Around 20 young girls and women have gathered by a well at 11 a.m., just outside the entrance to Killabandar. &ldquo;The well has only a little water [in the summer] in one corner. It takes us half-an-hour to fill one kalshi [metal pot],&rdquo; says Neelam Manbhat, a resident of the village. Killabandar is a coastal village of fish workers, bordering Vasai Fort, north of Mumbai city.

For the women and girls at the well, some as little as four, spending several hours collecting water is a daily reality. The well on public land is the only source of drinking water close to the village. The municipal water supply here is erratic and inadequate, the women say. Since numerous families in Killabandar depend on the well, that water is inadequate too, especially in the summer. The women and girls have to literally scrape the bottom of the well.

Vasai taluka in Palghar district is spread over 600 square kilometers, and the township&rsquo;s population is around 13 lakhs (Census 2011). The Vasai Virar City &nbsp;Municipal Corporation should ideally provide adequate water for the area&rsquo;s two towns, and over a hundred villages and hamlets. It doesn&rsquo;t.

Killabandar residents resent the fact that while they still depend on wells and tankers, water from Palghar district is diverted to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. &ldquo;She doesn&rsquo;t have to do it,&rdquo; Priya Ghtya tells another woman at the well, pointing to me. Then she turns to me and says, &ldquo;You must have a machine [to wash clothes]. You don&rsquo;t have to do this. We don&rsquo;t get water, you do.&rdquo;

There are more than 75 wells in and around the 109-acre Vasai Fort. &ldquo;Most of them are out of commission,&rdquo; says Kailas Shinde, the Archaeological Survey of India conservation assistant in charge of the fort. &ldquo;Only 5-6 wells are functional.&rdquo;

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Women washing a big load of clothes beside the well. (Others)
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Shilpa Alibag (left) and Josephine Mastan (right) wash clothes at a well inside the Bale Killa portion of Vasai Fort. They come with a big load of clothes, detergent, and plastic cans with their tops cut off and tied to a rope to draw water from the well. &ldquo;We come here every day after we are done with other chores&hellip; Yes, every day. We don&rsquo;t get any holidays!&rdquo; Shilpa says, laughing.

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Women waiting for their turn to fetch water out of the well. (Others)
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At another well nearby, women and young girls also use improvised plastic cans to draw out water and then pour it into stainless steel or copper kalshis. This is one of the wells that was built at the same time as the 16th-century fort.

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People who use this &#39;well&#39; also pay for its maintenance. (Others)
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&ldquo;The well is 400 years old. We pool in money for repairs when needed,&rdquo; says Regina Jungli, sitting on her fish basket and waiting at a bus stop near the well. &ldquo;There are taps at various places in the village, but they are of little use. The [municipal] water only comes for around one-and-a-half hours on alternate days. And they don&rsquo;t bother to even check if the tanks in the village fill up,&rdquo; adds Neelam Manbhat.

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Even old women have no other way but to carry heavy water pots on their head. (Others)
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So it can take hours to fill the daily requirement of water for the family. Some women gather at the wells in the dark of the night to ensure their share &ndash; and then walk back home with the heavy pots on their heads. The pots and containers of varying sizes can hold between 5 to 15 litres of water each; large jerry cans contain even up to 50 litres.

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Waking up at 2 AM in the morning to fetch water. (Others)
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&ldquo;We get up and fill water at two in the morning. There are fewer people then. What can we do? We need the water,&rdquo; says Sunita Moses Itur (left). &ldquo;You&rsquo;ll get water; I won&rsquo;t. Some will; some won&rsquo;t. The municipal water is uncertain. We have the connections for years but there is no water yet.&rdquo;

Sisters-in-law Avita and Priscilla Pakya are lucky to have functional piped water in their houses. &ldquo;We need water [from the well] only for drinking,&rdquo; Priscilla says. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t drink the municipal water.&rdquo; To collect even just this water takes a lot of effort at the well. &ldquo;The water is so less, it takes an hour [to fill] two handis,&rdquo; she says, holding out her hands to indicate the size of the vessels.

Since water is drawn from the well round-the-clock, the groundwater has little time to replenish. Often, the little water that is drawn is muddy and has small pebbles. The girls then sieve the water when they transfer it into handis&nbsp;to take home (right).

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Girl child washing clothes. (Others)
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At another well nearby, some women are washing clothes. During the intense summer this year, the well was drying up fast. Young girls help their mothers not only to fetch water but also in other household tasks. &ldquo;She was washing clothes since she was two-and-a half,&rdquo; says a proud Priya Ghtya about her daughter Nerissa. &ldquo;See how she washes all her own clothes. She will turn four in July.&rdquo;

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Young girls too have to carry heavy loads of water containers. (Others)
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Nerissa is not the only child at work here. The need for water pushes even the youngest members &ndash; almost always girls &ndash; of many families into this daily labor. &nbsp;

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Young girls have to cook and fetch water for the family, while their parents are gone for work. (Others)
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Vanessa, a Class 4 student, &nbsp;and her friend Saniya, walk to the well at Killabandar every morning. &ldquo;I wake up at 7,&rdquo; Saniya Bhimawaghri, 11 years old, says. &ldquo;I collect water until 10-10.30, then I go to school at noon.&rdquo; Saniya lives with her parents, an older sister and three younger brothers. While her parents are out working &ndash; her mother sells clothes, her father is a fish worker &ndash; her sister, a little over a year older, cooks for the family and Saniya fetches the water. She has to make multiple trips from the well to her home deep inside Killabandar village. But can only take two pots at a time &ndash; adding to the number of trips. The handcarts in the photograph above are hired by some families to ferry their water; Saniya&rsquo;s family isn&rsquo;t one of those. &nbsp;&nbsp;Saniya, walk to the well at Killabandar every morning. &ldquo;I wake up at 7,&rdquo; Saniya Bhimawaghri, 11 years old, says. &ldquo;I collect water until 10-10.30, then I go to school at noon.&rdquo; Saniya lives with her parents, an older sister and three younger brothers. While her parents are out working &ndash; her mother sells clothes, her father is a fish worker &ndash; her sister, a little over a year older, cooks for the family and Saniya fetches the water. She has to make multiple trips from the well to her home deep inside Killabandar village. But can only take two pots at a time &ndash; adding to the number of trips. The handcarts in the photograph above are hired by some families to ferry their water; Saniya&rsquo;s family isn&rsquo;t one of those. &nbsp;&nbsp;

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Autorickshaws are used to transport water cans. (Others)
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Some families draw more than a day&rsquo;s supply. They store it in large, blue jerry cans. The initials of the owner-family are painted on each set of cans. These cans wait at the well until they are transported in autorickshaws.

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This young girl&#39;s daily chores. (Others)
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&ldquo;We are hungry now. So we are going home to eat. We&rsquo;ll come back later,&rdquo; Vanessa tells me, and scurries off into a narrow lane that leads to her home. I follow Saniya to hers. She lives on the first floor and practically runs up the stairs with her heavy steel pots without spilling a drop.&nbsp;

Photo courtesy:&nbsp;Samyukta Shastri

This&nbsp;<a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/we-dont-get-water-you-do/">article</a>&nbsp;was originally published on 06/ 07/ 2017 on the&nbsp;<a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/">People&#39;s Archive of Rural India.</a>

Women spend hours to fetch water and sometimes have to wake up at 2 A.M. in the morning to avoid the uncertainty of not getting water.

Around 20 young girls and women have gathered by a well at 11 a.m., just outside the entrance to Killabandar. “The well has only a little water [in the summer] in one corner. It takes us half-an-hour to fill one kalshi [metal pot],” says Neelam Manbhat, a resident of the village. Killabandar is a coastal village of fish workers, bordering Vasai Fort, north of Mumbai city. For the women and girls at the well, some as little as four, spending several hours collecting water is a daily reality. The well on public land is the only source of drinking water close to the village. The municipal water supply here is erratic and inadequate, the women say. Since numerous families in Killabandar depend on the well, that water is inadequate too, especially in the summer. The women and girls have to literally scrape the bottom of the well. Vasai taluka in Palghar district is spread over 600 square kilometers, and the township’s population is around 13 lakhs (Census 2011). The Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation should ideally provide adequate water for the area’s two towns, and over a hundred villages and hamlets. It doesn’t. Killabandar residents resent the fact that while they still depend on wells and tankers, water from Palghar district is diverted to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. “She doesn’t have to do it,” Priya Ghtya tells another woman at the well, pointing to me. Then she turns to me and says, “You must have a machine [to wash clothes]. You don’t have to do this. We don’t get water, you do.” There are more than 75 wells in and around the 109-acre Vasai Fort. “Most of them are out of commission,” says Kailas Shinde, the Archaeological Survey of India conservation assistant in charge of the fort. “Only 5-6 wells are functional.” Women washing a big load of clothes beside the well. (Others) × Shilpa Alibag (left) and Josephine Mastan (right) wash clothes at a well inside the Bale Killa portion of Vasai Fort. They come with a big load of clothes, detergent, and plastic cans with their tops cut off and tied to a rope to draw water from the well. “We come here every day after we are done with other chores… Yes, every day. We don’t get any holidays!” Shilpa says, laughing. Women waiting for their turn to fetch water out of the well. (Others) × At another well nearby, women and young girls also use improvised plastic cans to draw out water and then pour it into stainless steel or copper kalshis. This is one of the wells that was built at the same time as the 16th-century fort. People who use this 'well' also pay for its maintenance. (Others) × “The well is 400 years old. We pool in money for repairs when needed,” says Regina Jungli, sitting on her fish basket and waiting at a bus stop near the well. “There are taps at various places in the village, but they are of little use. The [municipal] water only comes for around one-and-a-half hours on alternate days. And they don’t bother to even check if the tanks in the village fill up,” adds Neelam Manbhat. Even old women have no other way but to carry heavy water pots on their head. (Others) × So it can take hours to fill the daily requirement of water for the family. Some women gather at the wells in the dark of the night to ensure their share – and then walk back home with the heavy pots on their heads. The pots and containers of varying sizes can hold between 5 to 15 litres of water each; large jerry cans contain even up to 50 litres. Waking up at 2 AM in the morning to fetch water. (Others) × “We get up and fill water at two in the morning. There are fewer people then. What can we do? We need the water,” says Sunita Moses Itur (left). “You’ll get water; I won’t. Some will; some won’t. The municipal water is uncertain. We have the connections for years but there is no water yet.” Sisters-in-law Avita and Priscilla Pakya are lucky to have functional piped water in their houses. “We need water [from the well] only for drinking,” Priscilla says. “We don’t drink the municipal water.” To collect even just this water takes a lot of effort at the well. “The water is so less, it takes an hour [to fill] two handis,” she says, holding out her hands to indicate the size of the vessels. Since water is drawn from the well round-the-clock, the groundwater has little time to replenish. Often, the little water that is drawn is muddy and has small pebbles. The girls then sieve the water when they transfer it into handis to take home (right). Girl child washing clothes. (Others) × At another well nearby, some women are washing clothes. During the intense summer this year, the well was drying up fast. Young girls help their mothers not only to fetch water but also in other household tasks. “She was washing clothes since she was two-and-a half,” says a proud Priya Ghtya about her daughter Nerissa. “See how she washes all her own clothes. She will turn four in July.” Young girls too have to carry heavy loads of water containers. (Others) × Nerissa is not the only child at work here. The need for water pushes even the youngest members – almost always girls – of many families into this daily labor. Young girls have to cook and fetch water for the family, while their parents are gone for work. (Others) × Vanessa, a Class 4 student, and her friend Saniya, walk to the well at Killabandar every morning. “I wake up at 7,” Saniya Bhimawaghri, 11 years old, says. “I collect water until 10-10.30, then I go to school at noon.” Saniya lives with her parents, an older sister and three younger brothers. While her parents are out working – her mother sells clothes, her father is a fish worker – her sister, a little over a year older, cooks for the family and Saniya fetches the water. She has to make multiple trips from the well to her home deep inside Killabandar village. But can only take two pots at a time – adding to the number of trips. The handcarts in the photograph above are hired by some families to ferry their water; Saniya’s family isn’t one of those. Saniya, walk to the well at Killabandar every morning. “I wake up at 7,” Saniya Bhimawaghri, 11 years old, says. “I collect water until 10-10.30, then I go to school at noon.” Saniya lives with her parents, an older sister and three younger brothers. While her parents are out working – her mother sells clothes, her father is a fish worker – her sister, a little over a year older, cooks for the family and Saniya fetches the water. She has to make multiple trips from the well to her home deep inside Killabandar village. But can only take two pots at a time – adding to the number of trips. The handcarts in the photograph above are hired by some families to ferry their water; Saniya’s family isn’t one of those. Autorickshaws are used to transport water cans. (Others) × Some families draw more than a day’s supply. They store it in large, blue jerry cans. The initials of the owner-family are painted on each set of cans. These cans wait at the well until they are transported in autorickshaws. This young girl's daily chores. (Others) × “We are hungry now. So we are going home to eat. We’ll come back later,” Vanessa tells me, and scurries off into a narrow lane that leads to her home. I follow Saniya to hers. She lives on the first floor and practically runs up the stairs with her heavy steel pots without spilling a drop. Photo courtesy: Samyukta Shastri This article was originally published on 06/ 07/ 2017 on the People's Archive of Rural India.

?We don?t get water, you do?

Anandibai Joshi

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Anandibai Joshi (Wikimedia Commons) (Others)
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&nbsp;

The first female physician in the country to practice western medicine, she was motivated to become a doctor when her new-born baby died soon after birth.

Anna Mani

&nbsp;

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Anna Mani (Others)
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&nbsp;

A student of renowned scientist CV Raman, she earned global fame for her work on meteorological&nbsp;instrumentation.

Janaki Ammal

&nbsp;

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Janaki Ammal (Wikimedia Commons) (Others)
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&nbsp;

The Indian botanist conducted scientific research in phytogeography and cytogenetics. The Padma Shree awardee is most known for her research on sugarcane and the eggplant.

Asima Chatterjee

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Asima Chatterjee (Image Courtsey: Indian Academy of Sciences) (Others)
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&nbsp;

She is most known for her research in phytomedicine and organic chemistry to develop cancer medicine, anti-epileptic and anti-malarial drugs. Being the first woman to be named a Doctor of Science by an Indian university, she broke stereotypes and inspired many.

Charusita Chakravarty

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Charusita Chakravarty (Image Courtsey: IIT Delhi, Official Website) (Others)
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&nbsp;

Charusita Chakravarty was a professor of Chemistry at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. She was honoured with several awards for her work, most notably, the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize.

Tessy Thomas

&nbsp;

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Terry Thomas (Youtube) (Others)
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&nbsp;

Known as the &#39;Missile Woman&#39; of India, Tessy is the first female engineer to head a missile project in the country. Thomas is an engineer and the Project Director for Agni-IV missile in Defence Research and Development Organisation.

Rajeshwari Chatterjee

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

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Rajeshwari Chatterjee (@nirbhaavuka) (Twitter)
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&nbsp;

The first woman engineer from Karnataka, she was given a scholarship by the government of Delhi to study abroad She studied at the University of Michigan where she obtained her Master&rsquo;s degree in electrical engineering. She returned to India to join the Department of Electrical Communication Engineering at IISc where she set up a microwave research laboratory. Her research on Microwave Engineering in greatly acknowledged.

 
Aditi Pant

The oceanographer was a part of the Indian expedition to Antarctica in 1983. She became the first Indian woman to visit Antarctica.

Kalpana Chawla

&nbsp;

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Kalpana Chawla (NASA, Public Domain by WikiMedia Commons) (Others)
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&nbsp;

The first Indian woman in space flew on Space Shuttle Columbia in 1997 as a mission specialist and primary robotic arm operator. In the unfortunate disaster of Space Shuttle Columbia in 2003, Chawla was one of the seven crew members killed.

 
Sudha Bhattacharya

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Sudha Bhattacharya (Image Courtsey: Jawaharlal Nehru University, Official Website) (Others)
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&nbsp;

An&nbsp;academic, scientist and&nbsp;writer, she is recognised for her in-depth study of Entamoeba histolytica, an amoebiasis causing parasitic protozoan. Her laboratory was the first to detect&nbsp;Ribosomal RNA genes on Circular DNA.

Indira Nath

The immunologist is known for her research&nbsp;on the cellular immune responses in human leprosy. She has over 120 publications, reviews, opinions on recent developments in international journals. Her pioneering work is a remarkable step towards the development of vaccines for leprosy.

Shubha Tole

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Shubha Tole (Image Courtsey: Tata Institute Of Fundamental Research) (Others)
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&nbsp;

The neurologist is most known for&nbsp;discovering a gene that is crucial to the proper formation of the hippocampus, amygdala, and cortex of the brain.&nbsp;She has won many accolades for her work, the Infosys Prize in the Life Sciences category being the most noteworthy.

Qamar Rahman

The scientist studied the physiological effects of nanoparticles. She is&nbsp;internationally acclaimed for her research on asbestosis, effects of slate dust and particulate pollution and methods for improving occupational health

(WION)

&nbsp;

On National Science Day, we celebrate women who have made great contributions in the field of science and paved paths for others

Anandibai Joshi Anandibai Joshi (Wikimedia Commons) (Others) × The first female physician in the country to practice western medicine, she was motivated to become a doctor when her new-born baby died soon after birth. Anna Mani Anna Mani (Others) × A student of renowned scientist CV Raman, she earned global fame for her work on meteorological instrumentation. Janaki Ammal Janaki Ammal (Wikimedia Commons) (Others) × The Indian botanist conducted scientific research in phytogeography and cytogenetics. The Padma Shree awardee is most known for her research on sugarcane and the eggplant. Asima Chatterjee Asima Chatterjee (Image Courtsey: Indian Academy of Sciences) (Others) × She is most known for her research in phytomedicine and organic chemistry to develop cancer medicine, anti-epileptic and anti-malarial drugs. Being the first woman to be named a Doctor of Science by an Indian university, she broke stereotypes and inspired many. Charusita Chakravarty Charusita Chakravarty (Image Courtsey: IIT Delhi, Official Website) (Others) × Charusita Chakravarty was a professor of Chemistry at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. She was honoured with several awards for her work, most notably, the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize. Tessy Thomas Terry Thomas (Youtube) (Others) × Known as the 'Missile Woman' of India, Tessy is the first female engineer to head a missile project in the country. Thomas is an engineer and the Project Director for Agni-IV missile in Defence Research and Development Organisation. Rajeshwari Chatterjee Rajeshwari Chatterjee (@nirbhaavuka) (Twitter) × The first woman engineer from Karnataka, she was given a scholarship by the government of Delhi to study abroad She studied at the University of Michigan where she obtained her Master’s degree in electrical engineering. She returned to India to join the Department of Electrical Communication Engineering at IISc where she set up a microwave research laboratory. Her research on Microwave Engineering in greatly acknowledged. Aditi Pant The oceanographer was a part of the Indian expedition to Antarctica in 1983. She became the first Indian woman to visit Antarctica. Kalpana Chawla Kalpana Chawla (NASA, Public Domain by WikiMedia Commons) (Others) × The first Indian woman in space flew on Space Shuttle Columbia in 1997 as a mission specialist and primary robotic arm operator. In the unfortunate disaster of Space Shuttle Columbia in 2003, Chawla was one of the seven crew members killed. Sudha Bhattacharya Sudha Bhattacharya (Image Courtsey: Jawaharlal Nehru University, Official Website) (Others) × An academic, scientist and writer, she is recognised for her in-depth study of Entamoeba histolytica, an amoebiasis causing parasitic protozoan. Her laboratory was the first to detect Ribosomal RNA genes on Circular DNA. Indira Nath The immunologist is known for her research on the cellular immune responses in human leprosy. She has over 120 publications, reviews, opinions on recent developments in international journals. Her pioneering work is a remarkable step towards the development of vaccines for leprosy. Shubha Tole Shubha Tole (Image Courtsey: Tata Institute Of Fundamental Research) (Others) × The neurologist is most known for discovering a gene that is crucial to the proper formation of the hippocampus, amygdala, and cortex of the brain. She has won many accolades for her work, the Infosys Prize in the Life Sciences category being the most noteworthy. Qamar Rahman The scientist studied the physiological effects of nanoparticles. She is internationally acclaimed for her research on asbestosis, effects of slate dust and particulate pollution and methods for improving occupational health (WION)

Inspirational women scientists who made India proud

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

When thousands marched through Chile&rsquo;s capital, Santiago to mark the anniversary of the country&rsquo;s 1973 military coup, this young woman stared down at a riot policeman. The protest marked 43 years since President Salvador Allende was overthrown, killed, and replaced with a military government. During the protests, police started randomly arresting people marching through the city. The photographer, Carlos Vera Mancilla, then captured the girl, who in his words &ldquo;stood before the policeman with a defiant look&rdquo;

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a girl staring down a riot policeman today in Chile, during a protest marking the country&rsquo;s 1973 military coup. <a href="https://t.co/HsyiCvRSVF">pic.twitter.com/HsyiCvRSVF</a>
&mdash; 1-800-WOKE-AF (@gloed_up) <a href="https://twitter.com/gloed_up/status/775636216947544064">September 13, 2016</a></blockquote>
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When thousands marched through Chile’s capital, Santiago to mark the anniversary of the country’s 1973 military coup, this young woman stared down at a riot policeman. The protest marked 43 years since President Salvador Allende was overthrown, killed, and replaced with a military government. During the protests, police started randomly arresting people marching through the city. The photographer, Carlos Vera Mancilla, then captured the girl, who in his words “stood before the policeman with a defiant look” a girl staring down a riot policeman today in Chile, during a protest marking the country’s 1973 military coup. pic.twitter.com/HsyiCvRSVF — 1-800-WOKE-AF (@gloed_up) September 13, 2016 hjgjhxcghjx

10 badass women of 2016 who can put you in your place!

On December 6, 1989, a 25-year-old man entered a classroom in Montreal, Canada. He blamed feminism for ruining his life. Next, he physically separated the women from the men, then shot all the women. He shot 24 in total that day, killing 14. (Four men were injured in the crossfire, too.)

Since 1991, Canada has marked the day of the l&#39;&Eacute;cole Polytechnique de Montr&eacute;al massacre each year. Hopefully, men reflect about what it really means. (Women already know.)

It&rsquo;s easy to condemn violence against women when it&rsquo;s in the form of an outright massacre and the motive, in case there was any doubt, is stated explicitly.

Very few attacks against women make headlines or become national days of commemoration. Women often live through this stuff quietly, privately, day to day.

What do they live? It&rsquo;s hard for men to know. Imagination is a bad substitute for lived experience, and statistics here are by definition incomplete since many attacks are unreported. But for my purposes, stats are unnecessary.

While certainty is impossible, consider: every man knows a woman who has been violated by a man. You might not know who they are, but you know them. An attack may haunt a woman&rsquo;s life without her closest people even knowing it ever happened. Women around you are affected, whether you know it or not.

I know at least several female rape victims, both here in India and back in my native Canada. &nbsp;It&rsquo;s heartbreaking. Thankfully, I&rsquo;ve never had a single male buddy tell me a woman violated him. It happens, and when it does it&rsquo;s no less major, but men do not spend life worrying about being safe from women.

While I personally don&rsquo;t know any male victims, I do know a man from high school who was arrested this year for murdering and torturing his girlfriend. He was 18 when I was 14, but was nice to me and made everyone around him laugh. It should come as a surprise to learn someone you know was raped or is a sadistic killer.

This is anecdotal, and the example is extreme. It&#39;s not a jumping off point for extrapolation, but I didn&#39;t cherry pick it either. It just happens to be my experience. While violence against women is far more common than the reverse, I don&rsquo;t mean to reduce women&rsquo;s lives to a constant attempt to evade horror at the hands of a man. Often we get along great!

Determining what percentage of men is dangerous is relevant to people more interested in defending Male Honour than female lives. Precaution is prudent, whatever the percentage. If a woman is at a party and only two of ten guys there are creeps, both things are true: most men are safe, but she is still in danger. Her safety, not a man&rsquo;s perception of his gender&rsquo;s worth, is what matters.

I suspect that many men vastly underestimate the threats women face. It can happen innocently enough. Why would a man, who has spent every day of life as a man, know how scary life can be as a woman? More women are bravely speaking out against this in public. It&rsquo;s an important conversation. That, men aren&rsquo;t listening enough is regrettable but profoundly unsurprising. It&rsquo;s probably not from indifference or cruelty, just many things are vying for their attention and people select what to engage in based on what&rsquo;s most pleasant, not most important.

Maybe some men are reluctant to believe women potentially face such terrible and prevalent threats because they feel implicated in it&mdash;guilt by gender association, no matter how blameless they are. People usually think favorably about their own. Country, gender, race, religion -- whatever. Believing women exaggerate is more comfortable than believing how dangerous your fellow men can be.

This reflection may sound like I&rsquo;m bashing men. I&rsquo;m not! I&rsquo;m friends with many dudes! I&rsquo;m only trying to shine a light on what some do to women. This conversation sometimes feels like it needs to be entered into on a declared side, Team Man or Team Woman. No!

I&rsquo;ve written nothing radical here. Just be decent, and trust women when they talk about creepy or violent men. This topic is difficult and women need support now. It&rsquo;s a hard time for many. Female Ghostbusters was a victory, then they got President Pussy Grabber.

So on this occasion that calls for remembrance and action on violence against women, men from Canada, India and everywhere should do what they can to consider how different life as a female can be, then treat women accordingly.

(WION)

If more men knew how violent their kind can be to women, women would be and feel much safer, writes WION's Jeff Halperin

On December 6, 1989, a 25-year-old man entered a classroom in Montreal, Canada. He blamed feminism for ruining his life. Next, he physically separated the women from the men, then shot all the women. He shot 24 in total that day, killing 14. (Four men were injured in the crossfire, too.) Since 1991, Canada has marked the day of the l'École Polytechnique de Montréal massacre each year. Hopefully, men reflect about what it really means. (Women already know.) It’s easy to condemn violence against women when it’s in the form of an outright massacre and the motive, in case there was any doubt, is stated explicitly. Very few attacks against women make headlines or become national days of commemoration. Women often live through this stuff quietly, privately, day to day. What do they live? It’s hard for men to know. Imagination is a bad substitute for lived experience, and statistics here are by definition incomplete since many attacks are unreported. But for my purposes, stats are unnecessary. While certainty is impossible, consider: every man knows a woman who has been violated by a man. You might not know who they are, but you know them. An attack may haunt a woman’s life without her closest people even knowing it ever happened. Women around you are affected, whether you know it or not. I know at least several female rape victims, both here in India and back in my native Canada. It’s heartbreaking. Thankfully, I’ve never had a single male buddy tell me a woman violated him. It happens, and when it does it’s no less major, but men do not spend life worrying about being safe from women. While I personally don’t know any male victims, I do know a man from high school who was arrested this year for murdering and torturing his girlfriend. He was 18 when I was 14, but was nice to me and made everyone around him laugh. It should come as a surprise to learn someone you know was raped or is a sadistic killer. This is anecdotal, and the example is extreme. It's not a jumping off point for extrapolation, but I didn't cherry pick it either. It just happens to be my experience. While violence against women is far more common than the reverse, I don’t mean to reduce women’s lives to a constant attempt to evade horror at the hands of a man. Often we get along great! Determining what percentage of men is dangerous is relevant to people more interested in defending Male Honour than female lives. Precaution is prudent, whatever the percentage. If a woman is at a party and only two of ten guys there are creeps, both things are true: most men are safe, but she is still in danger. Her safety, not a man’s perception of his gender’s worth, is what matters. I suspect that many men vastly underestimate the threats women face. It can happen innocently enough. Why would a man, who has spent every day of life as a man, know how scary life can be as a woman? More women are bravely speaking out against this in public. It’s an important conversation. That, men aren’t listening enough is regrettable but profoundly unsurprising. It’s probably not from indifference or cruelty, just many things are vying for their attention and people select what to engage in based on what’s most pleasant, not most important. Maybe some men are reluctant to believe women potentially face such terrible and prevalent threats because they feel implicated in it—guilt by gender association, no matter how blameless they are. People usually think favorably about their own. Country, gender, race, religion -- whatever. Believing women exaggerate is more comfortable than believing how dangerous your fellow men can be. This reflection may sound like I’m bashing men. I’m not! I’m friends with many dudes! I’m only trying to shine a light on what some do to women. This conversation sometimes feels like it needs to be entered into on a declared side, Team Man or Team Woman. No! I’ve written nothing radical here. Just be decent, and trust women when they talk about creepy or violent men. This topic is difficult and women need support now. It’s a hard time for many. Female Ghostbusters was a victory, then they got President Pussy Grabber. So on this occasion that calls for remembrance and action on violence against women, men from Canada, India and everywhere should do what they can to consider how different life as a female can be, then treat women accordingly. (WION)

Every man knows a woman who has been violated by a man

Women will be allowed into the sanctum sanctorum of the Haji Ali dargah (shrine) in Mumbai, the shrine&#39;s trust told the Supreme Court today&nbsp;and sought four weeks to make the necessary infrastructural changes.

Women were allowed into the shrine&#39;s sanctum sanctorum uptil March 2011.&nbsp;Then the shrine&#39;s board of trustees imposed the ban on them, saying their entering the sanctum sanctorum was a &quot;grievious sin&quot;.&nbsp;

Noorjehan Fiaz and Zakia Soman, founders of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA), had approached the Bombay high court&nbsp;against the ban, calling it unconstitutional.&nbsp;On July 10, 2015, a bench headed by Justice VM Kanade&nbsp;decided to hear the public interest litigation.

On August 26, the Bombay high court&nbsp;held that the ban imposed by the trust contravened Articles 14, 15 and 25 of the Constitution, and said women should be allowed to enter the sanctum sanctorum just as men do.

The high court held that the trust had no power to alter or modify the mode or manner of religious practices of any individual or group. The high court, in a 56-page judgement,&nbsp;had also noted that the &quot;right to manage the trust cannot override the right to practise religion itself&quot;.

The shrine&#39;s trust challenged the high court order.&nbsp;

On October 7, the Supreme Court extended&nbsp;the stay on the entry of women into the shrine&#39;s&nbsp;sanctum sanctorum&nbsp;till October 17 after the shrine&#39;s&nbsp;management said it would come up with a progressive stand in two weeks.&nbsp;

(This report first appeared in DNA)

The shrine's board of trustees banned women in 2011, calling their entry a 'grievious sin'

Women will be allowed into the sanctum sanctorum of the Haji Ali dargah (shrine) in Mumbai, the shrine's trust told the Supreme Court today and sought four weeks to make the necessary infrastructural changes. Women were allowed into the shrine's sanctum sanctorum uptil March 2011. Then the shrine's board of trustees imposed the ban on them, saying their entering the sanctum sanctorum was a "grievious sin". Noorjehan Fiaz and Zakia Soman, founders of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA), had approached the Bombay high court against the ban, calling it unconstitutional. On July 10, 2015, a bench headed by Justice VM Kanade decided to hear the public interest litigation. On August 26, the Bombay high court held that the ban imposed by the trust contravened Articles 14, 15 and 25 of the Constitution, and said women should be allowed to enter the sanctum sanctorum just as men do. The high court held that the trust had no power to alter or modify the mode or manner of religious practices of any individual or group. The high court, in a 56-page judgement, had also noted that the "right to manage the trust cannot override the right to practise religion itself". The shrine's trust challenged the high court order. On October 7, the Supreme Court extended the stay on the entry of women into the shrine's sanctum sanctorum till October 17 after the shrine's management said it would come up with a progressive stand in two weeks. (This report first appeared in DNA)

India: Women to be allowed into Haji Ali sanctum sanctorum, again

Germany is moving to close the pay gap between men and women with a proposed new law agreed in principle by the government&#39;s ruling coalition parties Thursday.

Chancellor Angela Merkel&#39;s conservative CDU reached the agreement in talks with its centre-left coalition allies the SPD, without saying when the changes would take effect.

Under the deal, companies with more than 200 employees will have to be transparent about what they pay men and women in equal positions and publish wage data in anonymous form.

Companies with more than 500 staff will have to introduce mechanisms to equalise pay for both sexes, said SPD parliamentary chief Thomas Oppermann.

He hailed the proposed law as &quot;a great step forward&quot; for millions of female employees.

Women in Germany earn around one fifth less than men, according to official data released in May.

In raw or unadjusted terms, the gender pay gap stood at 21 percent in Germany last year, above the European average of 16.5 percent, the federal statistics office Destatis calculated.

In the former communist east of the country, the pay gap was much narrower, standing at eight percent last year, but in the west it stood at 23 percent, Destatis calculated.&nbsp;

Women in Germany tend more often to work in low-paid jobs or sectors and frequently only part time, the statisticians said.

The adjusted pay gap, which compares wages for people with the same qualifications doing the same work, stood at seven per cent.

(AFP)

Under the deal, companies with more than 200 employees will have to be transparent about what they pay men and women

Germany is moving to close the pay gap between men and women with a proposed new law agreed in principle by the government's ruling coalition parties Thursday. Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative CDU reached the agreement in talks with its centre-left coalition allies the SPD, without saying when the changes would take effect. Under the deal, companies with more than 200 employees will have to be transparent about what they pay men and women in equal positions and publish wage data in anonymous form. Companies with more than 500 staff will have to introduce mechanisms to equalise pay for both sexes, said SPD parliamentary chief Thomas Oppermann. He hailed the proposed law as "a great step forward" for millions of female employees. Women in Germany earn around one fifth less than men, according to official data released in May. In raw or unadjusted terms, the gender pay gap stood at 21 percent in Germany last year, above the European average of 16.5 percent, the federal statistics office Destatis calculated. In the former communist east of the country, the pay gap was much narrower, standing at eight percent last year, but in the west it stood at 23 percent, Destatis calculated. Women in Germany tend more often to work in low-paid jobs or sectors and frequently only part time, the statisticians said. The adjusted pay gap, which compares wages for people with the same qualifications doing the same work, stood at seven per cent. (AFP)

Germany takes step to close pay gap between men, women

Britain beat defending champions the Netherlands on Friday to take home their first Olympic gold medal in women&#39;s hockey, winning 2-0 in a tense shootout following a hardfought 3-3 draw. 
 
After topping the podium in Beijing and London, the Netherlands were hot favourites going into the Rio Games. 
 
Despite winning every game to finish top of their group, however, the top-ranked Dutch team only scraped into the final after beating ninth-ranked Germany 4-3 in a shootout following a 1-1 draw. 
 
Britain also finished the group stages with a perfect record and were gunning for gold in their first Olympic final having won bronze four years ago in London. Germany beat New Zealand 2-1 to take the bronze medal. 
 
&quot;We&#39;ve done it,&quot; British midfielder Nicola White told reporters, brandishing her medal with a grin plastered across her face. &quot;We&#39;ve trained our arses off for so long, this is what we&#39;ve dreamed of and now we&#39;ve got it. 
 
&quot;We&#39;ve now gone unbeaten through an Olympic tournament, which is unreal,&quot; she added. &quot;We are just over the moon.&quot; 
 
That the near sell-out crowd at the Olympic Hockey Centre, a venue which has struggled to fill seats during the Rio Games, were in for a show was clear from the pushback. 
 
A boisterous British tackle and ensuing penalty flick gave Dutch captain Maartje Paumen an early chance to score, but her shot was batted aside by British keeper Maddie Hinch. 
 
&#39;SHAME IT&#39;S SILVER&#39; 
 
Britain&#39;s Lily Owsley claimed the first score of the night, emerging victorious from a mad scramble in front of the Dutch goal to put her side 1-0 ahead. 
 
A Dutch equaliser came courtesy of forward Kitty van Male who broke away for a one-on-one with the British keeper, skilfully drawing her aside and putting the ball into the top of the net with an audacious reverse stick sweep. 
 
The Netherlands&#39; second goal promptly followed with Paumen scoring off the last of three penalty corners in the space of four minutes. Seconds later, Britain&#39;s Crista Cullen picked up a cross in the opposition circle to level the scores at 2-2 going into the break. 
 
The goals kept coming in the second half. Both teams netted one each after a series of penalty corners, leaving the score deadlocked at 3-3 on the final whistle and forcing a shootout to decide the match. 
 
Of the 10 goals available, only two were scored. Britain&#39;s Helen Richardson-Walsh and Hollie Webb found the back of net to secure victory and their team&#39;s first Olympic gold medals. 
 
&quot;We played very well during the game. I think we played way better than them,&quot; said the Netherlands&#39; Eva de Goede. &quot;But shootouts are fifty-fifty. They won, we lost, it&#39;s tough.&quot; 
 
&quot;Shame it&#39;s silver,&quot; she added, gesturing to the medal which will join the two gold ones she already has at home. &quot;We were really going for a third gold. But it didn&#39;t work out.&quot; 
 
(Reuters)

After topping the podium in Beijing and London, the Netherlands were favourites going into the Rio Games

Britain beat defending champions the Netherlands on Friday to take home their first Olympic gold medal in women's hockey, winning 2-0 in a tense shootout following a hardfought 3-3 draw. After topping the podium in Beijing and London, the Netherlands were hot favourites going into the Rio Games. Despite winning every game to finish top of their group, however, the top-ranked Dutch team only scraped into the final after beating ninth-ranked Germany 4-3 in a shootout following a 1-1 draw. Britain also finished the group stages with a perfect record and were gunning for gold in their first Olympic final having won bronze four years ago in London. Germany beat New Zealand 2-1 to take the bronze medal. "We've done it," British midfielder Nicola White told reporters, brandishing her medal with a grin plastered across her face. "We've trained our arses off for so long, this is what we've dreamed of and now we've got it. "We've now gone unbeaten through an Olympic tournament, which is unreal," she added. "We are just over the moon." That the near sell-out crowd at the Olympic Hockey Centre, a venue which has struggled to fill seats during the Rio Games, were in for a show was clear from the pushback. A boisterous British tackle and ensuing penalty flick gave Dutch captain Maartje Paumen an early chance to score, but her shot was batted aside by British keeper Maddie Hinch. 'SHAME IT'S SILVER' Britain's Lily Owsley claimed the first score of the night, emerging victorious from a mad scramble in front of the Dutch goal to put her side 1-0 ahead. A Dutch equaliser came courtesy of forward Kitty van Male who broke away for a one-on-one with the British keeper, skilfully drawing her aside and putting the ball into the top of the net with an audacious reverse stick sweep. The Netherlands' second goal promptly followed with Paumen scoring off the last of three penalty corners in the space of four minutes. Seconds later, Britain's Crista Cullen picked up a cross in the opposition circle to level the scores at 2-2 going into the break. The goals kept coming in the second half. Both teams netted one each after a series of penalty corners, leaving the score deadlocked at 3-3 on the final whistle and forcing a shootout to decide the match. Of the 10 goals available, only two were scored. Britain's Helen Richardson-Walsh and Hollie Webb found the back of net to secure victory and their team's first Olympic gold medals. "We played very well during the game. I think we played way better than them," said the Netherlands' Eva de Goede. "But shootouts are fifty-fifty. They won, we lost, it's tough." "Shame it's silver," she added, gesturing to the medal which will join the two gold ones she already has at home. "We were really going for a third gold. But it didn't work out." (Reuters)

Rio Olympics 2016: Britain wins first gold in women's hockey

Germany won their first ever Olympic gold medal in women&#39;s football on Friday when they turned in a superior second half performance to beat Sweden 2-1. 
 
The no 2 ranked Germans, who are now one of only three women&#39;s teams to win both the Olympics and World Cup, scored two goals in the second half, and although the Swedes got a goal back they could not get a second to take the game into extra time. 
 
Sweden, who scored just three goals in their five games before the final, started more positively than their previous form suggested, but Germany started to impose themselves as time went on and the best chance of the half fell to Anja Mittag after 25 minutes. 
 
Leonie Maier&#39;s curling shot was only parried by the Swedish keeper and the ball fell to Mittag just yards from goal but she blasted the ball high and wide. 
 
The sides were evenly match but things changed in the second half and it was the Germans who deservedly took the lead three minutes into the second period. 
 
When they did it was a goal worthy of a cup final. Dzsenifer Maroszan gathered a cross ball on the edge of the box and had time to steady herself before curling a perfect strike into the top right hand corner of the net. 
 
They extended their lead 14 minutes later thanks to an unfortunate own goal. A Sara Daebritz free kick from 20 yards smacked the post and Linda Sembrandt tried to clear but instead kneed the ball into her own goal from just a few yards out. 
 
Sweden reacted almost immediately and just five minutes later Stina Blackstenius pulled them back into the game. Olivia Schough hit a beautiful low cross into the box from the right and Blackstenius slid in between two defenders and poked the ball home to cut the deficit. 
 
Schough had a great chance to level the scores three minutes from time but her shot was blocked just yards from goal. 
 
The win was a perfect farewell for German coach Silvia Neid, who was managing the side in her last match. 
 
Germany missed out on the Olympics in 2012 but won the bronze the last three times they played, in 2000, 2004 and 2008. 
 
(Reuters)

The win was a perfect farewell for German coach Silvia Neid, who was managing the side in her last match

Germany won their first ever Olympic gold medal in women's football on Friday when they turned in a superior second half performance to beat Sweden 2-1. The no 2 ranked Germans, who are now one of only three women's teams to win both the Olympics and World Cup, scored two goals in the second half, and although the Swedes got a goal back they could not get a second to take the game into extra time. Sweden, who scored just three goals in their five games before the final, started more positively than their previous form suggested, but Germany started to impose themselves as time went on and the best chance of the half fell to Anja Mittag after 25 minutes. Leonie Maier's curling shot was only parried by the Swedish keeper and the ball fell to Mittag just yards from goal but she blasted the ball high and wide. The sides were evenly match but things changed in the second half and it was the Germans who deservedly took the lead three minutes into the second period. When they did it was a goal worthy of a cup final. Dzsenifer Maroszan gathered a cross ball on the edge of the box and had time to steady herself before curling a perfect strike into the top right hand corner of the net. They extended their lead 14 minutes later thanks to an unfortunate own goal. A Sara Daebritz free kick from 20 yards smacked the post and Linda Sembrandt tried to clear but instead kneed the ball into her own goal from just a few yards out. Sweden reacted almost immediately and just five minutes later Stina Blackstenius pulled them back into the game. Olivia Schough hit a beautiful low cross into the box from the right and Blackstenius slid in between two defenders and poked the ball home to cut the deficit. Schough had a great chance to level the scores three minutes from time but her shot was blocked just yards from goal. The win was a perfect farewell for German coach Silvia Neid, who was managing the side in her last match. Germany missed out on the Olympics in 2012 but won the bronze the last three times they played, in 2000, 2004 and 2008. (Reuters)

Rio Olympics 2016: Germany wins women's soccer gold after beating Sweden

Venezuela&#39;s food shortages, inflation and crumbling medical sector have become such a source of anguish that a growing number of young women are reluctantly opting for sterilisations rather than face the hardship of pregnancy and child-rearing.&nbsp; 
 
Traditional contraceptives like condoms or birth control pills have virtually vanished from store shelves, pushing women towards the hard-to-reverse surgery. 
 
&quot;Having a child now means making him suffer,&quot; said Milagros Martinez, waiting on a park bench on a recent morning ahead of her sterilisation at a nearby Caracas municipal health centre. 
 
The 28-year-old butcher from the poor outskirts of Caracas decided on the operation after having an unplanned second child because she could not find birth control pills. 
 
Her daily life revolves around finding food: she gets up in the middle of the night to stand in long lines outside supermarkets, sometimes with no choice but to bring along her baby son, who has been sunburnt during hours-long waits.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;I&#39;m a little scared about being sterilised but I prefer that to having more children,&quot; said Martinez, who with dozens of other women took a bus from the slums at 4 am to attend a special &quot;sterilisation day&quot; in this wealthy area of Caracas. 
 
While no recent national statistics on sterilisations are available, doctors and health workers say demand for the procedure is growing. 
 
The local health program for women in Miranda state, which includes parts of Caracas, offers 40 spots during these &quot;sterilisation days&quot; but as recently as last year did not usually fill them.&nbsp; 
 
Now all the slots are scooped up and some 500 women are on the waiting list, according to program director Deliana Torres.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;Before, the conditions for this program were that the women be low-income and have at least four kids. Now we have women with one or two kids who want to be tied up,&quot; she said.&nbsp; 
 
Health workers at a national family planning organisation and at three government hospitals in the states of Falcon, Tachira and Merida echoed her view that demand for sterilisations had grown in recent months. 
 
The trend highlights how the oil-rich nation&#39;s brutal recession is forcing people to make difficult choices. 
&nbsp; 
Venezuela is a largely Roman Catholic country where Church doctrine rejects all forms of contraception and abortion is banned unless a woman&#39;s life is at risk. The Archbishop of Merida, Baltazar Porras, told Reuters an increase in sterilisations would be a &quot;barbarity&quot;.&nbsp; 
 
But Venezuela&#39;s crisis has triggered almost daily riots for food and slammed a shrinking middle class as well as the poor who were once a bastion of support for late leftist leader Hugo Chavez&#39;s self-styled &quot;beautiful revolution&quot;. 
 
Pregnant women are particularly affected as they struggle to find adequate food and supplements, give birth in crowded and under-equipped hospitals, and have to spend hours in lines for scarce diapers, baby food and medicines. 
 
The government ministries for health, women and information did not respond to requests for comment. 
 
 
&#39;I wanted five kids&#39; 
 
Sterilisations are usually straightforward procedures that involve closing or blocking a woman&#39;s fallopian tubes, known as tubal ligation.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;I heard about these free sterilisation days on the radio. Immediately I showered, dressed, and went out (to find out about them),&quot; said Rosmary Teran, 32, who had her second child two months ago and also came to the health centre from a poor neighborhood before dawn.&nbsp; 
 
Some health workers fear the economic meltdown is putting pressure on women to make a choice they may come to regret if the crisis eases. 
 
&quot;Sometimes we hear: &#39;My husband told me to get sterilised because another child now wouldn&#39;t be practical&#39;,&quot; said social worker Ania Rodriguez at family planning group PLAFAM in central Caracas.&nbsp; 
 
Rodriguez says she meets with up to five women a day seeking sterilisations, up from one or two per week about a year ago. 
 
When women seem unsure or pressured into sterilisations, Rodriguez tries to steer them towards contraceptives like intra-uterine devices, which are somewhat more available and affordable than birth control pills or condoms. 
 
When they have them, pharmacies sell a pack of three condoms for around 600 Bolivars, only 60 US cents at the black market rate but a big expense for those who earn the minimum wage of some 33,000 Bolivars per month. 
 
On the Caracas re-sale market, those same condoms fetch around 2,000 Bolivars.&nbsp;Venezuela&#39;s elite can afford those prices but the ailing middle class and poor are increasingly stuck. 
 
&quot;I couldn&#39;t find the (contraceptive) injections, the pill, nothing. It&#39;s very expensive on the black market, and now you can&#39;t even find stuff there anymore,&quot; said Yecsenis Ginez, 31, who has one son and decided to get sterilised. 
 
&quot;I thought I would have up to five kids, I had loads of names in mind. But it would be crazy to fall pregnant now.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
Still, some women have had to wait for months to be sterilised because there are limited spots at state-led hospitals and private clinics can charge about 12 times the monthly minimum wage. 
 
And some health centres are unable to provide sterilisations at all due to a lack of equipment or specialists.&nbsp; 
 
Disarray 
Amid what now feels like a distant oil boom, Chavez built thousands of Cuban-staffed health centres in poor neighborhoods and also launched popular maternity-health programs during his 1999-2013 rule. 
 
But with Venezuela&#39;s state-led economic model decaying and oil prices depressed, hospitals have deteriorated sharply under his successor Nicolas Maduro.&nbsp; 
 
Medicine shortages hover around 85 per cent, according to a leading pharmaceutical association. Equipment ranging from surgical gloves to incubators is scarce, and many underpaid doctors have left the public sector or emigrated. 
 
The government still says it has one of the world&#39;s best health systems and accuses detractors of waging a smear campaign. It has stopped releasing timely health data, though. 
 
The World Health Organization says Venezuela&#39;s neo-natal mortality rate was 8.9 per 1,000 live births last year, above the Americas region&#39;s average of 7.7. 
 
It says Venezuela&#39;s maternal mortality rate was 95 per 100,000 live births in 2015, one of the worst rates in Latin America and up from 90 in 2000.&nbsp; 
 
The nation of 30 million people has one of Latin America&#39;s highest rates of teenage pregnancies and large numbers of single-parent households, UN data shows.&nbsp; 
 
As they waited to be called into the operating room for their sterilisations, women in blue scrubs and hairnets wistfully recalled happier times in once-booming Venezuela.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;Before, when you got pregnant, everyone was happy,&quot; said mother-of-two Yessy Ascanio, 38, as she sat on a bed in a side room. &quot;Now when a woman says &#39;I&#39;m pregnant&#39;, everyone scolds you. It makes me sad for young women.&quot; 
 
As some of her peers nervously looked out at patients being wheeled out after their sterilisation, Ascanio advised: &quot;If you get scared, just remember those food lines.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
(Reuters)

'If you get scared, just remember those food lines' say women who are opting for sterilisation in the country hit by food-shortage

Venezuela's food shortages, inflation and crumbling medical sector have become such a source of anguish that a growing number of young women are reluctantly opting for sterilisations rather than face the hardship of pregnancy and child-rearing. Traditional contraceptives like condoms or birth control pills have virtually vanished from store shelves, pushing women towards the hard-to-reverse surgery. "Having a child now means making him suffer," said Milagros Martinez, waiting on a park bench on a recent morning ahead of her sterilisation at a nearby Caracas municipal health centre. The 28-year-old butcher from the poor outskirts of Caracas decided on the operation after having an unplanned second child because she could not find birth control pills. Her daily life revolves around finding food: she gets up in the middle of the night to stand in long lines outside supermarkets, sometimes with no choice but to bring along her baby son, who has been sunburnt during hours-long waits. "I'm a little scared about being sterilised but I prefer that to having more children," said Martinez, who with dozens of other women took a bus from the slums at 4 am to attend a special "sterilisation day" in this wealthy area of Caracas. While no recent national statistics on sterilisations are available, doctors and health workers say demand for the procedure is growing. The local health program for women in Miranda state, which includes parts of Caracas, offers 40 spots during these "sterilisation days" but as recently as last year did not usually fill them. Now all the slots are scooped up and some 500 women are on the waiting list, according to program director Deliana Torres. "Before, the conditions for this program were that the women be low-income and have at least four kids. Now we have women with one or two kids who want to be tied up," she said. Health workers at a national family planning organisation and at three government hospitals in the states of Falcon, Tachira and Merida echoed her view that demand for sterilisations had grown in recent months. The trend highlights how the oil-rich nation's brutal recession is forcing people to make difficult choices. Venezuela is a largely Roman Catholic country where Church doctrine rejects all forms of contraception and abortion is banned unless a woman's life is at risk. The Archbishop of Merida, Baltazar Porras, told Reuters an increase in sterilisations would be a "barbarity". But Venezuela's crisis has triggered almost daily riots for food and slammed a shrinking middle class as well as the poor who were once a bastion of support for late leftist leader Hugo Chavez's self-styled "beautiful revolution". Pregnant women are particularly affected as they struggle to find adequate food and supplements, give birth in crowded and under-equipped hospitals, and have to spend hours in lines for scarce diapers, baby food and medicines. The government ministries for health, women and information did not respond to requests for comment. 'I wanted five kids' Sterilisations are usually straightforward procedures that involve closing or blocking a woman's fallopian tubes, known as tubal ligation. "I heard about these free sterilisation days on the radio. Immediately I showered, dressed, and went out (to find out about them)," said Rosmary Teran, 32, who had her second child two months ago and also came to the health centre from a poor neighborhood before dawn. Some health workers fear the economic meltdown is putting pressure on women to make a choice they may come to regret if the crisis eases. "Sometimes we hear: 'My husband told me to get sterilised because another child now wouldn't be practical'," said social worker Ania Rodriguez at family planning group PLAFAM in central Caracas. Rodriguez says she meets with up to five women a day seeking sterilisations, up from one or two per week about a year ago. When women seem unsure or pressured into sterilisations, Rodriguez tries to steer them towards contraceptives like intra-uterine devices, which are somewhat more available and affordable than birth control pills or condoms. When they have them, pharmacies sell a pack of three condoms for around 600 Bolivars, only 60 US cents at the black market rate but a big expense for those who earn the minimum wage of some 33,000 Bolivars per month. On the Caracas re-sale market, those same condoms fetch around 2,000 Bolivars. Venezuela's elite can afford those prices but the ailing middle class and poor are increasingly stuck. "I couldn't find the (contraceptive) injections, the pill, nothing. It's very expensive on the black market, and now you can't even find stuff there anymore," said Yecsenis Ginez, 31, who has one son and decided to get sterilised. "I thought I would have up to five kids, I had loads of names in mind. But it would be crazy to fall pregnant now." Still, some women have had to wait for months to be sterilised because there are limited spots at state-led hospitals and private clinics can charge about 12 times the monthly minimum wage. And some health centres are unable to provide sterilisations at all due to a lack of equipment or specialists. Disarray Amid what now feels like a distant oil boom, Chavez built thousands of Cuban-staffed health centres in poor neighborhoods and also launched popular maternity-health programs during his 1999-2013 rule. But with Venezuela's state-led economic model decaying and oil prices depressed, hospitals have deteriorated sharply under his successor Nicolas Maduro. Medicine shortages hover around 85 per cent, according to a leading pharmaceutical association. Equipment ranging from surgical gloves to incubators is scarce, and many underpaid doctors have left the public sector or emigrated. The government still says it has one of the world's best health systems and accuses detractors of waging a smear campaign. It has stopped releasing timely health data, though. The World Health Organization says Venezuela's neo-natal mortality rate was 8.9 per 1,000 live births last year, above the Americas region's average of 7.7. It says Venezuela's maternal mortality rate was 95 per 100,000 live births in 2015, one of the worst rates in Latin America and up from 90 in 2000. The nation of 30 million people has one of Latin America's highest rates of teenage pregnancies and large numbers of single-parent households, UN data shows. As they waited to be called into the operating room for their sterilisations, women in blue scrubs and hairnets wistfully recalled happier times in once-booming Venezuela. "Before, when you got pregnant, everyone was happy," said mother-of-two Yessy Ascanio, 38, as she sat on a bed in a side room. "Now when a woman says 'I'm pregnant', everyone scolds you. It makes me sad for young women." As some of her peers nervously looked out at patients being wheeled out after their sterilisation, Ascanio advised: "If you get scared, just remember those food lines." (Reuters)

Deep recession drives young Venezuelan women to sterilisation

Mumbai is justifiably proud to celebrate the recent surge in the birth of girl child but the trend, unfortunately, is not consistent with rest of India. The 2015-2016 National Family Health Survey (NFHS) findings show that India&rsquo;s &ldquo;Tinseltown&rdquo;, along with five other Maharashtrian cities, has crossed the shining mark of 1000 girl child. Thus, the coveted quantitative equality between the male and female population has been reached there. However, a closer look at the NFHS report, beyond the narrow confines of city limits, reveals a different story. A story that is grim and more consistent with India&rsquo;s past record of low sex ratio for girls. 
 
The decrease is most stark when we consider the sex ratio of the total population, and not only data on children. Indian states of Maharashtra, Assam, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka, to name a few, show a decline in the number of recorded females. Optimists may point out that, except the states of Haryana and Madhya Pradesh, all the above mentioned states exhibit a &ldquo;healthy&rdquo; sex-ratio of more than 950 females per 1000 men. But the most disconcerting aspect of the issue is that, instead of improving, or at least holding on to past achievements, these states are all sliding, as is evident when we compare the present with the situation a decade back. 
 
Contrary to popular assumption that female-male sex ratio is skewed more in rural India, it is in the urban milieu that we see a sinking number of females.This is equally true for the BIMARU states of Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, and not so obvious states of Assam and Karnataka. It is particularly disconcerting to see the Indian state of Assam in the list because the north-eastern parts of India have been traditionally known to have a favourable sex-ratio for girls. 
 
This declining rate of girl child and women in the national population have created an all-round anxiety. Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen has coined the term &ldquo;missing women&rdquo; to underline how silently, imperceptibly, albeit dangerously, an increasing number of women are lost through sex-selective abortions, female infanticide, inadequate health care and undernutrition. The Indian census data of 2011 on male-female ratio vindicates Sen&rsquo;s theory. 
 
According to the 2011 Indian census report, there were 943 females for every 1000 males - a gap of 57 person. Instead of the ideal 1:1 ratio, this number implies that 5.70 per cent of India&rsquo;s 1.311 billion population is &ldquo;missing&rdquo;. This sums up to a staggering number of 37,363,500 missing women. 
 
While India&rsquo;s shining image of an economic superpower is projected worldwide, its female population by and large continue to suffer from various forms of discrimination, neglect and even violence. Perhaps, the most repulsive aspect of the whole story is that much of the violence against Indian women, which translates into a skewed sex ratio, largely stems from the intimate circle of family members. While the Indian state watch helplessly. 
 
(WION)

National survey shows demographic trends for females in India are worrying, but sometimes in subtle and imperceptible ways

Mumbai is justifiably proud to celebrate the recent surge in the birth of girl child but the trend, unfortunately, is not consistent with rest of India. The 2015-2016 National Family Health Survey (NFHS) findings show that India’s “Tinseltown”, along with five other Maharashtrian cities, has crossed the shining mark of 1000 girl child. Thus, the coveted quantitative equality between the male and female population has been reached there. However, a closer look at the NFHS report, beyond the narrow confines of city limits, reveals a different story. A story that is grim and more consistent with India’s past record of low sex ratio for girls. The decrease is most stark when we consider the sex ratio of the total population, and not only data on children. Indian states of Maharashtra, Assam, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka, to name a few, show a decline in the number of recorded females. Optimists may point out that, except the states of Haryana and Madhya Pradesh, all the above mentioned states exhibit a “healthy” sex-ratio of more than 950 females per 1000 men. But the most disconcerting aspect of the issue is that, instead of improving, or at least holding on to past achievements, these states are all sliding, as is evident when we compare the present with the situation a decade back. Contrary to popular assumption that female-male sex ratio is skewed more in rural India, it is in the urban milieu that we see a sinking number of females.This is equally true for the BIMARU states of Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, and not so obvious states of Assam and Karnataka. It is particularly disconcerting to see the Indian state of Assam in the list because the north-eastern parts of India have been traditionally known to have a favourable sex-ratio for girls. This declining rate of girl child and women in the national population have created an all-round anxiety. Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen has coined the term “missing women” to underline how silently, imperceptibly, albeit dangerously, an increasing number of women are lost through sex-selective abortions, female infanticide, inadequate health care and undernutrition. The Indian census data of 2011 on male-female ratio vindicates Sen’s theory. According to the 2011 Indian census report, there were 943 females for every 1000 males - a gap of 57 person. Instead of the ideal 1:1 ratio, this number implies that 5.70 per cent of India’s 1.311 billion population is “missing”. This sums up to a staggering number of 37,363,500 missing women. While India’s shining image of an economic superpower is projected worldwide, its female population by and large continue to suffer from various forms of discrimination, neglect and even violence. Perhaps, the most repulsive aspect of the whole story is that much of the violence against Indian women, which translates into a skewed sex ratio, largely stems from the intimate circle of family members. While the Indian state watch helplessly. (WION)

Study reveals Indian women still 'missing'

Two women will soon be the first female soldiers to undergo training to become members of the Green Berets, the US Army&#39;s special forces, the military said on Monday.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;They are the first two women who have been selected for special forces assessment&quot; following the elimination of the ban on women in combat roles, said Major Melody Faulkenberry, a spokeswoman for the United States Army John F Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School.&nbsp; 
 
She did not give additional details about the candidates. President Barack Obama&#39;s administration decided in 2013 that all combat positions should be open to women by 2016, including the infantry and special operations forces.&nbsp;The Marines had requested some exemptions, but these were overruled by defence secretary Ashton Carter. 
 
Two female Marines were assigned to frontline infantry roles in May, though it will take some time before they are placed in their new roles. 
 
Rules stipulate that a female &quot;leadership cadre&quot; needs to be established in their units at least three months beforehand. 
 
Although women warriors have frequently found themselves in combat situations in Iraq and Afghanistan, they had previously been barred from joining frontline combat roles. 
 
Currently, women account for 15.6 per cent of the 1.34 million active duty personnel in the Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force. 
 
(AFP)

Two women have been selected to undergo training to become members of this elite force

Two women will soon be the first female soldiers to undergo training to become members of the Green Berets, the US Army's special forces, the military said on Monday. "They are the first two women who have been selected for special forces assessment" following the elimination of the ban on women in combat roles, said Major Melody Faulkenberry, a spokeswoman for the United States Army John F Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. She did not give additional details about the candidates. President Barack Obama's administration decided in 2013 that all combat positions should be open to women by 2016, including the infantry and special operations forces. The Marines had requested some exemptions, but these were overruled by defence secretary Ashton Carter. Two female Marines were assigned to frontline infantry roles in May, though it will take some time before they are placed in their new roles. Rules stipulate that a female "leadership cadre" needs to be established in their units at least three months beforehand. Although women warriors have frequently found themselves in combat situations in Iraq and Afghanistan, they had previously been barred from joining frontline combat roles. Currently, women account for 15.6 per cent of the 1.34 million active duty personnel in the Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force. (AFP)

US Army to accept first female Green Berets

If Rio residents think the curvy ancient Greek goddess stamped on the Olympic medals looks familiar, they wouldn&#39;t be wrong: she&#39;s modelled on Brazilian women. 
 
&quot;Rio de Janeiro is a city full of curves in the sea and hills, just like the body of the Brazilian woman,&quot; said sculptor Nelson Carneiro, 60, who created the 5,130 bronze, silver and gold medals at the national mint, called Casa da Moeda, near Rio de Janeiro. 
 
Carneiro says the sensuous side of the city inspired his depiction on the medals of the Greek goddess Nike ahead of the Summer Games starting August 5. 
 
&quot;I gave Nike curves. I gave her bigger thighs and hips,&quot; he said. 
 
Nike, the goddess of victory in Greek mythology, has been the face of Olympic medals since the 2004 Athens Games, with the Parthenon temple in the background. 
 
&quot;However, each country can make its own adaptations,&quot; said Carneiro, who works with some 2,800 other people at the mint. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s a special medal made for the world&#39;s biggest event. When the athlete receives that medal, I&#39;ll feel as if I&#39;ve also been decorated,&quot; Carneiro said. 
 
The medals may celebrate ancient tradition, but the technology mixes artisanal and 21st century techniques. 
 
First, Carneiro sculpts the design in clay and this is copied by a 3D printer. A steel mold is used to stamp the medals in a hydraulic press and medals are then polished to remove imperfections. 
 
Fortress : 
 
The national mint is in an out of the way neighborhood of Santa Cruz, a town north of Rio de Janeiro. Visitors to the facility, which is surrounded by towers and surveillance cameras, are searched as they come in - and when they leave. 
 
&quot;This is also where we make the coins and bank notes circulating in the whole country, as well as Brazilian passports and postal stamps,&quot; said the head of the medals section, Victor Hugo Berbert. 
 
Work on the medals started a month ago and will go right up to July 31, less than a week before the opening ceremony. The Olympics will have 2,488 medals and the Paralympics, which run from September 7-18, will have 2,642. 
 
Each medal weighs 17.6 ounces (500 grams), 20 per cent more than the ones handed out in London and heavier than in any previous Olympics. 
 
The coveted gold medals are not really gold - they have 17.4 ounces (494 grams) of silver and just 0.2 ounces (six grams) of gold plating. 
 
&quot;If they were solid gold it would cost a fortune,&quot; Berbert said, without disclosing the prices. 
 
Silver medals are fully silver. The bronze medals, though, are arguably brass, an alloy of copper and zinc, rather than bronze which typically mixes copper and tin. 
 
Paralympic medals contain small steel balls to help identify them by sound for those with poor vision. 
 
(AFP)

Sculptor Nelson Carneiro, 60, who created the 5,130 bronze, silver and gold medals at the national mint gave a local flavour to his work

If Rio residents think the curvy ancient Greek goddess stamped on the Olympic medals looks familiar, they wouldn't be wrong: she's modelled on Brazilian women. "Rio de Janeiro is a city full of curves in the sea and hills, just like the body of the Brazilian woman," said sculptor Nelson Carneiro, 60, who created the 5,130 bronze, silver and gold medals at the national mint, called Casa da Moeda, near Rio de Janeiro. Carneiro says the sensuous side of the city inspired his depiction on the medals of the Greek goddess Nike ahead of the Summer Games starting August 5. "I gave Nike curves. I gave her bigger thighs and hips," he said. Nike, the goddess of victory in Greek mythology, has been the face of Olympic medals since the 2004 Athens Games, with the Parthenon temple in the background. "However, each country can make its own adaptations," said Carneiro, who works with some 2,800 other people at the mint. "It's a special medal made for the world's biggest event. When the athlete receives that medal, I'll feel as if I've also been decorated," Carneiro said. The medals may celebrate ancient tradition, but the technology mixes artisanal and 21st century techniques. First, Carneiro sculpts the design in clay and this is copied by a 3D printer. A steel mold is used to stamp the medals in a hydraulic press and medals are then polished to remove imperfections. Fortress : The national mint is in an out of the way neighborhood of Santa Cruz, a town north of Rio de Janeiro. Visitors to the facility, which is surrounded by towers and surveillance cameras, are searched as they come in - and when they leave. "This is also where we make the coins and bank notes circulating in the whole country, as well as Brazilian passports and postal stamps," said the head of the medals section, Victor Hugo Berbert. Work on the medals started a month ago and will go right up to July 31, less than a week before the opening ceremony. The Olympics will have 2,488 medals and the Paralympics, which run from September 7-18, will have 2,642. Each medal weighs 17.6 ounces (500 grams), 20 per cent more than the ones handed out in London and heavier than in any previous Olympics. The coveted gold medals are not really gold - they have 17.4 ounces (494 grams) of silver and just 0.2 ounces (six grams) of gold plating. "If they were solid gold it would cost a fortune," Berbert said, without disclosing the prices. Silver medals are fully silver. The bronze medals, though, are arguably brass, an alloy of copper and zinc, rather than bronze which typically mixes copper and tin. Paralympic medals contain small steel balls to help identify them by sound for those with poor vision. (AFP)

Greek goddess on Olympics medal gets Brazilian curves

An Indian Muslim women&#39;s rights organisation is training women to be qazis, or judges, a role traditionally reserved for men, amid growing demand for more representation for women. 
 
The Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA) is training its first intake of 30 women in Koranic law, constitutional law and gender rights. The year-long programme aims to produce a steady stream of female qazis across India, its co-founder said. 
 
The Indian constitution allows Muslims, the country&#39;s biggest religious minority, to regulate matters such as marriage, divorce and inheritance through their own civil code. 
 
The qazi, usually a hereditary title, plays an important role by solemnising marriage and finalising divorce and settlements. 
 
&quot;Traditionally, qazis have all been men, and their judgment has never been questioned, even if many are unfair to women,&quot; said Zakia Soman, a co-founder of BMMA in Mumbai. 
 
&quot;But it&#39;s important to have women hear and represent women who are in a vulnerable position. Besides, there is no bar on women qazis as per the Koran,&quot; she said. 
 
The move comes at a time of growing dissent about laws that activists say discriminate against Muslim women. A survey by BMMA last year showed more than 90 per cent of Muslim women want to end the &quot;triple talaq&quot; divorce tradition and polygamy. 
 
Last month, the Supreme Court said it would examine how far it could interfere in Muslim laws, as it heard a plea to end the practice allowing Muslim men to divorce their wives by saying &quot;talaq&quot; three times. 
 
Muslims make up 13 per cent of India&#39;s 1.2 billion population, yet government data show they are among some of the most excluded and marginalised communities. 
 
The women being trained to be qazis are largely community workers and activists from states including Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Bihar, Soman said. 
 
There are some female qazis in Muslim-majority Malaysia and Indonesia. 
 
Women qazis in India can help prevent child marriage, ensure that a woman marries willingly, and that a divorce is only granted after a period of reconciliation, and with fair terms for the woman, Soman said. 
 
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board, a non-governmental institution that oversees the application of Muslim personal law in the country, has criticised the female qazis. 
 
&quot;Women don&#39;t have the right to be a qazi,&quot; said Maulana Khalid Rashid Farangi Mahali, secretary of AIMPLB. 
 
&quot;Besides, there is no need - there are enough men who are qazis. So it&#39;s completely unnecessary,&quot; he said. 
 
But female trainee Safia Akhtar said there was a need for women qazis. 
 
&quot;There are many grave injustices against Muslim women, and we deserve a say in matters that concern us,&quot; said Akhtar in the city of Bhopal. 
 
&quot;If women can be prime ministers and pilots in this country, then why can&#39;t we also be qazis?&quot; 
 
(Reuters)

A rights group is training the first of 30 women in Koranic law, constitutional law and gender rights to produce female qazis

An Indian Muslim women's rights organisation is training women to be qazis, or judges, a role traditionally reserved for men, amid growing demand for more representation for women. The Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA) is training its first intake of 30 women in Koranic law, constitutional law and gender rights. The year-long programme aims to produce a steady stream of female qazis across India, its co-founder said. The Indian constitution allows Muslims, the country's biggest religious minority, to regulate matters such as marriage, divorce and inheritance through their own civil code. The qazi, usually a hereditary title, plays an important role by solemnising marriage and finalising divorce and settlements. "Traditionally, qazis have all been men, and their judgment has never been questioned, even if many are unfair to women," said Zakia Soman, a co-founder of BMMA in Mumbai. "But it's important to have women hear and represent women who are in a vulnerable position. Besides, there is no bar on women qazis as per the Koran," she said. The move comes at a time of growing dissent about laws that activists say discriminate against Muslim women. A survey by BMMA last year showed more than 90 per cent of Muslim women want to end the "triple talaq" divorce tradition and polygamy. Last month, the Supreme Court said it would examine how far it could interfere in Muslim laws, as it heard a plea to end the practice allowing Muslim men to divorce their wives by saying "talaq" three times. Muslims make up 13 per cent of India's 1.2 billion population, yet government data show they are among some of the most excluded and marginalised communities. The women being trained to be qazis are largely community workers and activists from states including Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Bihar, Soman said. There are some female qazis in Muslim-majority Malaysia and Indonesia. Women qazis in India can help prevent child marriage, ensure that a woman marries willingly, and that a divorce is only granted after a period of reconciliation, and with fair terms for the woman, Soman said. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board, a non-governmental institution that oversees the application of Muslim personal law in the country, has criticised the female qazis. "Women don't have the right to be a qazi," said Maulana Khalid Rashid Farangi Mahali, secretary of AIMPLB. "Besides, there is no need - there are enough men who are qazis. So it's completely unnecessary," he said. But female trainee Safia Akhtar said there was a need for women qazis. "There are many grave injustices against Muslim women, and we deserve a say in matters that concern us," said Akhtar in the city of Bhopal. "If women can be prime ministers and pilots in this country, then why can't we also be qazis?" (Reuters)

Indian Muslim women defy tradition to be religious judges

Myanmar delegates will face some tough questions tomorrow at a key UN convention in Geneva regarding a controversial legislation which has attracted international criticism for discriminating on the basis of gender and religion. 
 
The four laws, which includes giving authorities the right to restrict the number of childbirths a women can have, may stand in violation of the convention on eradicating discrimination against women (CEDAW) which Myanmar joined in 1997, as well as for being anti-Islam. 
 
Introduced last year, this law was backed by nationalist monks and passed by the military-backed government of then-President U Thein Sein.&nbsp; 
 
However, the current government may not redress the matter. Although Daw Aung San Suu Kyi&rsquo;s NLD government has submitted a written clarification that the laws do not go breach UN&rsquo;s CEDAW policies, local newspaper The Myanmar Times quoted U Soe Kyi, the director general of the department of social welfare that the government had &ldquo;no plan&rdquo; to repeal the laws. 
 
Women&#39;s rights groups have been protesting against this law, but have found it difficult to influence the government to change it. 
 
International rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, has raised an alarm about the legislation curtailing religious and gender freedom, specially the birth control policy which is seen as a direct action against the displaced Muslim population in Rakhine State, known as Rohingya. 
 
In the past two weeks, there has been a spike in violence against Muslims in Myanmar including incidents of Buddhist mobs ransacking two mosques in separate towns. Buddhist dominated security force has been criticised for not actively pursuing the matter. 
 
(Agencies)

The four laws, which include childbirth restrictions, breach the convention against women discrimination, which Myanmar joined in 1997

Myanmar delegates will face some tough questions tomorrow at a key UN convention in Geneva regarding a controversial legislation which has attracted international criticism for discriminating on the basis of gender and religion. The four laws, which includes giving authorities the right to restrict the number of childbirths a women can have, may stand in violation of the convention on eradicating discrimination against women (CEDAW) which Myanmar joined in 1997, as well as for being anti-Islam. Introduced last year, this law was backed by nationalist monks and passed by the military-backed government of then-President U Thein Sein. However, the current government may not redress the matter. Although Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD government has submitted a written clarification that the laws do not go breach UN’s CEDAW policies, local newspaper The Myanmar Times quoted U Soe Kyi, the director general of the department of social welfare that the government had “no plan” to repeal the laws. Women's rights groups have been protesting against this law, but have found it difficult to influence the government to change it. International rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, has raised an alarm about the legislation curtailing religious and gender freedom, specially the birth control policy which is seen as a direct action against the displaced Muslim population in Rakhine State, known as Rohingya. In the past two weeks, there has been a spike in violence against Muslims in Myanmar including incidents of Buddhist mobs ransacking two mosques in separate towns. Buddhist dominated security force has been criticised for not actively pursuing the matter. (Agencies)

UN panel to question Myanmar's anti-women, anti-Islam legislation at Geneva meet

The International Cricket Council (ICC) will apply for the inclusion of women&#39;s cricket at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Durban, South Africa, said&nbsp;the governing body. 
 
Cricket has struggled to venture into new markets away from its traditional strongholds and the influential Indian board&#39;s reluctance to embrace multi-sports events as a means to increase exposure has hindered growth. 
 
Following a presentation by the Commonwealth Games Federation, the ICC board agreed to apply for a women&#39;s competition at the Durban Games during its annual conference in Edinburgh on Saturday. 
 
&quot;It will enhance the profile of the sport and create additional exposure and experiences for female cricketers,&quot; ICC chairman Shashank Manohar, a former head of the Indian board, said in a statement. 
 
South Africa won the men&#39;s event when cricket took place at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Malaysia, the only time the sport has been included in the programme. 
 
The Asian Games remains the largest multi-sports event that features cricket and the last two editions included both men&#39;s and women&#39;s competitions. 
 
The ICC has also been exploring the possibility of getting cricket added to the Olympic programme. 
 
&quot;There will be further discussions on cricket&#39;s potential participation in the Olympic Games following further meetings with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) later in the year,&quot; the governing body said. 
 
President of the Italian board Simone Gambino told ESPNcricinfo on Friday that cricket would be included in the 2024 Olympics should Rome win the bid to host the Games. 
 
(Reuters)

South Africa won the men's event when cricket took place at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Malaysia, the only time the sport has been included in the programme

The International Cricket Council (ICC) will apply for the inclusion of women's cricket at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Durban, South Africa, said the governing body. Cricket has struggled to venture into new markets away from its traditional strongholds and the influential Indian board's reluctance to embrace multi-sports events as a means to increase exposure has hindered growth. Following a presentation by the Commonwealth Games Federation, the ICC board agreed to apply for a women's competition at the Durban Games during its annual conference in Edinburgh on Saturday. "It will enhance the profile of the sport and create additional exposure and experiences for female cricketers," ICC chairman Shashank Manohar, a former head of the Indian board, said in a statement. South Africa won the men's event when cricket took place at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Malaysia, the only time the sport has been included in the programme. The Asian Games remains the largest multi-sports event that features cricket and the last two editions included both men's and women's competitions. The ICC has also been exploring the possibility of getting cricket added to the Olympic programme. "There will be further discussions on cricket's potential participation in the Olympic Games following further meetings with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) later in the year," the governing body said. President of the Italian board Simone Gambino told ESPNcricinfo on Friday that cricket would be included in the 2024 Olympics should Rome win the bid to host the Games. (Reuters)

ICC wants women's cricket at 2022 Commonwealth Games

Controversial Australian Bernard Tomic was ordered to apologise today after he used the word &quot;retard&quot; in a Wimbledon press conference. 
 
Tomic&#39;s comments were branded as &quot;damaging and offensive&quot; by a learning disability charity as the world number 19 once again found himself in trouble. 
 
The Australian made the comments after being asked how he felt being made to wait for his first round opponent Fernando Verdasco to arrive on court for a match on Wednesday. 
 
&quot;I think he was up in the locker getting something taped. When I left, I thought he was leaving, so I just happened to walk out,&quot; said the 23-year-old. 
 
&quot;I did get to the court prior to him very early, and unfortunately I had to stand on court like a retard.&quot; 
 
The learning disability charity Mencap asked Tomic to say sorry. 
 
&quot;I&#39;d like the player to apologise and would encourage him to meet people with a learning disability so he can understand why the word is so damaging and offensive,&quot; Ciara Lawrence, who has a learning disability and is a campaigns support officer at Mencap, told the Press Association. 
 
&quot;Time and time again I hear this word used as if it has no effect. People clearly don&#39;t understand how upsetting and offensive this is to people with a learning disability like me. 
 
&quot;I am sick and tired of people in high-profile positions who are respected by the public using this word. It can make the public and people who look up to sports stars think it is okay to use words like this when it&#39;s not. 
 
&quot;It makes people with a learning disability seen not as people but as second-class citizens, and is no different to discriminating against someone who is gay or black.&quot; 
 
Tomic has been plagued by off-court controversies during his career. 
 
Most recently, he made headlines in Madrid when he turned his racquet the wrong way to face a match point against Fabio Fognini. 
 
Tomic later told his post-match news conference: &quot;I don&#39;t care about that match point. Would you care if you were 23 and worth over $10 million?&quot; 
 
In July last year, he was arrested in Miami after a wild party in a hotel penthouse suite. 
 
He was dropped from the Davis Cup team and has since opted out of the Olympics. 
 
(AFP)

The player made the offensive comment on being asked how he felt about waiting for his opponent Fernando Verdasco to arrive on court

Controversial Australian Bernard Tomic was ordered to apologise today after he used the word "retard" in a Wimbledon press conference. Tomic's comments were branded as "damaging and offensive" by a learning disability charity as the world number 19 once again found himself in trouble. The Australian made the comments after being asked how he felt being made to wait for his first round opponent Fernando Verdasco to arrive on court for a match on Wednesday. "I think he was up in the locker getting something taped. When I left, I thought he was leaving, so I just happened to walk out," said the 23-year-old. "I did get to the court prior to him very early, and unfortunately I had to stand on court like a retard." The learning disability charity Mencap asked Tomic to say sorry. "I'd like the player to apologise and would encourage him to meet people with a learning disability so he can understand why the word is so damaging and offensive," Ciara Lawrence, who has a learning disability and is a campaigns support officer at Mencap, told the Press Association. "Time and time again I hear this word used as if it has no effect. People clearly don't understand how upsetting and offensive this is to people with a learning disability like me. "I am sick and tired of people in high-profile positions who are respected by the public using this word. It can make the public and people who look up to sports stars think it is okay to use words like this when it's not. "It makes people with a learning disability seen not as people but as second-class citizens, and is no different to discriminating against someone who is gay or black." Tomic has been plagued by off-court controversies during his career. Most recently, he made headlines in Madrid when he turned his racquet the wrong way to face a match point against Fabio Fognini. Tomic later told his post-match news conference: "I don't care about that match point. Would you care if you were 23 and worth over $10 million?" In July last year, he was arrested in Miami after a wild party in a hotel penthouse suite. He was dropped from the Davis Cup team and has since opted out of the Olympics. (AFP)

Tomic told to apologise for 'retard' comment

Seven-times Wimbledon champion Roger Federer has been warned - take 772nd-ranked British qualifier Marcus Willis lightly at your peril. 
 
&quot;I don&#39;t think Roger is going to have played anyone like Marcus. I know that for a fact. It will be tricky,&quot; Liam Broady, Willis&#39; fellow Britain, said on Tuesday. 
 
&quot;That&#39;s what Marcus always is. He makes opponents win matches. He serves well, serves big, puts pressure on. 
 
&quot;Obviously, Roger&#39;s the greatest player of all time. But personally, I think it will be a really interesting match-up.&quot; 
 
Willis, who almost quit to take up coaching and had to battle through six rounds of qualifying, stunned Lithuania&#39;s Ricardas Berankis, ranked 718 places above him, on Monday. 
 
Some of his play, including rarely seen sliced forehands, bamboozled Berankis. 
 
It set Wimbledon abuzz, but a repeat against 34-year-old 17-times grand slam champion Federer would seem barely credible even for the most far-fetched Hollywood plot. 
 
Or would it? 
 
&quot;Stranger things have happened, I know that,&quot; Broady, beaten 6-2 6-3 6-4 by world number two Andy Murray, said. 
 
&quot;He&#39;s so tricky, he&#39;s so talented. He&#39;s very aware of what he&#39;s doing on the court, how to make it awkward for people.&quot; 
 
Murray was also asked about Willis&#39; chances. 
 
&quot;Amazing things do happen in sport sometimes,&quot; Murray, who pointed to England&#39;s defeat by Iceland at Euro 2016, said. 
 
&quot;Obviously, Roger&#39;s a massive, massive favourite going into the match. I would expect him to win fairly comfortably. 
 
&quot;But Marcus&#39; game style, it&#39;s pretty old-school. He serve-and-volleys a lot. Uses a lot of slice. Hits the ball fairly flat. Has great hands. Great feel. 
 
&quot;Very few guys play like that now. It&#39;s just amazing, an amazing opportunity for him.&quot; 
 
Perhaps the best advice came from Broady though after his own Centre Court debut against Murray. 
 
&quot;By the end of the second set, most of the third, it was just kind of a match against another guy,&quot; the 22-year-old said. 
 
&quot;Sometimes you watch on TV. You think that the top players in the world are superhuman. They&#39;re so good at what they do that you forget they&#39;re just men. Obviously they&#39;re spectacular at tennis, but they are just men.&quot; 
 
(Reuters)

Marcus Willis had to battle through six rounds of qualifying and stunned Lithuania's Ricardas Berankis, ranked 718 places above him

Seven-times Wimbledon champion Roger Federer has been warned - take 772nd-ranked British qualifier Marcus Willis lightly at your peril. "I don't think Roger is going to have played anyone like Marcus. I know that for a fact. It will be tricky," Liam Broady, Willis' fellow Britain, said on Tuesday. "That's what Marcus always is. He makes opponents win matches. He serves well, serves big, puts pressure on. "Obviously, Roger's the greatest player of all time. But personally, I think it will be a really interesting match-up." Willis, who almost quit to take up coaching and had to battle through six rounds of qualifying, stunned Lithuania's Ricardas Berankis, ranked 718 places above him, on Monday. Some of his play, including rarely seen sliced forehands, bamboozled Berankis. It set Wimbledon abuzz, but a repeat against 34-year-old 17-times grand slam champion Federer would seem barely credible even for the most far-fetched Hollywood plot. Or would it? "Stranger things have happened, I know that," Broady, beaten 6-2 6-3 6-4 by world number two Andy Murray, said. "He's so tricky, he's so talented. He's very aware of what he's doing on the court, how to make it awkward for people." Murray was also asked about Willis' chances. "Amazing things do happen in sport sometimes," Murray, who pointed to England's defeat by Iceland at Euro 2016, said. "Obviously, Roger's a massive, massive favourite going into the match. I would expect him to win fairly comfortably. "But Marcus' game style, it's pretty old-school. He serve-and-volleys a lot. Uses a lot of slice. Hits the ball fairly flat. Has great hands. Great feel. "Very few guys play like that now. It's just amazing, an amazing opportunity for him." Perhaps the best advice came from Broady though after his own Centre Court debut against Murray. "By the end of the second set, most of the third, it was just kind of a match against another guy," the 22-year-old said. "Sometimes you watch on TV. You think that the top players in the world are superhuman. They're so good at what they do that you forget they're just men. Obviously they're spectacular at tennis, but they are just men." (Reuters)

Roger Federer warned to expect the unexpected from Willis

Tara Moore praised the influence of her mind trainer Tony Lekic after the Briton registered a first ever singles victory at a grand slam tournament when she beat Alison Van Uytvanck in the opening round at Wimbledon on Tuesday. 
 
Coming into the grasscourt tournament ranked 227th in the world, the wildcard overcame the Belgian ranked 100 places above her 6-3 6-2 to set up a second round encounter against Russian 13th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s been a great benefit. He doesn&#39;t just help me with on-court stuff. There&#39;s a lot of off-court stuff that people don&#39;t see, a lot of behind the scenes things that are tough to handle for a tennis player,&quot; Moore told British media. 
 
&quot;We travel a lot. We&#39;re away from loved ones and friends a lot. That&#39;s really difficult. Tennis is so difficult without all the little things. He&#39;s definitely there to help with the little things. That&#39;s been monumental for me.&quot; 
 
Moore said she also drew inspiration from 772nd-ranked British qualifier Marcus Willis&#39; win over Lithuanian world number 54 Ricardas Berankis, which set up a second round encounter against seven-time champion Roger Federer. 
 
&quot;I was watching, cheering and screaming at the screen. Willis has done so great. For sure it was an inspiration,&quot; Moore said. 
 
&quot;The British players are very supportive of each other and push each other on. I definitely think (British) tennis is on the up.&quot; 
 
The 23-year-old will also team up with Switzerland&#39;s Conny Perrin for a women&#39;s doubles first round clash against Colombian Mariana Duque-Marino and Puerto Rican Monica Puig today. 
 
(Reuters) 
 
&nbsp;

Tara Moore is the first British woman to reach the second round at Wimbeldon

Tara Moore praised the influence of her mind trainer Tony Lekic after the Briton registered a first ever singles victory at a grand slam tournament when she beat Alison Van Uytvanck in the opening round at Wimbledon on Tuesday. Coming into the grasscourt tournament ranked 227th in the world, the wildcard overcame the Belgian ranked 100 places above her 6-3 6-2 to set up a second round encounter against Russian 13th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova. "It's been a great benefit. He doesn't just help me with on-court stuff. There's a lot of off-court stuff that people don't see, a lot of behind the scenes things that are tough to handle for a tennis player," Moore told British media. "We travel a lot. We're away from loved ones and friends a lot. That's really difficult. Tennis is so difficult without all the little things. He's definitely there to help with the little things. That's been monumental for me." Moore said she also drew inspiration from 772nd-ranked British qualifier Marcus Willis' win over Lithuanian world number 54 Ricardas Berankis, which set up a second round encounter against seven-time champion Roger Federer. "I was watching, cheering and screaming at the screen. Willis has done so great. For sure it was an inspiration," Moore said. "The British players are very supportive of each other and push each other on. I definitely think (British) tennis is on the up." The 23-year-old will also team up with Switzerland's Conny Perrin for a women's doubles first round clash against Colombian Mariana Duque-Marino and Puerto Rican Monica Puig today. (Reuters)

Moore hails mind trainer after Wimbledon breakthrough

&nbsp;As she has done for most of the past 18 summers, Venus Williams on Monday took a large, languid stride into the second round of Wimbledon. 
 
The oldest woman in the main singles draw, five-times champion Williams was at times sublime as she beat Croatian Donna Vekic 7-6(3) 6-4 on a sunny Court One. 
 
While the full Williams armoury had been on display, it was her mental strength which stood out -- perhaps no surprise given she is playing her 71st grand slam singles tournament, a record among current female players. 
 
Vekic produced startling groundstrokes at times, but eighth seed Williams maintained her composure, increasing the pressure when things got tight as her opponent wilted in the spotlight. 
 
There cannot be too many grand slam years left for Williams, who celebrated her 36th birthday this month, but she showed more than enough on Day One to suggest she could again go deep in her favourite major. 
 
(Reuters)

Donna Vekic produced startling groundstrokes, but eighth seed Williams beat her by 7-6(3) 6-4

As she has done for most of the past 18 summers, Venus Williams on Monday took a large, languid stride into the second round of Wimbledon. The oldest woman in the main singles draw, five-times champion Williams was at times sublime as she beat Croatian Donna Vekic 7-6(3) 6-4 on a sunny Court One. While the full Williams armoury had been on display, it was her mental strength which stood out -- perhaps no surprise given she is playing her 71st grand slam singles tournament, a record among current female players. Vekic produced startling groundstrokes at times, but eighth seed Williams maintained her composure, increasing the pressure when things got tight as her opponent wilted in the spotlight. There cannot be too many grand slam years left for Williams, who celebrated her 36th birthday this month, but she showed more than enough on Day One to suggest she could again go deep in her favourite major. (Reuters)

Venus vaults Vekic at Wimbledon

World number one Novak Djokovic and 17-time major winner Roger Federer get Wimbledon under way today with history beckoning for the two Grand Slam A-listers. 
 
Top seed Djokovic is halfway to the first calendar Grand Slam since 1969 after ending his agonising wait for a maiden French Open crown earlier this month. 
 
The 29-year-old defending champion currently holds all four majors and if he wins a third successive Wimbledon title and fourth in all, he will become just the second man in history to win five successive Slams. 
 
Only Don Budge, who won six straight from 1937 Wimbledon to the 1938 US Championships, has achieved the feat. 
 
Djokovic is such a hot favourite to triumph on July 10 that women&#39;s champion Serena Williams is already tipping the Serb for more greatness. 
 
&quot;I think he&#39;ll get it easy,&quot; said the American who will begin her bid for an Open era record-equalling 22nd Grand Slam on Tuesday. 
 
Djokovic has won six of the last eight Grand Slams, taking him to a career tally of 12 - within two of Rafael Nadal`s mark and five behind Federer`s record. 
 
Djokovic takes on British wild card James Ward in the opening match on Centre Court. 
 
Ward, the 29-year-old son of a London taxi driver, is ranked at 177 in the world and made the third round last year with Australian coach Darren Tandy. 
 
But Tandy was diagnosed with cancer of the colon later in the year and died on Christmas Eve. 
 
&quot;It`s been a tough time. Obviously the end of last year was very difficult,&quot; Ward told the Press Association. 
 
&quot;He was my tennis coach so every time I play tennis it reminds me of him.&quot; 
 
Federer, whose last major triumph was at Wimbledon in 2012 when he won his seventh title at the All England Club, against Argentina`s world number 51 Guido Pella. 
 
Federer, 34, has been runner-up to Djokovic for the last two years and is attempting to become the oldest ever Wimbledon champion in modern times. 
 
But the Swiss has been dogged by knee and back problems this year and his injury-enforced withdrawal from the French Open ended his streak of 65 successive Grand Slam appearances stretching back to 1999. 
 
He has since suffered semi-final losses on grass at Stuttgart and Halle, the last of which against Alexander Zverev was his first against a teenager in 10 years. 
 
Federer`s failure to win a title in 2016 means he will enter Wimbledon on his longest trophy drought since 2000.&quot;Clearly I`m not thinking of the title right away,&quot; said the Swiss when asked to assess his chances. 
 
&quot;Novak or Andy (Murray) are the big favourites.&quot; 
 
Pella, 26, was forced to retire from his first round match on his Wimbledon debut in 2013 while he fell in qualifying last year. 
 
The Centre Court programme also sees women`s second seed and French Open champion Garbine Muguruza taking on Camila Giorgi, the world number 68 from Italy. 
 
Muguruza was runner-up to Williams last year. Giorgi reached the fourth round in 2012. 
 
On Court One, 36-year-old Venus Williams, seeded eighth and a five-time champion, takes on Croatia`s Donna Vekic. 
 
Japanese fifth seed Kei Nishikori, who has yet to get beyond the fourth round, takes on big-serving Australian Sam Groth. 
 
Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber faces Britain`s Laura Robson in the same arena. 
 
Canadian sixth seed Milos Raonic, with John McEnroe in his corner, meets Spain`s Pablo Carreno Busta as he looks to improve on his 2014 semi-final showing. 
 
Meanwhile, armed police will patrol the tournament, both inside and outside the grounds while organisers have also increased the numbers of their private security staff. 
 
Armed officers were also used at Wimbledon last year but on a lower scale on the 10th anniversary of the 7/7 attacks in London. 
 
&quot;(There will be) significant numbers of officers patrolling the local area, firearms officers and a highly mobile reserve that can respond to emerging incidents,&quot; said a police spokesman. 
 
&quot;Officers will be working in uniform and in plain clothes during the event.&quot; 
 
Rain is also expected in the first week but forecasters are confident showers will pass by the time play gets under way. 
 
(AFP)

Roger Federer has been runner-up to Djokovic for the Past two years and is attempting to become the oldest ever Wimbledon champion

World number one Novak Djokovic and 17-time major winner Roger Federer get Wimbledon under way today with history beckoning for the two Grand Slam A-listers. Top seed Djokovic is halfway to the first calendar Grand Slam since 1969 after ending his agonising wait for a maiden French Open crown earlier this month. The 29-year-old defending champion currently holds all four majors and if he wins a third successive Wimbledon title and fourth in all, he will become just the second man in history to win five successive Slams. Only Don Budge, who won six straight from 1937 Wimbledon to the 1938 US Championships, has achieved the feat. Djokovic is such a hot favourite to triumph on July 10 that women's champion Serena Williams is already tipping the Serb for more greatness. "I think he'll get it easy," said the American who will begin her bid for an Open era record-equalling 22nd Grand Slam on Tuesday. Djokovic has won six of the last eight Grand Slams, taking him to a career tally of 12 - within two of Rafael Nadal`s mark and five behind Federer`s record. Djokovic takes on British wild card James Ward in the opening match on Centre Court. Ward, the 29-year-old son of a London taxi driver, is ranked at 177 in the world and made the third round last year with Australian coach Darren Tandy. But Tandy was diagnosed with cancer of the colon later in the year and died on Christmas Eve. "It`s been a tough time. Obviously the end of last year was very difficult," Ward told the Press Association. "He was my tennis coach so every time I play tennis it reminds me of him." Federer, whose last major triumph was at Wimbledon in 2012 when he won his seventh title at the All England Club, against Argentina`s world number 51 Guido Pella. Federer, 34, has been runner-up to Djokovic for the last two years and is attempting to become the oldest ever Wimbledon champion in modern times. But the Swiss has been dogged by knee and back problems this year and his injury-enforced withdrawal from the French Open ended his streak of 65 successive Grand Slam appearances stretching back to 1999. He has since suffered semi-final losses on grass at Stuttgart and Halle, the last of which against Alexander Zverev was his first against a teenager in 10 years. Federer`s failure to win a title in 2016 means he will enter Wimbledon on his longest trophy drought since 2000."Clearly I`m not thinking of the title right away," said the Swiss when asked to assess his chances. "Novak or Andy (Murray) are the big favourites." Pella, 26, was forced to retire from his first round match on his Wimbledon debut in 2013 while he fell in qualifying last year. The Centre Court programme also sees women`s second seed and French Open champion Garbine Muguruza taking on Camila Giorgi, the world number 68 from Italy. Muguruza was runner-up to Williams last year. Giorgi reached the fourth round in 2012. On Court One, 36-year-old Venus Williams, seeded eighth and a five-time champion, takes on Croatia`s Donna Vekic. Japanese fifth seed Kei Nishikori, who has yet to get beyond the fourth round, takes on big-serving Australian Sam Groth. Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber faces Britain`s Laura Robson in the same arena. Canadian sixth seed Milos Raonic, with John McEnroe in his corner, meets Spain`s Pablo Carreno Busta as he looks to improve on his 2014 semi-final showing. Meanwhile, armed police will patrol the tournament, both inside and outside the grounds while organisers have also increased the numbers of their private security staff. Armed officers were also used at Wimbledon last year but on a lower scale on the 10th anniversary of the 7/7 attacks in London. "(There will be) significant numbers of officers patrolling the local area, firearms officers and a highly mobile reserve that can respond to emerging incidents," said a police spokesman. "Officers will be working in uniform and in plain clothes during the event." Rain is also expected in the first week but forecasters are confident showers will pass by the time play gets under way. (AFP)

History on line as Djokovic, Federer get Wimbledon under way

It was not quite the triple bagel that Novak Djokovic was aiming for during the opening 41 minutes of his first-round match, but the Serbian is unlikely to be too disappointed after he beat Britain&#39;s James Ward 6-0 7-6(3) 6-4 at Wimbledon today. 
 
The holder of all four grand slam titles appeared to be hurtling towards his 29th successive win at a major when he opened his Wimbledon defence by jumping out to a 6-0 3-0 lead. 
 
But Ward, the son of a London black cab driver, did not want to make a quick getaway on his Centre Court debut and held both arms aloft after finally getting a game against his name on the scoreboard. 
 
The 177th-ranked wildcard went on a roll as he won three games on the trot but despite his fightback, he simply did not have enough weapons to stop Djokovic from setting up a second- round showdown with Frenchman Adrian Mannarino. 
 
(Reuters)

Britain's James Ward, despite his fightback, did not have enough weapons to stop Djokovic from setting up a second-round showdown

It was not quite the triple bagel that Novak Djokovic was aiming for during the opening 41 minutes of his first-round match, but the Serbian is unlikely to be too disappointed after he beat Britain's James Ward 6-0 7-6(3) 6-4 at Wimbledon today. The holder of all four grand slam titles appeared to be hurtling towards his 29th successive win at a major when he opened his Wimbledon defence by jumping out to a 6-0 3-0 lead. But Ward, the son of a London black cab driver, did not want to make a quick getaway on his Centre Court debut and held both arms aloft after finally getting a game against his name on the scoreboard. The 177th-ranked wildcard went on a roll as he won three games on the trot but despite his fightback, he simply did not have enough weapons to stop Djokovic from setting up a second- round showdown with Frenchman Adrian Mannarino. (Reuters)

Djokovic beats Ward by 6-0 7-6 6-4, makes solid start to Wimbledon title defence

<div style="text-align: justify;">Only three words were scrawled on the letter from her husband and posted to her parent&#39;s home in central India, but they were enough to shatter Sadaf Mehmood&#39;s life. 
 
Using an ancient&nbsp;Islamic practice, Mehmood&#39;s husband wrote &quot;talaq, talaq, talaq&quot; or &quot;I divorce you&quot; three times in Arabic, instantly ending his marriage of five years. 
 
&quot;I was completely shocked and shattered. We had differences soon after we wed but it never looked so bad,&quot; the mother-of-three told AFP. 
 
Mehmood, who is from Bhopal, is one of the many&nbsp;Indian Muslim women whose husbands dissolved their marriage using&nbsp;triple&nbsp;talaq. The messages were delivered by everything from traditional letters to Facebook and Whatsapp. 
 
Banned in many Muslim countries, India, which is officially secular, is one of the few nations that legally permits the practice. 
 
&quot;The talaqnama (divorce letter) came without any intimation or warning,&quot; said Mehmood, 31, adding that she now struggles to make ends meet without her husband&#39;s support. 
 
Now another divorcee, Shayara Bano, has asked India&#39;s Supreme Court to outlaw it, as a backlash against the practice gathers steam. 
&quot;I understand my marriage is over but something needed to be done so that other Muslim women do not suffer,&quot; Bano told AFP of her petition filed in February&nbsp;which has encouraged at least one other divorcee to follow suit. 
&#39;Second-class citizens&#39; 
India&#39;s religious minorities, including its 155 million Muslims, are governed by personal laws that are meant to enshine their religious freedom in Hindu-majority India. 
 
Women, however, say the Muslim Personal Law Application Act, which is based on the Sharia law and permits&nbsp;triple&nbsp;talaq&nbsp;is being misused, allowing men to instantly walk away from their families. 
 
&quot;Women are generally treated as second class citizens in our society and they are further discriminated against by those misinterpreting religion,&quot; said Sadia Akhtar, who works for Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, a charity helping to empower Muslim women. 
 
A survey of Muslim women by the charity last year found an overwhelming majority favoured abolition of the practice, deeming it un-Islamic. Some 500 of the 4,000 women surveyed said they had been divorced that way. 
 
In recent weeks about&nbsp;50,000 Muslims signed a petition organised by the charity as part of a campaign to ban it. 
 
The Holy Quran prescribes a procedure for divorce to be undertaken in 90 days, starting from the first utterance of&nbsp;talaq, followed by two more but with a 30-day gap in between each one. 
 
Islamic scholars say this gives couples time to reflect on their marriage and possibly reconcile. 
 
Most Muslim scholars say the instant&nbsp;talaq&nbsp;diverts from the Quran. Although it was given official approval during the rein of Islam&#39;s second caliph, Omar, in the seventh century, it was discouraged. 
 
Akhtarul Wasey, a professor of Islamic studies, said it was only supposed to be used as a last resort when husbands were &quot;traumatising their partners&quot; by endlessly pronouncing&nbsp;talaq&nbsp;and then revoking it. 
 
&quot;(But) It has lost its essence and become an arbitrary law,&quot; Wasey from New Delhi&#39;s Jamia Millia Islamia university told AFP. 
Many Muslim majority countries, including neighbouring&nbsp;Bangladesh, have already banned it, while legislation on the same is pending in Pakistan&#39;s parliament. 
Changes unacceptable 
India&#39;s Muslim leaders are reluctant to amend the personal law, fearing an erosion of their religious identity. Some fear Hindu hardliners will use such changes as an excuse to push for the law&#39;s entire abolition. 
 
The issue comes at a time of heightened concern among minorities of rising intolerance by Hindu&nbsp;hardliners&nbsp;who have become emboldened since Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s election in 2014. 
 
Modi&#39;s Hindu nationalist government is committed to replacing personal laws for all religious minorities with a common civil code&nbsp;to enhance national unity. 
 
Kamal Faruqui, member of an influential Muslim body, said Muslims have a right to practise their religion according to Sharia law and that should be protected at all costs. 
 
Faruqui conceded&nbsp;triple&nbsp;talaq&nbsp;was a &quot;problem for Muslims&quot; but changes to the personal law were &quot;unacceptable to us&quot;. 
 
&quot;We discourage Muslims to seek divorce and certainly&nbsp;triple&nbsp;talaq&nbsp;should never be used. Instead couples should go for the honourable exit route mentioned in the Quran,&quot; said Faruqui, from the All India Muslim Personal Law Board. 
 
Shaista Ali, also from Bhopal, said she appealed to clerics for assistance after her husband suddenly divorced her and she was shunted from the family home, but &quot;they sided with my in-laws&quot;. 
 
Divorcee Mehmood accepts that her marriage is over, but she remains hopeful of change so that other women are spared her ordeal. 
 
&quot;We can&#39;t stop talaqs but there should be some consequences so that men think 10 times before uttering&nbsp;talaq, talaq talaq,&quot; she said.</div>

Shayara Bano, a divorcee, has asked India's Supreme Court to outlaw 'triple talaq', as a backlash against the practice gathers steam

Only three words were scrawled on the letter from her husband and posted to her parent's home in central India, but they were enough to shatter Sadaf Mehmood's life. Using an ancient Islamic practice, Mehmood's husband wrote "talaq, talaq, talaq" or "I divorce you" three times in Arabic, instantly ending his marriage of five years. "I was completely shocked and shattered. We had differences soon after we wed but it never looked so bad," the mother-of-three told AFP. Mehmood, who is from Bhopal, is one of the many Indian Muslim women whose husbands dissolved their marriage using triple talaq. The messages were delivered by everything from traditional letters to Facebook and Whatsapp. Banned in many Muslim countries, India, which is officially secular, is one of the few nations that legally permits the practice. "The talaqnama (divorce letter) came without any intimation or warning," said Mehmood, 31, adding that she now struggles to make ends meet without her husband's support. Now another divorcee, Shayara Bano, has asked India's Supreme Court to outlaw it, as a backlash against the practice gathers steam. "I understand my marriage is over but something needed to be done so that other Muslim women do not suffer," Bano told AFP of her petition filed in February which has encouraged at least one other divorcee to follow suit. 'Second-class citizens' India's religious minorities, including its 155 million Muslims, are governed by personal laws that are meant to enshine their religious freedom in Hindu-majority India. Women, however, say the Muslim Personal Law Application Act, which is based on the Sharia law and permits triple talaq is being misused, allowing men to instantly walk away from their families. "Women are generally treated as second class citizens in our society and they are further discriminated against by those misinterpreting religion," said Sadia Akhtar, who works for Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, a charity helping to empower Muslim women. A survey of Muslim women by the charity last year found an overwhelming majority favoured abolition of the practice, deeming it un-Islamic. Some 500 of the 4,000 women surveyed said they had been divorced that way. In recent weeks about 50,000 Muslims signed a petition organised by the charity as part of a campaign to ban it. The Holy Quran prescribes a procedure for divorce to be undertaken in 90 days, starting from the first utterance of talaq, followed by two more but with a 30-day gap in between each one. Islamic scholars say this gives couples time to reflect on their marriage and possibly reconcile. Most Muslim scholars say the instant talaq diverts from the Quran. Although it was given official approval during the rein of Islam's second caliph, Omar, in the seventh century, it was discouraged. Akhtarul Wasey, a professor of Islamic studies, said it was only supposed to be used as a last resort when husbands were "traumatising their partners" by endlessly pronouncing talaq and then revoking it. "(But) It has lost its essence and become an arbitrary law," Wasey from New Delhi's Jamia Millia Islamia university told AFP. Many Muslim majority countries, including neighbouring Bangladesh, have already banned it, while legislation on the same is pending in Pakistan's parliament. Changes unacceptable India's Muslim leaders are reluctant to amend the personal law, fearing an erosion of their religious identity. Some fear Hindu hardliners will use such changes as an excuse to push for the law's entire abolition. The issue comes at a time of heightened concern among minorities of rising intolerance by Hindu hardliners who have become emboldened since Prime Minister Narendra Modi's election in 2014. Modi's Hindu nationalist government is committed to replacing personal laws for all religious minorities with a common civil code to enhance national unity. Kamal Faruqui, member of an influential Muslim body, said Muslims have a right to practise their religion according to Sharia law and that should be protected at all costs. Faruqui conceded triple talaq was a "problem for Muslims" but changes to the personal law were "unacceptable to us". "We discourage Muslims to seek divorce and certainly triple talaq should never be used. Instead couples should go for the honourable exit route mentioned in the Quran," said Faruqui, from the All India Muslim Personal Law Board. Shaista Ali, also from Bhopal, said she appealed to clerics for assistance after her husband suddenly divorced her and she was shunted from the family home, but "they sided with my in-laws". Divorcee Mehmood accepts that her marriage is over, but she remains hopeful of change so that other women are spared her ordeal. "We can't stop talaqs but there should be some consequences so that men think 10 times before uttering talaq, talaq talaq," she said.

Muslim woman from India fights 'triple talaq' divorce

The statue in the town square of a Houston suburb depicting two young&nbsp;women&nbsp;posing for a selfie was meant to be a sign of the times. It has unleashed another sign of the times - a heated social media debate. 
 
The statue in Sugar Land, just outside of City Hall, was part of an installation of pieces donated to the city. Residents have been quick to weigh in on social media. 
 
&quot;Selfie Statue, Seriously? Sugarland what are your officials thinking,&quot; one Twitter comment read. Said another: &quot;I hope someone demolishes that disgrace of culture and an eye sore.&quot; 
 
Others defended the selfie statue. &quot;Let&rsquo;s Be Honest: The #SelfieStatue in #SugarLand, TX is a Perfect Sign of the Times,&quot; said one commentator. Added another: &quot;Unpopular Opinion: The Sugar Land, TX, selfie statue everyone is talking about is both art and good art.&quot; 
 
The statue in question is part of a group donated from a local resident. Others in the group include a statue of a man playing a guitar, and one of an alligator, installed near a pond. 
 
Some fans of the selfie statue have posed for selfies in front of it, while others praised the work but slammed the artist for depicting the&nbsp;women&nbsp;using what appears to be an outdated phone. 
 
Sugar Land city spokesman Doug Adolph said the selfie statue depicts something seen every day and yet &quot;it has upset some people.&quot; 
 
&quot;You can&#39;t please everyone,&quot; he said.

The statue in the town square of a Houston suburb depicting two young?women?posing for a selfie has sparked off a heated social media debate

The statue in the town square of a Houston suburb depicting two young women posing for a selfie was meant to be a sign of the times. It has unleashed another sign of the times - a heated social media debate. The statue in Sugar Land, just outside of City Hall, was part of an installation of pieces donated to the city. Residents have been quick to weigh in on social media. "Selfie Statue, Seriously? Sugarland what are your officials thinking," one Twitter comment read. Said another: "I hope someone demolishes that disgrace of culture and an eye sore." Others defended the selfie statue. "Let’s Be Honest: The #SelfieStatue in #SugarLand, TX is a Perfect Sign of the Times," said one commentator. Added another: "Unpopular Opinion: The Sugar Land, TX, selfie statue everyone is talking about is both art and good art." The statue in question is part of a group donated from a local resident. Others in the group include a statue of a man playing a guitar, and one of an alligator, installed near a pond. Some fans of the selfie statue have posed for selfies in front of it, while others praised the work but slammed the artist for depicting the women using what appears to be an outdated phone. Sugar Land city spokesman Doug Adolph said the selfie statue depicts something seen every day and yet "it has upset some people." "You can't please everyone," he said.

Selfie statue fails to click with some in Houston suburb

At least 17 million women and girls in Africa collect water every day, which increases their risk of sexual abuse, disease and dropping out of school, a study published recently has found.

It is one of the first studies to calculate how many women and children were responsible for water collection in Africa, the researchers said.

Using datasets from the World Bank, the UN&nbsp;children&#39;s agency UNICEF, and the US&nbsp;Agency for International Development, researchers found that around 3 million children and 14 million women collect water in sub-Saharan Africa.

&quot;The absolute number of adult females affected by this practice was a shock to me,&quot; Jay Graham, lead author of the study, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

&quot;I knew it would be large... but I didn&#39;t realise it would be that high,&quot; added Graham, who is professor at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University.

The daily practice causes musculoskeletal damage, soft tissue damage and can lead to early arthritis, Graham said.

People also have to contend with water-borne diseases like schistosomiasis, an infection caused by parasitic worms living in fresh water, he said.

Across all 24 countries examined, including Sierra Leone, Malawi and Niger, more girls were tasked with water collection than boys. Women were also the primary water collector in all countries.

Children are pulled out of school for the daily task, and many women cannot earn an income because of the time and energy it takes to collect water, Graham said.

Since they often need to walk long distances to find water, women and children are also at a higher risk of sexual abuse, he added.

In a statement issued last month, the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone said drought was putting even more pressure on children to find water.

&quot;Children, particularly girls, are out in the street very late at night or as early as 4a.m. in search of water,&quot; the statement read.

&quot;This heightens their vulnerability and contributes to increase in teenage pregnancy, child labour, high rates of school drop outs, and poor school performance,&quot; it said.

Demand for water is expected to increase by 2050 as the world&#39;s population is forecast to grow by one-third to more than 9 billion, according to the United Nations.

As climate change strengthens, drought is becoming more frequent and severe in southern Africa, and that &ndash; combined with this year&#39;s El Nino phenomenon &ndash; is taking a heavy toll on rural lives and economies.

&quot;With climate change, it&#39;s going to be more of an uphill battle,&quot; said Graham. &quot;If there&#39;s focused attention on it and resources, we can improve upon the situation but I do think it&#39;s going to become more difficult.&quot;

But it also crucial to address gender inequality and to recognise the unpaid labour that women do across the globe, he said, which he believes is the underlying issue.

&quot;There is a need to address cultural values and really shifting the belief that women and men are equal too.&quot;

Many have to travel real far to collect water, thus exposing them to the risk of being sexually abused. And there is the added threat of a water-borne disease and other ailments.

At least 17 million women and girls in Africa collect water every day, which increases their risk of sexual abuse, disease and dropping out of school, a study published recently has found. It is one of the first studies to calculate how many women and children were responsible for water collection in Africa, the researchers said. Using datasets from the World Bank, the UN children's agency UNICEF, and the US Agency for International Development, researchers found that around 3 million children and 14 million women collect water in sub-Saharan Africa. "The absolute number of adult females affected by this practice was a shock to me," Jay Graham, lead author of the study, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. "I knew it would be large... but I didn't realise it would be that high," added Graham, who is professor at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University. The daily practice causes musculoskeletal damage, soft tissue damage and can lead to early arthritis, Graham said. People also have to contend with water-borne diseases like schistosomiasis, an infection caused by parasitic worms living in fresh water, he said. Across all 24 countries examined, including Sierra Leone, Malawi and Niger, more girls were tasked with water collection than boys. Women were also the primary water collector in all countries. Children are pulled out of school for the daily task, and many women cannot earn an income because of the time and energy it takes to collect water, Graham said. Since they often need to walk long distances to find water, women and children are also at a higher risk of sexual abuse, he added. In a statement issued last month, the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone said drought was putting even more pressure on children to find water. "Children, particularly girls, are out in the street very late at night or as early as 4a.m. in search of water," the statement read. "This heightens their vulnerability and contributes to increase in teenage pregnancy, child labour, high rates of school drop outs, and poor school performance," it said. Demand for water is expected to increase by 2050 as the world's population is forecast to grow by one-third to more than 9 billion, according to the United Nations. As climate change strengthens, drought is becoming more frequent and severe in southern Africa, and that – combined with this year's El Nino phenomenon – is taking a heavy toll on rural lives and economies. "With climate change, it's going to be more of an uphill battle," said Graham. "If there's focused attention on it and resources, we can improve upon the situation but I do think it's going to become more difficult." But it also crucial to address gender inequality and to recognise the unpaid labour that women do across the globe, he said, which he believes is the underlying issue. "There is a need to address cultural values and really shifting the belief that women and men are equal too."

The risks more than 17 million African women and girls have to take to fetch water

German prosecutors are investigating claims by 26 women that they were sexually harassed at a music festival in the western city of Darmstadt at the weekend and police have arrested three men with Pakistani backgrounds, a police spokesman said on Wednesday.

By late on Tuesday, 26 women had come forward and 14 formal complaints had been made.

&quot;The women complained that they were surrounded by small groups of men who then touched them inappropriately,&quot; the spokesman said, adding the matter was now with prosecutors.

The incident has set off alarm bells in Germany after mass sexual attacks on women at New Year&#39;s Eve in Cologne, which fuelled a backlash against Chancellor Angela Merkel&#39;s open-door migrant policy.

Hundreds of women said they were groped, attacked and robbed outside the Cologne train station and police said the suspects were mainly of North African and Arab appearance.

Darmstadt police said they had on Sunday arrested three male suspects aged between 28 and 31. Two are seeking asylum, and a third is also from Pakistan but has been living in Germany for a long time. It is unclear if he was also seeking asylum.

More women came forward once they heard about the arrests at the four-day music festival which attracted a total of 300,000-400,000 people, the spokesman said.

Despite a fall in her own and her conservative party&#39;s popularity since her welcome to migrants, Merkel told Bunte magazine that even with hindsight, she would allow people in humanitarian need to enter Germany again, as she did last year.

&quot;I recommend anyone who is fearful to take the opportunity to personally get to know someone who has fled to us. These are people who have experienced and suffered a lot and have their worries and hopes just as much as we do,&quot; she told Bunte.

German prosecutors are investigating claims of 26 women who say they were were sexually harassed in a music festival in Darmstadt

German prosecutors are investigating claims by 26 women that they were sexually harassed at a music festival in the western city of Darmstadt at the weekend and police have arrested three men with Pakistani backgrounds, a police spokesman said on Wednesday. By late on Tuesday, 26 women had come forward and 14 formal complaints had been made. "The women complained that they were surrounded by small groups of men who then touched them inappropriately," the spokesman said, adding the matter was now with prosecutors. The incident has set off alarm bells in Germany after mass sexual attacks on women at New Year's Eve in Cologne, which fuelled a backlash against Chancellor Angela Merkel's open-door migrant policy. Hundreds of women said they were groped, attacked and robbed outside the Cologne train station and police said the suspects were mainly of North African and Arab appearance. Darmstadt police said they had on Sunday arrested three male suspects aged between 28 and 31. Two are seeking asylum, and a third is also from Pakistan but has been living in Germany for a long time. It is unclear if he was also seeking asylum. More women came forward once they heard about the arrests at the four-day music festival which attracted a total of 300,000-400,000 people, the spokesman said. Despite a fall in her own and her conservative party's popularity since her welcome to migrants, Merkel told Bunte magazine that even with hindsight, she would allow people in humanitarian need to enter Germany again, as she did last year. "I recommend anyone who is fearful to take the opportunity to personally get to know someone who has fled to us. These are people who have experienced and suffered a lot and have their worries and hopes just as much as we do," she told Bunte.

Germany investigates sexual attacks on women at music festival

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