Shaan Katari Libby

Raising the marriage age of women from 18 to 21 years has its drawbacks. In reality what is needed is their economic and health empowerment and achieving sustainable development goals.

A WhatsApp message appeared on a group last week from an indignant friend. It carried images of the recent 10th Standard Board exam that had carried an English comprehension passage which subscribed to the view that the man must be the head of the household—the lord and master—and the wife should be subservient, and she in turn could supervise the children and servants basking in his glory and frequently invoking fear of him.

Students at an online debate competition held recently put forth impassioned and reasoned arguments that touched upon social and political life, as well as abstract themes.

By Shaan Katari Libby ...

By Shaan Katari Libby ...

India is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol and does not have a national framework regarding refugees. But continues to grant asylum to a large number of refugees from neighbouring States and respects UNHCR’s mandate for other nationals, mainly from Afghanistan and Myanmar.

Even as the pandemic left behind thousands of orphans, the centre has put into place a system which makes it easier to adopt them. This includes a tracking portal, making the process relatively straightforward.

Both systems have pros and cons. While a good monarch with an ear to the ground can be an invaluable neutral voice, a president in a constitutional democracy can act as an advisor and a ceremonial head.

Rather like the passports of today, these would function as verifiable, credible, digitised records of inoculation that will be accepted across countries and enable one to bypass quarantine requirements.

India is considered the worst country for women due to sexual violence. Women are often seen as chattel and raped. In some nations, violence is needed for the crime to be seen as rape. Only a change of mindset can tackle this horrendous crime.