JONAKI Oct 2014

The Silence Was Over Finally Protect Your Children
A Judgement Debated A Gadget Which Defeated Population
Revolution In Female HealthThe Age Of Marriage For Women
Maharashtra Not Happy With Their Legislators
Jonaki
October 2014
Editorial
Dear Reader,
The age of
marriage for
women is a
very
important
issue and
needs to be
addressed.
While the
focus had
been to
prevent
marriage
below 18, it is
time to think
about raising
the age also.
Both boys
and girls grow
in the same
ambience, but
the age of
marriage for a
man is 21.
This
anomaly
needs to be
amended.
Indrani
Address:
38B Mahanirban Road,
Kolkata - 700 029
Tel:
91-33-2464 9596,
2465 3429
Fax:
91-33-2465 3395
email:
[email protected]
Chief Editor : Indrani Sinha
Protect Your Children
District Campaign & Advocacy Department, Sanlaap
For hundreds of children
in the city, the festive
season didn't bring any
cheer. Struck by the
hand, foot and mouth
disease (HFMD), they are
still recovering from a
severe bout of body
rashes and fever that the
disease triggers. Even
though it usually subsides
with the passing away of
monsoon, HFMD has been
severe this year and has
lingered till October. In
terms of the number of
patients, it has been far
more severe than
previous years, according
to doctors.
The disease is a relatively
common viral infection
that usually begins in the
throat. Caused by
intestinal viruses of the
picornaviridae family, it
..." It has
been affecting
children aged
between
two and 12
years"...
susceptible as well. It
spreads from person to
person through nose and
throat discharges, saliva,
fluid from blisters or stool
of an infected person. A
child is most contagious
in the first week when he
/ she contracts the
disease.
This year, HFMD struck in
July, shortly after the
takes three to seven days
for the symptoms to
develop. It has been
affecting children aged
between two and 12
years. HFMD rarely
affects those above 14
years, but those with
immune deficiencies are
1
onset of monsoon. With each
passing week, the number of
children affected grew
exponentially leading to a
near-epidemic. According to an
estimate, more than 10,000
were affected by early August.
One of the reasons for the
quick spread of the disease,
according to doctors, was lack
of awareness.
“Even though HFMD happens
every year, this time it spread
very fast and continues to
affect more children.
Strangely, parents kept sending
their children to school, which
caused the epidemic. HFMD is
highly contagious and usually
spreads through schools where
children are always in close
contact with one another,” said
Shantanu Ray, paediatrician.
HFMD causes rashes on the
hand, foot, inside the mouth,
elbows and buttocks. It is
accompanied by mild fever.
Generally, the rashes subside
on their own within a week. But
they often resemble chicken
pox blisters and mislead
..." Strangely,
parents kept
sending their
children to
school, which
caused the
epidemic"...
treatment. “I came across
dozens of children whose HFMD
had been taken to be chicken
pox. It delayed recovery,
raising the chances of a
spread,” said Ray.
Paediatrician Ashok Mittal said
he treated around 500 children
afflicted with HFMD in the last
three months. Two of them
needed hospitalization. “It has
been exceptionally high this
year, though it happens every
y e a r. I s o l a t i o n a n d
symptomatic treatment are
the only remedies. Those
affected should be made to
drink plenty of fluids so that
the virus is flushed out through
urine. The kidneys are the only
exit point for the virus. There is
no specific drug that can treat
HFMD. So, quick identification
is the key so that the child can
be isolated to prevent a
spread. It seems that didn't
happen this year. The disease
just kept spreading,” said
Mittal.
In some cases, HFMD could be
even more painful than
2
How does it Spread ?
Through nose and throat
discharges, saliva, fluid from
blisters or stool of an infected
person.
Treatment
There is no specific treatment.
Early detection holds the key.
Doctors prescribe lot of fluid
intake, rest and isolation.
There is no vaccine to prevent
the disease.
dengue, pointed out some
experts. The blisters triggered
by the virus could appear on
the tongue, lips and other
parts of the mouth, making it
painful to chew and swallow
food.
Even though the symptoms are
scary, the disease is selflimiting and gets cured in
about a week, according to
Arindam Kar, critical care head
at Medica Super-specialty
Hospital. “We have even
received an adult patient with
symptoms that are similar,”
said Kar. Government hospitals
have been treating more than
a hundred HFMD patients
everyday, according to a
health department official.
Some experts felt that
continuing rains have helped
to spread the virus and kept it
alive beyond monsoon. But
others like Mittal felt it had
nothing to do with the
lingering rains. “Unlike raintriggered viruses that cause
respiratory and intestinal tract
..." Avoiding
touching eyes,
nose and
mouth with
unwashed
hands"...
infections, the HFMD virus is
not linked to rains. It strikes in
monsoon and usually faces
away as the temperature
drops,” he said.
Protect your Child
l Hand, foot and mouth
disease is triggered by a
virus of the picornaviridae
family
l Affects children between
two and 12 years
l Adults with low immunity
are susceptible as well.
l Recovery takes about a
week to 10 days
l The disease is extremely
contagious
Is HFMD serious ?
It is usually not serious. It is
typically mild. Nearly all
patients recover within 10
days. Complications are
u n c o m m o n . R a r e l y, a n
infected person can develop
viral meningitis and may need
hospitalization. Other rare
complications can include
polio-like paralysis or
encephalitis.
Can HFMD be prevented ?
There is no vaccine. You can
reduce the risk by :
l Washing hands often with
soap
l Avoiding close contact with
people who are infected
l Avoiding touching eyes,
nose and mouth with
unwashed hands
l
Disinfecting frequently
touches surfaces, especially if
someone is sick.
Is HFMD the same as foot and
mouth disease ?
No, HFMD is often confused
with foot-and-mouth disease,
which affects cattle, sheep
and swine.
3
The Age Of Marriage For Women
Gender Desk, Sanlaap
psychological maturity and
ready for marriage on attaining
18 years.
The judges said the high court
was registering a large number
of habeas corpus petitions with
regard to girls who run away
with boys at the age of 18. No
parent would like his child to
walk away from family and
getting married on her own in
their absence, it said.
Increasing the legal age of
marriage for girls from
minimum 18 years was mooted
by the Madras high court as a
way out to check instances of
hundreds of women getting
married at an young age only to
be separated a few years later.
“For a male, the marriage age
is fixed as 21 years. For a girl it
is 18 years. But both boys and
girls grow in school atmosphere
till the age of 17”, a division
bench of justices S Manikumar
and V S Ravi said, and asked,
“How can girls be considered
more matured at 18 than
boys?”
The court made this
observation while suggesting
some amendments to the
Indian Majority Act 1875 and
the Child Marriage Restraint
Act so that it addresses the
issue of the minimum age of
marriage of girls. Noting that
the Hindu law prescribes 21
years as marriageable age for
men, the court wondered
whether it could be said the
girls could acquire social,
The bench, which was closing a
habeas corpus plea filed by one
R Thiagarajan, said parents
bring up their child with love
and affection, educate them
..." It was to
avoid these
factors there was
need to consider
increasing the
marriageable age
of girls to 21 or
more than 18"...
with a fond hope, and after
verifying many particulars as to
who would be his or her
partner, settle them in
marriage.
Due to lack of proper
understanding with parents,
they think there was somebody
to take care of them and get
themselves entangled, the
court said. It was to avoid these
factors there was need to
consider increasing the
marriageable age of girls to 21
or more than 18, the bench
said.
The girl may be be fit to drive
scooter, get employment at 18,
but all that could not be
equated with mental maturity
for marriage, the bench said
while suggesting revision of
marriageable age.
Another thing is that the
parents were not able to
monitor their daughters
always. The visual media was
having adverse impact on
young girls. Most of the girls of
18 years say they married as
per their wish. But parents
would not like them to get
married like that the court
said.
The Gujarat high court has
advised women not to rush to
police over minor
matrimonial disputes because
it may destroy all chances of
reconciliation with their
spouses.
The court criticized the
tendency to use the police
machinery for holding
husbands to ransom. The high
court said Section 498-A of
the IPC (prevention of
cruelty, including making
demands for dowry) cannot
be invoked for trivial
incidents. The high court
asked women not to drag
issues to court over “petty
quibbles and trifling
differences.”
4
Maharashtra Not Happy With Their Legislators
Documentation Unit, Sanlaap
factor like the candidate's
party or religion. The CM
candidate of a party and caste
/ religion of the candidate
were the 4th and 5th most
important factors.
A voter perception survey for
Maharashtra has rated its
legislators as below average
with security of women,
corruption and inflation as top
pressing issues.
The survey was conducted on
20,000 respondents in all 288
assembly segments by the
Association for Democratic
Reforms (ADR) and Daksh. The
Average performance rating
given to legislators was 5.28
while the average importance
of issues was rated as 7.52 on a
scale of 10 by the voters,
indicating a significant gap
between voters' expectations
on governance
issues and
performance of the legislators.
Security for women,
eradication of corruption and
inflation are the top three
issues as perceived by the
v o t e r s . H o w e v e r, t h e
performance of legislators on
these top issues is below
average. Performance in
tackling corruption was
considered the lowest at 4.68%
..."Security for
women, eradication
of corruption and
inflation are the
top three issues as
perceived by the
voters"...
while combating inflation
scored 4.88. Voters scored
legislators at 5.2 in addressing
concerns for safety of women
and 5.28 in handling waste
management.
The survey also tried to
identify the most important
factors that people take into
account before voting for a
c a n d i d a t e . Vo t e r s i n
Maharashtra gave more
importance to the
trustworthiness of the
candidate than any other
The results of the assessment
highlight the overall
inadequate efforts of all
institutions in fulfilling their
role in providing what voters
really need. The aim of the
assessment was to evaluate the
effectiveness of elected
representatives, government
institutions, mechanisms in
terms of planning and
providing for the needs of the
country and fostering
transparency and integrity.
In addition, ADR and Daksh said
they hoped the process would
act as a springboard for action
among the government and
civil society organizations in
terms of policy reforms,
evidence-based advocacy or
further in-depth evaluation of
specific governance issues, and
serve as a basis for key
stakeholders to advocate for
sustainable and effective
reforms.
The larger purpose of the
survey was to highlight voter
priorities so that they are
reflected in the election
agenda of parties. It is also to
ensure electoral debates are
on voters' issues rather than
the agenda imposed by parties.
“It is hoped that the manifestos
of future governments will
reflect these voter priorities,”
said a statement by the two
organizations.
5
“MGNREGA” & It's Future
Documentation Unit, Sanlaap
Abhijit Sen, a former Planning
Commission member said
creation of assets under
MGNREGS was nine times more
than the earlier Jawahar
Ro z g a r Yo j a n a a l t h o u g h
spending in both as a
proportion of GDP was about
the same.
..."If the
government
stops this,
people will face
starvation,”
she said"...
Norati Devi, head of the
Hamada panchayat in Ajmer,
Rajasthan, said that every
month, their panchayat paid
between Rs. 80 lakh and Rs.
1.25 crore for work under the
job guarantee scheme. “It is a
lifeline for poor people. For the
first time, their children are
going to school and getting
medicines when sick. If the
government stops this, people
will face starvation,” she said.
In the documents obtained
under RTI, joint secretary R
Subrahmanyam notes that
increasing the material
component of funds from 40%
to 49% - and decreasing the
wage component accordingly
would mean reliance on
“benami contractors” with
resultant corruption. He also
points out that the more
vulnerable unskilled workers
would lose out to skilled
workers in a contractor based
system.
Regarding
the proposal of
“targeting” the job guarantee
scheme at areas where most
needed, the notings by L C
Goyae, secretary of rural
development, are lauded by
Gadkari who directs that these
should be pursued “in a legally
feasible manner on a separate
file.”
6
A Gadget Which Defeated Population
Documentation Unit, Sanlaap
For the first time ever there
are more gadgets in the world
than there are people,
including a growing number
that only communicate with
other machines, according to
data from digital analysts at
GSMA Intelligence. The number
..."No other
technology
has impacted
us like
mobile"...
of active mobile devices and
human beings crossed over
somewhere around the 7.19
billion mark.
As of today, GSMA's real time
tracker puts the number of
mobile devices at 7.22 billion
whilst the US Census Bureau
says the number of people is
still somewhere between 7.19
and 7.2 billion. Gadgets like
tablets, smartphones and notso-smart phones are
multiplying five times faster
than we are, with our
population growing at a rate of
about two people per second,
or 1.2% annually. “No other
technology has impacted us
like mobile. It's the fastest
growing manmade
phenomenon ever from zero to
7.2 billion in 30 years,” said
Kevin Kimberlin, chairman of
Spencer Trask & Co.
7
A Judgement Debated
Legal Cell, Sanlaap
Five Afghan men were hanged
on Wednesday for the gang
rape of four women despite the
UN and human rights groups
criticizing the trial and calling
for President Ashraf Ghani to
stay the executions. The brutal
attack in Paghman, outside
Kabul, provoked a national
outcry with many Afghans
demanding the men be hanged,
and then president Hamid
..." The brutal
attack in Paghman,
outside Kabul,
provoked a national
outcry with many
Afghans demanding
the men be
hanged"...
Karzai signed their death
sentences shortly before
leaving office last week.
“Five men in connection to the
paghman incident and one
other big criminal were
executed on Wednesday,”
Rahmatullah Nazari, the
deputy attorney general, said.
There was no immediate
comment from the office of
President Ghani, who faced
strong public pressure to not
stay the executions.
In August the armed gang
members, wearing police
uniforms, stopped a convoy of
cars returning to Kabul at night
from a wedding in Paghman, a
scenic spot popular with daytrippers. The attackers tied up
men in the group before raping
at least four of the women and
stealing valuables from their
victims.
8
Revolution In Female Health
Documentation Unit, Sanlaap
“We could rejuvenate the
ovary by stimulating or
replenishing stem cells, we
could create a whole new ovary
through tissue engineering like
an artificial heart, there are all
manner of possibilities.”
However; de Grey's optimism is
not shared by some of his
fellow scientists.
Robin Lovell-Badge from the
National Institute for Medical
Research in London, said to The
Times that de Grey's ideas were
“wildly over-ambitious.”
A pioneering scientist has
claimed that menopause could
be eliminated within 20 years.
Aurbey de Grey, a stem cell
scientist, has claimed rapid
progress in stem cell and
regenerative therapies may
mean the current limits on
when women are able to
conceive and give birth could
vanish.
Arguing in The Times, Dr de
Grey claimed there was no
reason why anti-ageing
treatments could not be
extended to the female
..."We can
definitely
think in terms
of 20 years
from now"...
reproductive organs meaning
the menopause could be
“turned on and off”.
Dr de Grey, co-founder and
chief science officer of the
SENS (Strategies for
Engineered Negligible
Senescence) Research
Foundation, said of the time
estimate for eliminating the
menopause; “We can definitely
think in terms of 20 years from
now.
Lovell-Badge said progress-in
that area
had been “very
slow” and that there has been
no demonstration “with any
robustness” that stem cells can
be used to generate egg cells.
Despite this, de Grey's work has
attracted significant funding
from figures such as Facebook
backer Peter Thiel.
The Sen Research Foundation,
based in California, was
launched in 2009 to research
programmes for the
application of regenerative
medicine to aging. Its stated
goals is to “transform the way
the world researches and
treats age-related disease,”
the paper said.
The doctor said that antiageing treatments can extend
to the female reproductive
life-span because the ovaries
were just another organ'.
9
The Silence Was Over Finally
Gender Desk, Sanlaap
reveal the identity of the girl.
On August 28, a first year
student of Kala Bhavana
alleged that three senior
students of her department
sexually harassed her; took
some objectionable pictures of
her with their mobile phones
and subsequently threatened
to blackmail her with those.
Visva-Bharati authorities
finally broke silence on the
alleged sexual harassment of a
student of Kala Bhavana.
The complaint lodged by the
girl with the university
authorities said that it
happened a couple of days ago,
causing serious shock and
depression to her. She was
admitted to the university
hospital for a day due to a bout
of severe depressive attack.
..."The surname
of the survivor's
father found
frequent
mentions in the
press release"...
The girl hailed from Sikkim and
stayed in Ananda Sadan hostel.
As soon as the news of alleged
harassment spread, it shook
the power corridors in Kolkata,
Delhi and Sikkim, forcing the
varsity to lodge a formal
complaint with the police.
Subsequently, three students
were arrested.
In its press-release issued, the
university claimed: “The vicechancellor's office stands by all
the decisions taken and denies
that any of these were
prompted by the prodding of
the Centre or state government
or media.”
faculty members making
sweeping allegations and
outrageous demands in the
media against the VC and other
authorities. Such actions are
violations of the code of
conduct by Visva-Bharati
employees,” it said.
But, the chairman of the VisvaBharati's media interface
committee, Sabujkali Sen,
went incommunicado and VC's
spokesperson Sandip Basu
Sarbadhikari stalled with “no
comments”.
“The EC (Executive council) in
its meeting on the morning of
15th September; 2014, took
strong exceptions to some
The surname of the survivor's
father found frequent
mentions in the press release,
which, according to some, may
Ever since the incident came to
light, Visva-Bharati officials
avoided any kind of interaction
with newspersons. Even if they
accidentally received phone
calls from newspersons at
times, “no comments” was the
only thing they had to say.
Design: Sagarika Datta 9830359722
For the first time after the
allegation of sexual
harassment surfaced, Sen and
Sarbadhikari met newspersons
with the press release.
10