The synopsis taught in Irish schools of the demographic impact of the Great Hunger that devastated Ireland from 1845-52 is as follows: 1 million dead, 2 million emigrants. Is it a general rule that famines generate mass migration or was Ireland the exception? Remarkably, despite long-standing demographic research into famine and intensive current interest in migration, there is no definitive answer. But there is urgent policy interest in the link between mass starvation and migration. This article examines the causes and migration patterns of episodes of mass starvation from the 19th century onward and demonstrates the critical need for deeper research on the linkages between famine and migration. Among the unanswered questions: Does migration mitigate starvation or worsen it? Does it precede or follow famine? And how?
Even though Pakistani women artists must start acting more responsibly yet mainly it remains the State and government’s responsibility to provide and supply technology and digital solutions against virtual harassment of women artists enabling them to perform their job effectively and without mental stress. This misogyny led defaming and stigmatization by random individuals has to be blocked officially through all four pillars of the state. Policies need to be in place to control online trolls. Simultaneously, the government of Pakistan must clearly recognize that its women artists have a right to uphold their occupational identity without getting stigmatized in the process.
As an Islamic Republic, Pakistan treats its women as responsible ‘individuals/adults’ liable to pay all government taxes on incomes, savings, investments and property. A Pakistani Muslim professional woman is not expected to hide behind her wali or male guardian (and /or chaperone) on this account and claim exemption from taxes. If the expectation that she be duty-bound and clear all dues to the State and Government of Pakistan is warranted than so is the expectation from the State and Government of Pakistan to be rights-bound and thereby safeguard women’s freedoms while protecting them against any forms of harassment in the real and/or virtual world.
Continue Reading →This article highlights the globalized personhood of young women artists of Pakistan in the backdrop of gender nationalism. Towards the end a few major issues in digital governance of Pakistan are discussed. The main premise of the argument remains that Pakistan’s women artists have a right to uphold their ‘occupational’ identity without getting stigmatized in the process and more than anyone, the State and government of Islamic Republic of Pakistan is responsible for putting an end to online misogyny by investing in providing innovative digital solutions. In this regard the National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW), Islamabad, should take lead in planning a policy initiative that involves women artists, state/government institutions and the technology sector.
Continue Reading →
Brazil’s President-elect Jair Bolsonaro campaigned on far-right nationalism, romanticizing military dictatorship and making explicit appeals to racism, misogyny, transphobia, and homophobia. His politics has drawn comparisons to President Trump—gaining him the title of the “Trump of the Tropics?”—but his embrace of extreme policies veers beyond populism and toward outright fascism. Bolsonaro’s history of inflammatory remarks […]
Continue Reading →
The World Peace Foundation at The Fletcher School (Tufts University) has published a report by Professor Martha Mundy, The Strategies of the Coalition in the Yemen War,” that provides comprehensive analysis of patterns of targeting civilian, agricultural and fishing sites by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition in the on-going Yemen war. The Coalition is backing the internationally recognized government of Abd-Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, in the war against the “Houthi rebels” – the “Salvation/Rescue Government” of Ansarallah and its allies based in Sana’a. The war has brought Yemen to the brink of famine, with an estimated 22 million people in need of food aid.
Continue Reading →Follow Us!
