OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development
Open access peer-reviewed journal
Violence Against Women by the Army Personnel
Rishika Arora 1, Iyina Grover 2
1Advocate (Litigation, Private Practice), Delhi High Court, India.
2 Associate Advocate – eMinds Legal LLP, Delhi, India.
Abstract: Protectors or predators? Guardians of the Nation or devils outraging a women’s modesty? The very simple question being asked here is how often in lieu of construction of National Security the protectors turn into predators? How does sexual desire get channelized into construction of National security? Do the gruesome acts of that of rapeand other hideous crime conducted on the ‘No Man’s Land’ justify as an immunity? And ironically, the most respected troop of the nation are the one traumatizing the women of the.As one rightly announces, atrocities against women, it not only exists within the boundaries of the nation rather it is in its most brutal form in the ‘disturbed area’ and that too in its most brutal form. The most heinous crimes are committed where the state boundaries end. Vulnerability of the she-gender: is like being in a constant state of war fighting for the very basic rights of being a human and not just rights as a women, be it within the borders or beyond and not being confined to any cultural boundaries. Crime against women is like being in an existing state of war against humanity and will prolong if necessary steps aren’t taken. These can be clubbed in specific different spheres, and it ranges from acts of sexual violence, forced prostitution, of all cross border trafficking and murder.
In areas such as Manipur, Guwahati , Assam , Jammu and Kashmir which fall under the category of ‘disturbed areas’, the cry of the physically weaker section of the society goes unheard to the extent that they have to initiate the walk of shame by stripping down their clothes to get the inconsiderate audience, the media, the unsympathetic government and even the judicial authority to hear them. Such immunities to the men in uniform raise the question as to whether the society will ever emerge to be an egalitarian one. Manorma rape case in Manipur (2004), Khairlanji rapes and killings (2006), Shopian Kashmir rape case (2009) aggravated sexual violence in Guwahati (2012) and the incident as that of Delhi gang rape case; shifted the focus to re-evaluating and reframing protection of women under the present law based on recommendations from Justice Verma Committee, which was constituted to look into possible amendments of the Criminal Law within the State.
While the Verma committee called for a review to AFSPA (Armed forces special protection Act). It noted that “impunity for systematic or isolated sexual violence in the process of internal security duties is being legitimised by the AFSPA” and “women in conflict areas are entitled to all the security and dignity that is afforded to citizens in any other part of our country”. While the central committee adopted all the recommendations of the subsequent anti-rape bill, it left out those about AFSPA. Though India is a signatory to many international Conventions on issues of human rights and conflict agenda, such as the Geneva Convention and CEDAW (The Conventions on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the ground reality remains is different due to poor implementation of the international standard protecting women in armed conflict situation.
The armed personnel use various acts like AFSPA, Army’s Act, 1950, Disturbed Areas Act 1992, as appanage against the punishments which relate to the crimes they commit against civilians. Various provisions of AFSPA are inconsistent with the laws relating to violence against the women in the country. The AFSPA calls for a separate tribunal for the army. The crimes which fall out of their ‘call of duty’ such as rapes, sexual assault are to be tried by court martial and not by the ordinary criminal court. In the year 2016 and 2018 after the landmark judgments in Manipur Murder Case and in the case of death of three civilians in Shopian, Jammu and Kashmir respectively the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India held against the Army Personnel using excessive force and ended the impunity for the armed forces. It is only then that the 60 year old legislation again invoked sharp responses on the issue of immunity and the ‘Army Doctrine’.
The paper initially deals with giving the backdrop of the Indian society which still has a traditional patriarchal set up that influence the law of land as well. The paper further lays down the provisions of AFSPA digging its inconsistencies with the penal law of the country and also the international law. Suggestions have been put forward to lessen such crimes in the future. Demand for separate protocol for women who have been victims in the armed conflict has been put forward along with few basic suggestions of not providing any immunity for armed personnel for sexual offences. The social development of the nation depends on how secured an individual feels without having to worry about their gender.
Keywords: Army; AFSPA; Crime; Sexual offences; women
Leverage Points Meets Sustainable Transformation: Speeding Up Sustainability Progress and 101 Mindset Barriers to It
“Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.” –Archimedes
Matt Polsky [1]
Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
International Off Campus PhD Program in Cleaner Production, Industrial Ecology and Sustainable Development
[1] The author has been a sustainability change agent for over 40 years. He has worked in state and local government; business; academia, including as a Senior Fellow at Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Institute for Sustainable Enterprise, and a past adjunct professor at Montclair State University (MSU). He is a writer, was a journalist for a local radio station, and served on the Board of Ghana 4E, a non-profit organization that is building a computer school in Ghana. He also is a perpetual student.
Abstract: Big societal changes are very likely necessary to address climate change and other environmental and social problems—and fast. But there are no methods, ideas, or Theories of Change (ToC) that can sufficiently and reliably guide us. As part of the exploratory research period for a Ph.D. thesis on big societal changes, the author attended conferences in two related academic fields that study big societal change, Sustainability Transformations and Sustainability Transitions. The conferences were: “Leverage Points for Sustainability Transformation” at Leuphana University, a main focus of this article; and “The 10th Annual International Sustainable Transitions Conference,” Carlton University. These fields have believed that such changes must take decades—but it is too risky to assume we still have that much time. The first conference focused on retrieving and inserting one of the classic frameworks of complex systems giant Donella Meadows into the Sustainable Transformations field. It explored whether the metaphor of leverage points and some of the characteristics of Meadows’ original 12-level hierarchical model could fit within this field and, in particular, increasing systems level-impact in exchange for relatively low levels of effort.The first conference was largely successful in re-discovering some of the potential of the leverage points framework, a major accomplishment as it could be one such way to accelerate big societal changes. The ideas presented must be extended much further. However, some mindset barriers were shown at that first conference, but were partially overcome at the second conference. A large number of mindset barriers are also discussed in this paper based on the author’s decades-long experience as a change-agent. Given the surprising quantity and range of mindset barriers, the author hypothesized that they are an unexpected obstacle to big societal change. Since mindset barriers were shown even at such a conference explicitly aiming for big societal changes, this is early evidence that mindset barriers are both pervasive and correctable. It was also realized that problematic mindsets are actually an interpretation of the second highest-ranking of the 12 leverage points, which indicates their importance as obstacles to systemic change. Whereas trying to address them is consistent with the highest ranking leverage point: challenging the paradigm/mindset.
Keywords: Accelerating Change, Leverage Points, Mindset Barriers, Sustainable Transformation
Impact of Post-harvest Loss Interventions on Post-Harvest Losses of Maize among Small Holder Farmers in Tanzania: A Difference in Difference (DID) [1]Analysis
Joy M. Kiiru [2]
University of Nairobi
[1] This paper utilises data from an AGRA study that focussed on their post-harvest interventions work in Tanzania. The study was funded by the Rockefeller foundation.
[2] Senior Lecturer University of Nairobi.
Abstract
We conducted a randomised controlled trial to test the impact of three simple and cost effective post-harvest loss prevention innovations suitable for smallholder farmers in low income economies. The interventions include, use of tarpaulins, use of hermetic bags and use of simple mechanised maize shellers. We use propensity score matching (PSM) and difference in difference (DID) method to empirically evaluate impact. Results show that combined use of the three innovations by smallholder households contribute to a reduction in postharvest losses amounting to about 273.6 Kilos of maize per household (About 3 bags per household). We conclude that simple cost effective postharvest loss mitigation innovations could go along a way in combatting food security and increase household incomes.
Keywords: Randomised control trial, Difference in Difference, post-harvest loss
Peace as a Strategy for Planning Water Secure Futures
Tal Septon 1, Nidhi Nagabhatla 2, Caner Sayan 3
1 Peace Studies Program, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.
1, 2, 3 United Nations University Institute for Water, Health and Environment (UNU-INWEH), Hamilton, Canada.
2, 3 School of Geography and Earth Science, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.
Abstract: Pursuing water security within a framework of peace carries the unexploited potential for the attainment of political stability and sustainability as water crisis scenarios around the world are deepening. Applying the concept of water security also provides a platform to examine the pivotal interlinkages between water, societies, and sectors. The existing literature uncovers a correlation between the level of water cooperation and inter-state relations, and water facilitation in post-conflict reconstruction and development programs as an integral component for sustainability. Limited notions of water security undermine the untapped potential of water within the dialogue of environmental peacebuilding and threaten to reinforce a partisan context of water conflicts. Noting that both at a global and local level, peace and political stability dimensions are noted to have a reciprocal relationship with water, we present a synthesis that builds diverse narratives towards a holistic and intersectoral understanding of water’s role in cooperation, conflict, and political stability. The assumption that factoring the water security thinking has the potential to aid in planning water-secure futures while managing uncertainties that operate in socio-cultural, socio-economic and socio-political settings are embedded in the narratives presented in this study. In addition, the study comments on the dynamics of the emerging nexus of water, peace, and political stabilityby employing aset of case studies: the Cochabamba water crisis, transboundary water sharing conflicts and cooperation episodes in the Jordan Basin, and the Syrian conflict analysis. Overall, the script explains how water can be exploited for both cooperative and conflictive outcomes. And, this content analysis calls for providing water users and managers with enhanced knowledge frameworks and improved capacity in the context of the water-peace-political stability nexus. This synthesis will also assist to maximize the latent peacebuilding potential in planning water-secure futures for states and communities.
Keywords: Future; Strategy; Peace; Political Stability; Water-Security.