And how exactly are we going to #Bringbackourgirls?

By Jotika C

Its an ordeal of 6 months and counting since April 14 for the 219 girls abducted in Chibok, Nigeria for being in School who unlike the other 57 very brave and slightly more fortunate young ladies managed to escape and reclaim their lives. The abduction that started in the guise of an attack on ‘western education’ has since turned to a religious battle and then to a barter of the girls with convicts associated with the terrorist organization. News-flows of the young girls being forced to change their faith, coerced into marriage and some raped coupled with little to zero positive response from the Nigerian Government and military who claim to be under resourced and stretched, lives seem stuck in a classic struggle with negotiations not going anywhere. 

Contrary to popular belief, #Bringbackourgirls campaign on social media did provide the much need traction, social pressure and international attention to this incident with a host of socially influential personalities weigh into the campaign, It seemed very unlikely at that point that this issue would outlive 6 weeks let along 6 months. However, it did. It was also tough to imagine a national military couldn’t take down a local terrorist group, however that has happened too.

Unfortunately, public memory is short lived both social pressure and international attention got divided between other pressing issues of the Islamic state extremism and Ebola. While Nigeria was offered support from various countries very little has indeed happened on the ground owing to low responsiveness of the Nigerian Government and diverted international attention/ resources. Although the attention on this has eroded, the activists and affected families continue to assemble at the Unity Fountain in the capital city of Abuja to garner support, despite facing tough grounds locally to be allowed to do so.

While the Government  maintains rescue operations are indeed in progress, the consensus is in dis-belief. The families of abducted young girls count on social media and resultant international pressure to greater action on this cause. Past 6 months are evidence to the fact that Nigeria’s domestic actions on this issue have been proved futile and the world needs a reminder….. we still need to #Bringbackourgirls

How we can all help #BringOurGirlsBack

By Jotika C

Even when there’s not too much we do too there is still a little something we can do….

Its week # 4 since over 270 young girls have been abducted from their school in Chibok, located in the north eastern Nigeria in the name of condemning the so called ‘Western’ Education after an open raid on a school on April 14 with threats to sell the girls for slavery. In the name of whatever we call our God, which God or religion can one imagine to be small hearted enough to think of any education form as  more ‘Haram’ [forbidden] than kidnapping children, disrespecting families and young girls by keeping them captive for weeks, attacking their modesty by threatening to sell them. This crosses all thresholds of being disgusting when personal agenda belittles the name of God and Religion. 

We live in the era of social networking and times lines; here is the timeline on this incident:

April 14: Threats made to kidnap girls.
April 15: Over 100 girls reported missing.
April 17: Over 230 girls registered missing.
April 23:  First time #BringBackOurGirls used by UN officials.
April 29: Malala Yousafzai speaks with BBC Radio about the abducted girls in Nigeria requesting for support from the international communities.
April 30: Girls reported being sold at $12. Since then, there has been a spike in international tweets mentioning #BringBackOurGirls in response to girls being sold as slaves. One Million Women March in Abuja, Nigeria, including mothers and families of missing girls, women from Chibok, and hundreds of Nigerians in protest about government and military response. Online Petitions begin to pressure international organisations send aid to Nigerian military.
May 1: Social media campaign takes off in U.S. with celebrities tweeting to #BringBackOurGirls. It was tweeted 268,616 times
May 5: Boko Haram publishes a video taking responsibility of the abduction and threatening to sell the girls on international “human market.” There have been reports of some girls dying of snake bites and some being ill.May 12: Another video was posted demanding release of captive militants in exchange of the abducted girls but without any indication of initiating a dialogue or negotiation as the Nigerian government was hoping. The said video shows girls in grey veils chanting Islamic verses. While 2 girls were singled out and interviewed post their alleged conversion from Christianity to Islam.

Social networks when we need to be connected the most:

We do owe credit to all the hours we spend online that it has made the world so small where the Nigerian victims have been able to mobilize support from people across the globe. There have been numerous protests worldwide against the abduction, government’s response and in support of the missing girls and their families all over social media. While the Nigerian Government conducts the rescue operation there’s nothing most of us can do except becoming ‘Hashtag activists’.

#BringBackOurGirls has been tweeted over 1.5 million times. Increasing interactions on this cause have been counting as visibly increasing international support and pressure towards this cause which has led to the Nigerian government accepting International help. As per reports by BBC the UK, the US, France and China have deployed help on the ground to aid intelligence gathering, counter-terrorism and hostage negotiations.

As we wait and hope the rescue operations do indeed Bring Our Girls Back safe and soon, there is still a little something we can do to #BringOurGirlsBack.

The Curse

By Jotika C

Many sections of the society still take the effort to taboo ‘those days’ of the month. I wouldn’t know any women who have at some point of time in their lives not witnessed or experienced this taboo. As a woman with time one tends to get to terms with such customs.

Very recently during a trip when I causally heard about the ‘Chhaupadi’ custom I must admit I grossly undermined the seriousness, stubbing it as one of the orthodox custom women have grown immune to deal with de-facto until the learnt who exactly this custom is and the amount of lives it has costed over the years and has the potential to cost. 

Under the Chhaupadi custom practiced in western Nepal by Hindu/ Newa community, a menstruating woman or a woman about to deliver a child is exiled from the family house to live in a separate place, usually a mud covered hut or shed with no facilities. 

Such women are considered ‘impure’ and could allegedly anger the Gods if they lived a normal life with their families. Nepal is land of rich culture and folk tales, most of  which are very intriguing and interesting, the one about Chhaupadi is a sure exception.  IT is believed that if Chhaupadi is not followed evil spirits could possess the male members of the family. 

This custom restricts the lady to enter the premises of the house, touch any person or thing from the house, do not access public taps or wells they can access water only through restricted streams of water specifically assigned for women practicing chhaupadi and have no access to education during such times.

The Diet for menstruating and pregnant women is restricted to flat bread and salt. Milk or dairy products are specifically restricted. During times when women need assistance the most they are often left to their own devices to maintain their huts, collect firewood.  

In addition to the test of endurance, this practice is a huge cause of deteriorated health, vulnerability to diseases and social evils like assault and even rape while being on the ‘social exile. In Chhaupadi practicing sections of the Nepalese society most women deliver at their huts and not at hospitals some in presence of family members and some with no attendance at all. 

This practice has been abolished and considered unlawful by the Nepalese Supreme Court back in 2004 but still a decade later it still dies hard. Over the years there has been a huge outcry of women activists, urban population of Nepal and UNICEF.  If we let the numbers do the talking below is how the situation looks in Nepal and surrounding countries. Nepal has made considerable progress since the abolishment of Chhaupadi, but there is still a long way to go for this practice is die out.

		Units	2005	2010	2012
Nepal	HDI Ranking				157.00
	Maternal mortality ratio (deaths of women per100,000 live births)	deaths of women per100,000 live births	250.00	170.00
	GII: Gender Inequality Index, value	Index	0.63	0.50	0.49
Bangladesh	HDI Ranking				146.00
	Maternal mortality ratio (deaths of women per100,000 live births)	deaths of women per100,000 live births	330.00	240.00
	GII: Gender Inequality Index, value	Index	0.59	0.53	0.52
Bhutan	HDI Ranking				140.00
	Maternal mortality ratio (deaths of women per100,000 live births)	deaths of women per100,000 live births	270.00	180.00
	GII: Gender Inequality Index, value	Index			0.46
Myanmar	HDI Ranking				149.00
	Maternal mortality ratio (deaths of women per100,000 live births)	deaths of women per100,000 live births	230.00	200.00
	GII: Gender Inequality Index, value	Index		0.47	0.44
Viet Nam	HDI Ranking				127.00
	Maternal mortality ratio (deaths of women per100,000 live births)	deaths of women per100,000 live births	74.00	59.00
	GII: Gender Inequality Index, value	Index	0.32	0.32	0.30
Sri Lanka	HDI Ranking				92.00
	Maternal mortality ratio (deaths of women per100,000 live births)	deaths of women per100,000 live births	44.00	35.00
	GII: Gender Inequality Index, value	Index	0.45	0.41	0.40

Source: Human Development Report by the UN Development Programme