom itself, said UN head Ban Ki-moon on World Press Freedom Day, celebrated on May 3, drawing attention to the increasing targeting of journalists around the world and the failure to prosecute such crimes.

02.05.2008 A security think tank updates readers on recent statements made by Hillary Clinton, John McCain, and Barack Obama regarding Iraq, Iran, nuclear weapons and proliferation, India, and North Korea.

02.05.2008 Environmental website kidsRgreen is in the final rounds for the prestigious Stockholm Challenge Award 2008. Promoting environmental awareness, this unique educational initiative by India based Centre for Environment Education takes young minds beyond classroom teaching by engaging them in various interesting learning tools.

02.05.2008 ASSOCHAM, India’s apex industry body is organising a global telecom summit on May 23-24, 2008 in New Delhi, India. The event will provide a platform for experts to discuss challenges confronting the Indian telecom industry and develop possible solutions.