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| International Student Program - Saptarshi and Zainab |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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39th Voyage index |
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PEACE BOAT is an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. |
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