Friday, November 22, 2019
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
Women & the four pillars of Justice.
This blog post was published as a featured post on Women's Web. Featured Posts are a careful selection of highly relevant and interesting posts picked by editors @Women's Web .each day
The Times of India dated 7th of November, 2019 published a study " Litigants lose nearly 50,000 crore annually in India " .The report went on to say that all states & Union Territories s spend less than 1% of GDP on judiciary .Delhi is the only state which spends 1.9 % of GDP on judiciary. The average for India works out to 0.8% of GDP on judiciary. The score by the states on the four pillars of justice namely legal aid, judiciary, police & prison is equally pathetic.
The represenation of women in judiciary is slightly more than one fourth, at 26.5 % whereas in the police it is merely 7 % & for prisons, it is slightly better at 10 % .Because the number of women lawyers is less, the empanelment of women is even lesser. Only Tamil Nadu ,which had a good number of women in the judiciary & police, came out on top in diversity. Diversity helps the cause of justice.
The India Justice Report , 2019 says that vacancies in police, prison & judiciary is the main cause of delay in justice. And denial of justice over long periods leads to economic loss & may lead to social unrest & instability . Prisons are overcrowded except jails for women. Legal aid looks like a cruel joke as it is pegged at only 75 paise on a per capita basis every year.
Women are caregivers & caretakers .So its better to utilise them in areas such as prison reforms & even in police & the judiciary.Women are the sensitised lot & are more responsive than men in cases of rapes of women, children, etc.Even today , the POSCO act is rarely invoked to punish the accused in the cases of child rapes. This would change ,if women are in charge . So, the need of the times, is more women in the workforce. A beginning ,can be made by increasing the number of women in the lower strata of the police, prisons & the judiciary. Over time, these ladies from the lowest ranks can move to higher ranks in the respective fields . Since women are less in the work force , appointing them at the higher levels without relevant experience would seem unfair & may be unworkable.
The percentage of women in the workforce is less than 25 %.There are many reasons .One is patriarchy as women are supposed to manage home & hearth. Safety is another factor .And because, there are few women in work force , there is lot of gender disparity in wages, in both informal as also the formal workforce.
Hence ,more women need to be brought into the work force. And they need to do paid work not housework. This will increase India's GDP by 20 % as per one estimate .
In another study by two Harvard students, it was found ,that more women in workplace would lead to a rise of nearly 27 % in the GDP of India. There is lot of discrimination which happens during hiring ,over qualifications, experience, etc. So the need is to increase gender diversity, to get more women into doing paid work.
Unfortunately, in India, the women are leaving paid work & sitting at home taking care of family & housework. This ,in spite of higher GDP & higher employment .As women get better educated & get married into higher income families, they give up paid work because of socio cultural reasons. The Government wants women to take an increased role in the armed forces & yet ,there's lot of resistance. A silver lining has been the commissioning of flight commander S. Dhami as Flight Commander in the officer cadre .Lieutenant Commander Karabi Gogoi has been selected as the Assistant Naval Attache at Russia. She is a naval engineer & at present is posted at Karwar naval base, Karnataka.Lets trust, this the beginning ,of a long line of female officers in the Armed Forces.
Similarly, government should enforce that more women are at work in the police, prisons & the judiciary .Though private companies can do their bit in hiring more women , government can set the finest example, by making it easy, to hire women. Women in correctional services & law & order services would lead to better safety environment for all ,especially for women, children & the elderly. And hence ,better law & order promoting peace. As the number of women increase in the judiciary, the police & the prisons, legal aid will get utilised to help the underdogs . This will lead to amore equitable society. This will lead to stability, in which India can prosper faster, leading to better living conditions for all .
Since vacancies in judiciary are more at lower rungs,as high as 52 % in Mizoram it would suffice if women are employed on contactual terms initially .This would ease burden on the exchequer .Because shortly & surely, women would set up such a high bar that there they would earn their place/ s in the aforesaid services .And the number of judges at subordinate courts need to rise too .In India, there is one judge for 50,000 people. This needs to improve. So more judges are needed at subordinate courts .And the courts need to work in shifts ,as there are lakhs of cases pending in courts .This shift working will help clear the backlog of pending cases. This will help in employing more women as well.
.Just like in the local self governments, there is reservations for women , even at lower rungs in judiciary, police & prisons, 50 percent or more jobs can be reserved for women .This is allowed by Indian constitution under Fundamental Rights.Article 15 ( 3 ) of the Constitution allows reservation in favour of women.Moreover, India is a signatory to the Convention for Elimination of Dicrimination Against Women . India has also signed the International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights .
The women need to have a bachelor's degree in law .With this basic degree , they can dispense justice at lower rungs with some basic training thrown in. A similar plan can be drawn up to employ more women in the police & prison services. The best among the women so employed, must be given chances to rise up in the services. Soon, there will be more & more women breaking the glass ceilings. Obviously, the percentage rise in India's GDP will the cream on the cake !
And as more women participate in the labour market by doing paid work, gender parity in wages will become better & better. And gender equality will lead to better family life, less stress, better health & a society that has does not judge on masculanity.In short, better living conditions for all !
The Times of India dated 7th of November, 2019 published a study " Litigants lose nearly 50,000 crore annually in India " .The report went on to say that all states & Union Territories s spend less than 1% of GDP on judiciary .Delhi is the only state which spends 1.9 % of GDP on judiciary. The average for India works out to 0.8% of GDP on judiciary. The score by the states on the four pillars of justice namely legal aid, judiciary, police & prison is equally pathetic.
The represenation of women in judiciary is slightly more than one fourth, at 26.5 % whereas in the police it is merely 7 % & for prisons, it is slightly better at 10 % .Because the number of women lawyers is less, the empanelment of women is even lesser. Only Tamil Nadu ,which had a good number of women in the judiciary & police, came out on top in diversity. Diversity helps the cause of justice.
The India Justice Report , 2019 says that vacancies in police, prison & judiciary is the main cause of delay in justice. And denial of justice over long periods leads to economic loss & may lead to social unrest & instability . Prisons are overcrowded except jails for women. Legal aid looks like a cruel joke as it is pegged at only 75 paise on a per capita basis every year.
Women are caregivers & caretakers .So its better to utilise them in areas such as prison reforms & even in police & the judiciary.Women are the sensitised lot & are more responsive than men in cases of rapes of women, children, etc.Even today , the POSCO act is rarely invoked to punish the accused in the cases of child rapes. This would change ,if women are in charge . So, the need of the times, is more women in the workforce. A beginning ,can be made by increasing the number of women in the lower strata of the police, prisons & the judiciary. Over time, these ladies from the lowest ranks can move to higher ranks in the respective fields . Since women are less in the work force , appointing them at the higher levels without relevant experience would seem unfair & may be unworkable.
The percentage of women in the workforce is less than 25 %.There are many reasons .One is patriarchy as women are supposed to manage home & hearth. Safety is another factor .And because, there are few women in work force , there is lot of gender disparity in wages, in both informal as also the formal workforce.
Hence ,more women need to be brought into the work force. And they need to do paid work not housework. This will increase India's GDP by 20 % as per one estimate .
In another study by two Harvard students, it was found ,that more women in workplace would lead to a rise of nearly 27 % in the GDP of India. There is lot of discrimination which happens during hiring ,over qualifications, experience, etc. So the need is to increase gender diversity, to get more women into doing paid work.
Unfortunately, in India, the women are leaving paid work & sitting at home taking care of family & housework. This ,in spite of higher GDP & higher employment .As women get better educated & get married into higher income families, they give up paid work because of socio cultural reasons. The Government wants women to take an increased role in the armed forces & yet ,there's lot of resistance. A silver lining has been the commissioning of flight commander S. Dhami as Flight Commander in the officer cadre .Lieutenant Commander Karabi Gogoi has been selected as the Assistant Naval Attache at Russia. She is a naval engineer & at present is posted at Karwar naval base, Karnataka.Lets trust, this the beginning ,of a long line of female officers in the Armed Forces.
Similarly, government should enforce that more women are at work in the police, prisons & the judiciary .Though private companies can do their bit in hiring more women , government can set the finest example, by making it easy, to hire women. Women in correctional services & law & order services would lead to better safety environment for all ,especially for women, children & the elderly. And hence ,better law & order promoting peace. As the number of women increase in the judiciary, the police & the prisons, legal aid will get utilised to help the underdogs . This will lead to amore equitable society. This will lead to stability, in which India can prosper faster, leading to better living conditions for all .
Since vacancies in judiciary are more at lower rungs,as high as 52 % in Mizoram it would suffice if women are employed on contactual terms initially .This would ease burden on the exchequer .Because shortly & surely, women would set up such a high bar that there they would earn their place/ s in the aforesaid services .And the number of judges at subordinate courts need to rise too .In India, there is one judge for 50,000 people. This needs to improve. So more judges are needed at subordinate courts .And the courts need to work in shifts ,as there are lakhs of cases pending in courts .This shift working will help clear the backlog of pending cases. This will help in employing more women as well.
.Just like in the local self governments, there is reservations for women , even at lower rungs in judiciary, police & prisons, 50 percent or more jobs can be reserved for women .This is allowed by Indian constitution under Fundamental Rights.Article 15 ( 3 ) of the Constitution allows reservation in favour of women.Moreover, India is a signatory to the Convention for Elimination of Dicrimination Against Women . India has also signed the International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights .
The women need to have a bachelor's degree in law .With this basic degree , they can dispense justice at lower rungs with some basic training thrown in. A similar plan can be drawn up to employ more women in the police & prison services. The best among the women so employed, must be given chances to rise up in the services. Soon, there will be more & more women breaking the glass ceilings. Obviously, the percentage rise in India's GDP will the cream on the cake !
And as more women participate in the labour market by doing paid work, gender parity in wages will become better & better. And gender equality will lead to better family life, less stress, better health & a society that has does not judge on masculanity.In short, better living conditions for all !
Sunday, September 29, 2019
Friday, September 27, 2019
Book Review : The Magician .
Sonia Rao's debut book makes a splash with its cover ,which is sepia coloured ! A woman holding an ornate cage & looking at it intently as if trying to declare, that she can do as she wishes .She means to say ,perhaps ,that she writes her own destiny ! Empowering !
This story is about three friends .They are in different stages of their life. There is Sasha who is an ace fashion designer, Shantha who is a famous Tarrot card reader on love & Nilima who is a professional working woman.They all have a complicated relationship with love.Sasha feels that she is being betrayed . Shantha feels that she has never get what she wants . Nilima has love in her embrace.
And yet, as the story progresses, everything changes. Is Sasha able to keep up her professional commitments amidst her personal life being torn apart ? What about Shantha ? Does she meet anybody who loves her passionately ? Or is she going to lose ? Nilima 's life goes downhill & how ! Will the three of them find happiness or will it remain elusive ? The story moves on with twists & turns.
One of the characters is fond of masala chai. And the author describes masala chai in such a manner that, I felt the aroma of masala chai wafting across the room ! And the author talks about tribal arts & revival of the traditional arts & crafts. This is needed, as many arts & crafts are being lost because they are no longer able to generate any income for the craftspeople.Sonia Rao has served traditional crafts & arts by making some of them a part of the story. This will create awareness .
Needless to add, looking forward to book two of this trilogy weaved by Sonia Rao !
THE MAGICIAN
(The Tarot Trilogy Book 1)
by
Sonia Rao
(The Tarot Trilogy Book 1)
by
Sonia Rao
Blurb
Fashion designer Sasha Kapoor always felt she'd missed out on love as she had an arranged marriage. And when her husband turns up at their 15th-anniversary party with a strange woman, she knows that her marriage is dying. With constant surprises and disasters to contend with, will Sasha ever get a chance at true love?
Shantha is much sought after for her tarot card readings on love, but can’t seem to help her own love life with a string of broken relationships behind her. Now, sparks are flying between her and a sexy bartender but will this relationship fizzle out too?
Young professionals Nilima and her husband are so besotted with each other, they give the word ‘soulmate’ a complex. Theirs is a match made in heaven…till tragedy strikes.
The Magician is a heart-warming story of these three dynamic women as they discover the meaning of true love through loss and longing.
Who is a Magician? If it is a Tarot Card, then it the Major Arcana card in the deck and symbolizes life-changing issues.
But if it is a person, then it is Sasha, the main protagonist of my novel, The Magician. In this urban, contemporary romance, fashion designer Sasha, who caught within a loveless marriage, now seeks true love. It is also Shantha and Nilima who face their own challenges in love and try to rise above them.
It is also every woman. This is because, as Shantha says to Sasha in the book, “Imagination is your strength. You have the power to visualize and then manifest what you want. You are the Magician.” Each one of us is The Magician because we hold within ourselves the power to create the life of our dreams.
But how did this cover happen? There is a lovely story behind it. While researching the many tarot decks online, I saw this card on the Attic Shoppe website and I knew at once that this was my “Sasha.”
Go back and have a look at the cover again. Doesn’t it just grip you too? Part practical, part whimsical, part traditional, part digital, this card, like the book, is a labour of love.
The designer, Bethalynne Bajema, created this card for her Black Ibis Tarot card deck. The love she put in is very evident in the vibe one gets from it. Every time I see it, I am inspired to bring a touch of magic to the everyday routines of mundane life.
Carrying on the serendipity, Bethalynne immediately and graciously agreed to my request to make this card my book cover. Such generosity is hard to come by and I believe it is the Universe’s way of saying “you’re right on track.”
(Bethalynne can be contacted here: Instagram)
Shantha is much sought after for her tarot card readings on love, but can’t seem to help her own love life with a string of broken relationships behind her. Now, sparks are flying between her and a sexy bartender but will this relationship fizzle out too?
Young professionals Nilima and her husband are so besotted with each other, they give the word ‘soulmate’ a complex. Theirs is a match made in heaven…till tragedy strikes.
The Magician is a heart-warming story of these three dynamic women as they discover the meaning of true love through loss and longing.
Thoughts from the Author, Sonia Rao
But if it is a person, then it is Sasha, the main protagonist of my novel, The Magician. In this urban, contemporary romance, fashion designer Sasha, who caught within a loveless marriage, now seeks true love. It is also Shantha and Nilima who face their own challenges in love and try to rise above them.
It is also every woman. This is because, as Shantha says to Sasha in the book, “Imagination is your strength. You have the power to visualize and then manifest what you want. You are the Magician.” Each one of us is The Magician because we hold within ourselves the power to create the life of our dreams.
But how did this cover happen? There is a lovely story behind it. While researching the many tarot decks online, I saw this card on the Attic Shoppe website and I knew at once that this was my “Sasha.”
Go back and have a look at the cover again. Doesn’t it just grip you too? Part practical, part whimsical, part traditional, part digital, this card, like the book, is a labour of love.
The designer, Bethalynne Bajema, created this card for her Black Ibis Tarot card deck. The love she put in is very evident in the vibe one gets from it. Every time I see it, I am inspired to bring a touch of magic to the everyday routines of mundane life.
Carrying on the serendipity, Bethalynne immediately and graciously agreed to my request to make this card my book cover. Such generosity is hard to come by and I believe it is the Universe’s way of saying “you’re right on track.”
(Bethalynne can be contacted here: Instagram)
Read an excerpt
Grab your copy @
Amazon.in | Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk
About the author
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Grab your copy @
Amazon.in | Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk
About the author
"Sonia Rao is a writer, editor, and award-winning blogger. Her fiction has appeared in many prestigious anthologies such as Voices Old & New and Jest Like That (edited by renowned editor-writer Shinie Anthony).
As NaNoWriMo’s Municipal Liaison for all-India and founder of the Wrimo India group on Facebook, Sonia has motivated thousands of people in India to write a novel every November since 2011. She has also curated and edited the first Wrimo India Anthology, Vengeance—A Sting In Every Tale.
Sonia likes to believe she is ‘high-minded’ but strangely, her fave hobby is thinking up torture devices for those autorickshawallahs who consider the roads to be their personal spittoon. Who knew?"
As NaNoWriMo’s Municipal Liaison for all-India and founder of the Wrimo India group on Facebook, Sonia has motivated thousands of people in India to write a novel every November since 2011. She has also curated and edited the first Wrimo India Anthology, Vengeance—A Sting In Every Tale.
Sonia likes to believe she is ‘high-minded’ but strangely, her fave hobby is thinking up torture devices for those autorickshawallahs who consider the roads to be their personal spittoon. Who knew?"
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