Editorial

Media can play a role in influencing the people and changing the dynamics of the society. Being a powerful tool it needs to be streamlined positively for the benefits of the society. The power of media cannot be denied; media plays a crucial role in changing attitudes, ... Read more

Editorial Board

Chief Editor
Dr. Rohit Kumar Nepali

Advisors
Ms. Chandni Joshi
Ms. Khawar Mumtaz
Ms. Martha Farrell
Ms. Sapana Malla
Dr. Zarina Rehman Khan

Editorial Consultant
Mr. Faruq Faisel

Coordinator
Ms. Shanti Uprety

Sub-Editor
Ms. Luna Malla

Contributors
ASK- Bangladesh
CENWOR –Sri Lanka
PRIA – India
YFA - India
SAP - Pakistan
SAP – Nepal
SAP - Bangladesh
SAP - Sri Lanka
Ms. Prakitee Yonzon
Ms. Sharmila Gurung

Designer
Anjan Shrestha

A survey on representation and Violence Against Women In Politics in Bangladesh

This writing presents the findings of a survey carried out in nine constituencies of Bangladesh. In collaboration with South Asian Partnership, International, the survey was carried out by Democracywatch from 28 to 30 December 2008; on, before and after the election day of the 9th Parliamentary election.

Objectives of the Study
The overall objective of the survey was to understand adequate participation of women in the electoral process so as to observe equitable representation of women in policy making. However, the specific objectives of the survey were:

Analyze election result from the point of view of number of women elected through the existing electoral system and the quota provision designed for women candidates.
Monitor and analyze political violence against women during the election period

Methodology:
Nine constituencies were chosen purposively from seven districts covering eleven women

Ram Kumari Jhakri

Ram Kumari Jhakri is the President of All Nepal National Free Student Union (ANNFSU). Ram Kumari Jhakri ran for the presidential election of ANNFSU, a student wing of the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist Leninist), CPN (UML), in its 19th National Conference in Pokhara in September 2008. After a keen competition with a male candidate she came out as a victor. She rewrote the history of Nepali politics by becoming the first woman president of any student organization in the country... Read more>>

Indian General Election 2009: A perspective from women representation

It has been very aptly stated that, “however much the compilers of South Asian statistics on maternal mortality, female foeticide and ‘gender bias’ in South Asia might protest, the fact is that Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh ... Read More>>

Evaluating Declaration of Elimination of Violence Against Women (DEVAW): Through the Lens of VAWIP

The Declaration of Elimination of Violence Against Women is a proclamation by the General Assembly in light of the rights and principles enshrined in international instruments, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ... Read more>>

"In a male dominated country like Afghanistan, the role of women leaders is merely symbolic and there is very less opportunity for women to actively participate in the process of decision-making. Hence there needs to be affirmative actions to increase women's participation in decision-making."
"It is important to make the political parties gender sensitive in order to make them take the gender equality seriously and to make them ensure gender equality into their election manifestos and constitution. The political parties must have at least one mechanism to deal with the matters when their women party members are subjected to violence."

Workshop on Violence Against Women In Politics in Nepal

The studies conducted by South Asia Partnership-International (SAP-International) at South Asian Regional level shows that gender based violence (GBV) is a major barrier for the lower participation of women in politics. This may have been the case for other sector of public sphere. So there is a need to identify relationship between violence against women and marginalization of women at all levels of decision making. In this regard, Social Inclusion Research Fund (SIRF) and SAP-International is collectively ... Read more>>

The National Women's Study Association 2009 Conference

NWSA 2009 will examine how feminist intellectual, political, and institutional practices cannot be adequately practiced if the politics of gender are conceptualized (overtly or implicitly) as superseding or transcending the politics of race, sexuality, social class, nation, and disability.

Doreen Wickremasinghe: The Path Breaker

'Whose need is more dire, the ex-servicemen in England or the poor of this country?' wrote Doreen Young Wickremasinghe in The Battle of the Flowers protesting against the absurdity that forced Sri Lankan school children to purchase poppies on Armistice Day, November 11th. The year was 1933, and Sri Lanka, ... Read more>>