Ensure equal inheritance for all women

 It is extremely disappointing that women in Bangladesh continue to be doubly deprived in terms of inheriting (or getting access to) property and wealth. On the one hand, they still do not get paternal property in the majority of cases; on the other hand, they are being deprived of, or facing challenges in accessing, mahr (denmohor) or dower which is allowed in the Islamic family law. Despite mahr being legally required for all Islamic marriages, women are facing layers of obstacles in actually getting it. And since Bangladesh’s family laws do not ensure equal rights for women in inheritance and family property, often they are being put into extremely difficult positions. These same difficulties are affecting women of other religions too. For example, despite India amending its Hindu Inheritance Act in 2018 to ensure that women have equal property rights as men, Bangladesh is yet to take any such measures. Clearly, gender disparity in our country transcends religious boundaries, as experts have also noted in a recent seminar.

As such, what we desperately need is a uniform family law for all religions covering men and women that governs marital and inheritance rights as well as rights that ensure self-guardianship and autonomy for every individual. The present situation is not only discriminatory, in a way it is also denying women of their basic human rights, in violation of our constitution which states that all citizens are equal in the eyes of the law. And such discriminatory practices are further hindering the economic, social, and political progress of our nation. Admittedly, this is not the only discrimination that women face in our country; they face it almost in every sphere of life, in terms of education, social safety, career, family affairs, etc.

This culture of discrimination has to change first if we are to ensure that women get their rightful access to inheritance and property. And as much as that is the responsibility of the whole society, the government also has a big role to play here. To tackle the crippling effect of gender inequality, women’s economic status must be strengthened as a priority. Thus, the government should empower the courts and arbitration councils so that women can quickly and fairly access their rightful share of property, following separations from husbands or deaths of parents. Additionally, in keeping with the spirit of the constitution, it is high time the government amended the existing family laws in Bangladesh to ensure equal rights for all women to inheritance and family property.

Source: The Statesman, 31/07/22

Hidden worlds within our own

 You’ve almost certainly heard about the flat earth theory — the evidence-denying belief that the world isn’t (mostly) round but, in fact, flat. But have you ever heard of the hollow earth theory? This is the idea that the earth is either entirely hollow or contains a large interior space that is capable of hosting life and, in some iterations of the theory, is home to species longthought extinct by us ignorant surface-dwellers and perhaps some species that we have never encountered at all. While many mythologies speak of a world inside our world, the ‘modern’ version of this theory can be traced to astronomer Edmond Halley (of Halley’s Comet fame) who first suggested this possibility. One early believer was American businessman John Symmes who built on the theory by suggesting that this inner world could be reached through giant holes in the earth’s polar regions, and even proposed sending expeditions to find these access points.

Others went even further by declaring that this Hollow Earth world was dominated by intelligent reptilian (and possibly alien) races and giants who are (in some iterations of the tale) the secret masters of humanity, pulling our strings from the unseen depths. While this may sound far-fetched I, for one, would be relieved to learn that someone is running this absolute mess on the surface. Unfortunately, this rather lovely theory has been conclusively debunked, and the only mentions you’ll now find of the Hollow Earth are relegated to pseudoscience and science fiction. But the earth still holds many mysteries, as Chinese spelunkers discovered earlier this year when they came across a 630-metre-deep sinkhole in south China. At the base of the pit, the explorers found a massive and “well-preserved primitive forest” with ‘prehistoric’ looking trees that grew to heights of over 30m.

Essentially, they found a unique and isolated ecosystem that had survived and thrived untouched by human hands for millennia, and researchers are interested in seeing if it is home to animal and insect species that cannot be found anywhere else on earth. Given that the sinkhole is also home to several cave entrances, a more thorough exploration may result in even more discoveries similar to the ones made in other lightless cave systems which were once considered to be too sulphureous to be home to any kind of life. But when such caves, such as the Frassasi Caves in Italy or those in Tabasco, Mexico, were explored, they were found to host a variety of creatures uniquely adapted to life in this hidden world. This is possible thanks to extremophiles, organisms known affectionately as ‘snottites’ or ‘snotticles’ because the massive colonies they form on the walls and roofs of these cave structures look exactly like … snot.

Apart from looking pretty, these snottites feed on sulphur and in turn provide sustenance for a variety of spiders, midges, gastropods and even large colonies of blind fish that feed on the snottites. Then there’s the cave of crystals in the Mexican Naica Mines, where the lowest temperature is about 47 degrees Celsius and the humidity reaches close to 100 per cent. Impossible to explore without protective gear, the cave, as the name suggests, is home to giant crystals (google it and be amazed!) which, in turn, contain pockets of fluid that are home to dormant microbes that may be 50,000 years old. The deeper you go, the crazier it gets: while we have yet to find any reptilian aliens, scientists have speculated that the pressure in the depths of the earth is so immense (roughly 200,000 times what we experience on the surface) that it creates minerals and substances that cannot exist on the surface of the earth, and which would melt if they were brought to the surface. That’s not as far-fetched as it may seem as deep-sea fish found some 7.5 kilometres below the ocean’s surface in the depths of the Atacama Trench are so perfectly adapted to the high-pressure depths that when they are brought to the surface by nosy researchers, they simply … melt.

Are there minerals with similar properties? Until recently, scientists had only informed speculation and lab experiments to go by; in one such experiment scientists simulated the conditions that exist in the earth’s mantle and synthesised a mineral they dubbed ‘davemaoite’. But then, just last year, mineralogist Oliver Tschauner and his colleagues were going through samples of volcanoejected diamonds (essentially diamonds ejected from the earth’s mantle via volcanos) and found that deep within the diamond was an actual, naturally occurring sample of this very mineral — formed about 645 km under the Earth’s crust — and kept from melting thanks to being encased in the diamond. Today, we are transfixed by images of distant galaxies coming to us via the James Webb telescope but tomorrow, perhaps we will have the capability to further explore the hidden worlds within our own.

Quote of the Day July 29, 2022

 

“It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.”
Elinor Smith

“मैंने काफी समय से यह देखा है कि सफल व्यक्ति बैठ कर घटनाओं का इंतजार नहीं करते हैं अपितु वे आगे बढ़ते हैं और कार्य को अंजाम देते हैं।”
एलिनोर स्मिथ

World Hepatitis Day 2022

 On July 28, World Hepatitis Day is celebrated across the World, annually. The day seeks to raise awareness on the Hepatitis, which cause deaths of around 125 000 people in Africa every year, even though the disease can be cured.

Theme of the World Hepatitis Day 2022:

• In year 2022, the World Hepatitis Day is being celebrated under the theme- “Bringing hepatitis care closer to you”.
• This theme is aimed at highlighting the usefulness of bringing hepatitis care closer to primary health care facilities and communities.
• It also seeks to ensure better access to treatment and care.

About Hepatitis:

It is inflammation of the liver tissue. Some people or animals show no symptoms of hepatitis. On the other hand, others people develop yellow discoloration of skin and whites of the eyes, vomiting, poor appetite, abdominal pain, tiredness, and diarrhoea. The disease is acute, if it is treated within six months. It can be turned chronic, if it lasts more than six months.  Acute hepatitis can be treated on its own, while chronic hepatitis causes failure of liver. Chronic hepatitis can lead to liver cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver failure.

Hepatitis case burden in WHO African Region:

In Africa, over 90 million people are living with hepatitis. It accounts for 26% of total cases worldwide. The disease goes undetected mostly, because of absence of any symptoms. As per WHO, prevalence of Hepatitis B in around 8% of the total populations across 19 countries. Hepatitis C is prevalent among 1% population across18 countries. Transmission of Hepatitis B from mother to child is high.

Current Affairs-July 28, 2022

 INDIA

– India adds 5 new wetlands, total Ramsar sites now at 54; new additions — Karikili Bird Sanctuary, Pallikaranai Marsh Reserve Forest & Pichavaram Mangrove in Tamil Nadu, Pala wetland in Mizoram and Sakhya Sagar in MP

– Mission Parivar Vikas 2016 boosted National Family Planning Programme, says Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar

– LS Speaker Om Birla and Esperanca Bias sign MoU of Cooperation between Parliaments of India and Mozambique

ECONOMY & CORPORATE

– Govt to provide 4G mobile services in 24,680 uncovered villages at cost of Rs 26,316 crore

– Cabinet approves Rs 1.64 lakh crore revival package for BSNL; BBNL (Bharat Broadband Network Limited) to be merged with BSNL

– Govt. approves additional investment by BPRL (Bharat Petro Resources Limited) for development of BM-SEAL-11 Concession Project in Brazil

– BPRL is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited

– DGCA asks SpiceJet to operate 50% of approved flights for 8 weeks following snags

– Campbell Wilson gets security clearance, to take over as Air India MD-CEO

– Roshni Nadar Malhotra, Chairperson of HCL Technologies, has been named the wealthiest woman on Kotak Private Banking – Hurun Leading Wealthy Women List 2021

– Companies can spend CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) funds for ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign activities: Govt

WORLD

– Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy given Churchill Leadership Award of UK

– Huanan seafood market in Wuhan, China ‘epicenter’ of Covid-19 pandemic: Study

– Russia’s Gazprom cuts gas supply to Europe through Nord Stream 1 to 20% of full capacity

– US to sell additional 20 million barrels of oil from strategic reserve

– Russia taking over ownership stakes in Arctic oil field now held by French and Norwegian companies

SPORTS

– England: Leicester Cricket Ground named after Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar

– Lok Sabha passes National Anti-Doping Bill, 2021; provides for constitution of National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) for regulating anti-doping activities in sports

Current Affairs- July 29, 2022

 INDIA

– Indian Navy gets 1st indigenously-built aircraft carrier (IAC-1) from Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL); will commission it as INS Vikrant

– Indian Navy gets 3 of the 24 MH-60 ‘Romeo’ multi-mission helicopters from the US; made by Lockheed Martin Corporation

– PM Modi inaugurates and lays foundation stone of multiple projects of Sabar Dairy in Sabarkantha, Gujarat

– 2 Indian peacekeepers killed in violent anti-UN protests in Democratic Republic of Congo

– Kerala govt to launch online cab service ‘Kerala Savari’ in August

ECONOMY & CORPORATE

– Govt launches 11th agricultural census 2021-22 to collect data on various parameters, including operational holdings

– India’s installed capacity of electricity generation at 403 Giga Watt as on June 30: Govt.

WORLD

– US Federal Reserve hikes interest rate by 75 basis points to check inflation

– World Hepatitis Day observed on July 28

– World Nature Conservation Day observed on July 28

SPORTS

– India beat West Indies by 119 runs in 5rd and final ODI to clinch series 3-0 at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain

– Four times Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel to retire at season end

– PM inaugurates 44th Chess Olympiad at Jawaharlal Nehru indoor stadium in Chennai

Long road: Editorial on the plight of differently abled persons

 The road to inclusion is often long and winding. India has undertaken legal measures to empower the differently abled in the past few years: the  enactment of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act in 2016 is one example. But a revised, comprehensive strategy that would address current needs and challenges is long overdue. The Indian population of PwDs is estimated to be roughly 3 crore. Among them, 1.3 crore are employable. But data show that only 34 lakh PwDs are employed across different sectors. Alarmingly, only 5 per cent of them are graduates. The figures suggest that the implementation of the provisions of the RPwD Act have been tardy in the spheres of employment and education. There are other policy failures. The Centre launched the Accessible India campaign in 2015 to create a barrier-free environment to grant accessibility to public resources and dignified living for this constituency. But a recent report illustrated that a meagre 8 per cent of public buses are partially accessible to the differently-abled, while only 48 per cent of government buildings are such. A 2020 RTI report revealed that about 19 states do not even have dedicated toilets for the disabled community. Accessibility to crucial amenities — a civil right — remains a pipe dream evidently. 

Hearteningly, the recently-released draft national policy attempts to address several of these pressing concerns. It envisions a dynamic database that will provide information on a real-time basis. It also identifies areas of intervention and reiterates the government’s commitment to institutional mechanisms. The intentions are noble but this is not to say that the draft is water-tight given several glaring omissions. Article 29 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities — India is a signatory — mandates political representation, something that the draft policy fails to take cognisance of. Further, it fails to plug the deficiencies in the public procurement laws that are necessary to augment disabled-friendly infrastructure. Additional budgetary allocation of 25 per cent has remained unaddressed as well. These lapses reveal an old malaise: the refusal of successive governments to move past rhetoric and work towards an integrated approach. Regular audits and periodic inspections of infrastructure, public outreach programmes, and the creation of a greater number of disabled-friendly organisations must be encouraged to ma

Source: The Telegraph, 25/07/22