International Student Program - Saptarshi and Zainab IS Zainab Shah from Pakistan In the first of the open presentations by the International Students, Zainab Shah from Pakistan and Saptarshi Bhattachary from India introduced the political and historical background of the conflict between their two countries before speaking of their personal aspirations and current involvement in the media. A documentary filmmaker and journalist writing articles on women's issues for magazines, Zainab gave examples of the deplorable condition of women in Pakistan's patriarchal society. Rape victims, for example, must provide three witnesses to support their accusations and in tribal areas the only law is that of the male village council. In protest against the humiliation suffered by women, two movements were formed; the Women's Action Forum and Women Against Rape, yet members, such as Zainab's mother, were beaten, arrested and harrassed during peaceful protests. Pakistan has spent over half its fifty-five years of independence under martial law, and Zini spoke of the psychological, economic and structural devastation of war. Stating that, in Pakistan, politics governs all areas of life, and that oppressive regimes had at times banned all forms of free expression, she recalled archived newspapers from the 1960's with entire columns blank due to last-minute suppression. Article nineteen of the constitution allows freedom of the press only if the media doesn't threaten the security of the country or incite unrest. Thus, as Zainab emphasised, when injustice and repression provoke protest, the administration can censor critics by citing this article, resulting in a media which propagates the official view. IS Saptarshi Bhattachary of India PIn his presentation, Saptarshi sketched out current social problems and how traditional ways of life have been influenced by western thinking, illustrating his account with photos from the IS homestay in a Kerala fishing village. Having worked for five years for The Hindu, an independent mainstream newspaper, Rishi spoke of his growing awareness of apathy amongst the youth of India and how corruption has resulted in gradual erosion of trust in politicians. Criticising the media for swallowing the government line regarding tension with Pakistan, he noted the lack of public debate of the issue and how, after the nuclear tests, nationalistic propaganda was used to rally the population around nuclear armament. Furthermore, with increased defense spending depleting the budget, funding has dried up for poverty alleviation and development projects such as the distribution of subsidised grain, drinking water supply, education and public health initiatives. Concerned by the media's lack of focus on important issues and the social imbalance created by rural impoverishment, Saptarshi decided to join the group "Journalists against Nuclear War". Seeing a need to reach out and influence public opinion, this movement has organised educational programmes in schools, demonstrations and, on the first anniversary of India's test, held a protest rally featuring a human chain to garner support for the de-nuclearisation lobby. Peace Boat's 39th Voyage index