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by Anjuman Ara Begum* Sexual violence continues in India unabated. The December 2012 gang rape and subsequent death of a 23 year old woman led to a shift in discourse on sexual violence in India. For the first time, the blame shifted from victims to perpetrators, fostering changes in certain colonial era criminal laws. However, […]

by Nilantha Ilangamuwa Many stories revealing many different opinions are coming out. The writers are screaming, refuting, condemning and justifying what has been and their articles show the concerns of many people. Meanwhile, the social media has played a huge role and shared both sides of the story more freely than might have been done […]

Reviewed by Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena A Book Review: A Sociological Exploration Of Disappearances In Sri Lanka Author: Jane Thomson-Senanayake Print Length: 275 pages Publisher: Asian Human Rights Commission  Date: May 1, 2014  ISBN: 978-955-4597-04-4 Reading through this study by an Australian doctoral researcher Jane Thomson-Senanayake published by the Asian Human Rights Commission, May 2014, I am […]

by Bushra Khaliq Like many other poor countries, child labour is a socially acceptable phenomenon in Pakistan. There is a long list of formal and informal sectors teeming with child labour across Pakistan. However, top among these sectors may be agriculture, auto workshops, rag picking and teashops, which harbour significant number of underage working children. […]

By Basil Fernando The major problem affecting all Sri Lankans now, and which is likely to affect future generations, is the complete failure of law enforcement and resulting lawlessness. While virtually everyone is aware of this problem, it is not subject to conversation. For the few who are vocal on matters of public interest, the […]

The following article was published as the editorial of the latest issue of Torture: Asian and Global Perspectives by Nilantha Ilangamuwa Sri Lanka is once again on the edge of a political crucible in terms of its international relations as well as in its domestic politics. The country is ignoring calls for an independent and credible investigation […]

हो सकता है कि कई लोगों (जो खास तौर पर राजनीतिक विचारधारा से ज्यादा राजनीतिक दल के प्रति समर्पित होंगे) को यह नजरिया पसंद नहीं आये कि ये चुनाव व्यवस्था में कोई मूल बदलाव नहीं लायेंगे. इस असहमति के बावजूद हमें उस संकट के मूल कारकों तक जाने की कोशिश करना ही चाहिए, जिन्हें इन चुनावों में […]

This article was originally published in the latest issue of TORTURE : Asian and Global Perspectives ( Volume 03 Number 1 & 2 | February- April 2014 ) Everyone needs a life of respect. Those in cages still wait for theirs. Written and photographs by  Hazel Le & Nilantha Ilangamuwa It was almost sunset in Asia’s global […]

A blasphemy case has been registered under sections 295, 295C 298C and others against GEO media group owner, Mir Shakilur Rehman, anchor Shaista Lodhi, Veena Malik, Asad Khatak and other people, creating a new state of affairs. Perhaps this is the first time that such high profile people have been charged under the blasphemy law […]

हमें अपनी नयी सरकार से सामान्य ज्ञान का एक सवाल पूछना चहिये कि यदि हमारे यहाँ नीतियां किस आधार पर बनती हैं, जबकि कई मूल विषयों पर भारत में आंकडें और जानकारियां एकत्र करने में परहेज किया जाता है? स्वास्थ्य के क्षेत्र से लेकर आर्थिक सूचकांकों, कुपोषण और विस्थापन तक ऐसे तमाम क्षेत्र हैं, जहाँ […]

भारत के लोगों ने भारतीय जनता पार्टी के नेतृत्व में राष्ट्रीय जनतांत्रिक गठबंधन को पूर्ण ही नहीं, सम्पूर्ण बहुमत दिया है. यह इस बात का भी संकेत है कि अब वह कोई अधूरा काम न करे, यही जनमत उससे अपेक्षा करता है. भारतीय जनता पार्टी की जड़ें मूलतः स्वदेशी की विचारधारा में रहीं हैं, परन्तु […]

(Note: this article was first published in the May 4, 2014 issue of the Sunday Examiner) I am a Filipino but I see myself a Hong Konger. If we are to take the guidelines of Hong Kong Unison, a non-profit organisation advocating for the protection of the rights of ethnic minorities, a Hong Konger is any person […]

The killing of senior lawyer, Rashid Rehman, on May 7, 2014 in his office in Multan has once again brought into focus at home and abroad how little the Pakistani state values those who risk their lives for the promotion and protection of fundamental rights for all. Rehman was killed despite having earlier expressed serious […]

White clad people of all ages observing sil; temples full of pious devotees; trees laden with flowers and mounds of jasmine and araliya offered at sacred bo tree and temple alter, scenting the air. Come night and cities that were quiet and white turn garishly gaudy. Pandals light up and stories depicted on them are broadcast too […]

The attempted murder of an anchorperson of a popular media house triggered the open discussion on the role of the ISI in dealing with the freedom of expression and the media as a whole. Indeed, this is not the first occasion that the role of the ISI was brought up as a conspirator in the […]

The provincial assembly of Sindh has took the daring lead on 28th April 2014, that deserves appreciation for becoming Pakistan’s first elected assembly to have passed a bill restraining child marriages under 18 years. The passage of the bill has come on the heels of controversy that was triggered after the council of Islamic Ideology (CII) […]

(Note: this article was first published in the April 20, 2014 issue of the Sunday Examiner) In November 2005, Jose Manegdeg, a staff member of a church-based non-governmental organisation, was killed soon after he finished conducting a para-legal training in San Esteban, Ilocos Sur. Four years later, another 57 people, 32 of whom were journalists, were murdered […]

लोकसभा चुनाव 2014 के पहले चरण के मतदान के दौरान मध्यप्रदेश के होशंगाबाद जिले के एक गाँव में एक विकलांग व्यक्ति मतदान करने पहुंचा। इस व्यक्ति मतदान को केन्द्र के अंदर नहीं जाने में काफी मशक्कत करनी पड़ी, क्योंकि उस केंद्र पर रैम्प नहीं था। अंदर जाकर भी उसके लिए अपने मत का उपयोग करना […]

The collusion between the Pakistan military and the Taliban is so strong that the military does not want to hold an operation in North Waziristan If anything flagrant is to be noticed in North Waziristan, it is the lack of seriousness and the obvious collusion of the state with the terrorists organisations based in that […]

(Note: this article was first published in the April 6, 2014 issue of the Sunday Examiner) Eleven years ago, I was in a small store with a friend in Pikit, North Cotabato, in central Mindanao. We were exhausted after an all day field work of interviewing people about how and why they were evacuated due to […]