Between democracy and nation: Gender and militarisation in Kashmir.

This thesis focuses on the militarisation of a secessionist movement involving Kashmiri militants and Indian military forces in the north Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The term militarisation in this thesis connotes the militarised state and, more primarily, the growing influence of the military within the state that has profound implications for state and society. In contrast to conventional approaches that distinguish between inter and intra-state military conflict, this thesis analyses India's external and domestic crises of militarisation within a single analytic frame to argue that both dimensions are not mutually exclusive but have common political origins. Kashmir, this thesis further argues, exemplifies the intersection between militarisation's external and domestic dimensions. Focusing on the intersection between both dimensions of militarisation in Kashmir, this thesis illustrates that the greatest and most grievous price of using the military for domestic repression in Kashmir and for military defence of Kashmir without (vis-a-vis Pakistan) is paid by Kashmir's citizens and society. Drawing on women's subjective experience of militarisation, this thesis highlights the intersection between state military processes at a 'national' level and social transformations at the local/ societal level. By way of conclusion, this thesis argues that Kashmir's humanitarian tragedy - exemplified by its gender dimensions - underlines why militarisation and and over Kashmir has failed to ensure 'security' for the state or security and justice for Kashmiri citizens. A decentralised, democratic state with a plural concept of nation and identity, this thesis suggests, is the best safeguard against use of the military for domestic repression within and the extraordinary military and nuclear consolidation of the Indian state without

Democratic governance and women's rights in South Asia

The paper emphasizes the importance of gender equality as a core guiding principle of democratic governance. It examines trends in women’s participation in governance bodies in each national context (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal) and highlights cross-national examples of collaborative activism. The advantages and limits of reserved quotas for women’s political presence are analysed and summed up. The inclusion of women in political institutions is an important yet insufficient condition for challenging the political status quo; class disparities flowing from socio-economic inequality must be addressed simultaneously

Perception of medical students regarding breast feeding at Al Tibri Medical College and Hospital: a comparative study

Background: Breast milk is an ideal feed for infants, and it is effective in ensuring child health and survival. The study was done to assess the perception regarding breastfeeding among medical students of basic and clinical sciences and to compare knowledge regarding feeding among basic sciences with clinical sciences students.Methods: This cross-sectional survey was done at Al-Tibri Medical College and Hospital over a period of 6 months from February 2019 till July 2109. A self-generated Questionnaire was used to assess the perception of 367 medical students regarding breast feeding from basic and clinical sciences of medical students. Result was statistically analyzed using SPSS version 22. Chi-square test was used to compare qualitative data, p-value <0.05 was considered significant.Results: A total of 367 students participated in the study with 159(43.3%) from basic medical sciences and 208(56.7%) from clinical sciences. Out of respondents, 54.5% were females. Internet was the main source of knowledge (47.3%) as shown in the graph, 74.1% were native. Generally, the majority of students from clinical group had a better perception regarding breastfeeding initiation and continuation along with infant and maternal benefit. Clinical science group had an edge on the basic science group with reference to their perception of breastfeeding in special circumstances.Conclusions: Medical universities are the main platform for future physicians, so knowledge regarding breast feeding promotion and practices should be given from this stage

Rape, Impunity and Justice in Kashmir

This article focuses on rape by security forces in the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir and the question of accountability and justice for sexual crimes committed by State forces in the Kashmir Valley. Moving beyond the violence against women\u27 frame, the instrumental use of rape by security forces as a cultural, political and psychological weapon of war is highlighted, as is the denial of institutional justice for the same. The suggestion here is that the question of justice for sexual crimes by state forces in Kashmir must be situated within the overarching context of the abuse of power by executive and military authority, and the unquestioned subversion of local civil and judicial authority. This particular institutional setting and policy it is further argued, justifies the case for international legal intervention in Kashmir. The Indian state\u27s claim to jurisdiction over the territory of Kashmir is assessed with reference to international law; the universality of the legal principle of self-determination is emphasised, as is the salience of international law regarding sexual crimes by state forces. Drawing upon Kashmir\u27s international legal dimensions in general and its legacy of rape by security forces in particular, the article concludes by advancing a single moral argument for Kashmiri self-determination

Women, Gender Politics, and Resistance in Kashmir

This article focuses on Kashmiri women and the gender politics underpinning the August 5, 2019 revocation of Article 370 in Kashmir. Reclaiming Kashmiri women’s property rights was among the justifications cited by the state for revoking Kashmir’s autonomy. Paradoxically, however, most analyses centered on its political implications. Kashmiri women’s opinions regarding the revocation, the state’s use of the women’s rights argument to justify the same, or Kashmiri women’s rights and experiences in the wake of the revocation were seldom the subjects of discussion or analysis. Beginning with a brief overview of Kashmiri women’s role in the Kashmiri struggle, I juxtapose the State’s claim as defender of Kashmiri women’s property rights against the legal and factual position of women’s property rights in Kashmir prior to the revocation, demonstrating the contradiction between the two. I subsequently foreground the gendered, misogynist sub-text of nationalist rhetoric unleashed in the wake of the revocation. The convergence between hyper-nationalist, masculinist claims to Kashmir’s territory on the one hand, and to Kashmiri women’s bodies on the other, is highlighted. This particular dimension, I maintain, symbolises the gendered edge of the Indian State’s policy of colonial and ethnic domination in Kashmir. In the final section, I use local Kashmiri reportage on Kashmiri women’s views, subjective experience, and collective resistance to contest (a) constructs of the apolitical, victimised, agency-less Kashmiri Muslim woman, and (b) state claims to Kashmiri, especially Kashmiri women’s endorsement of the revocation. Kashmiri women’s resistance, I conclude, is part of a Kashmiri struggle underpinned by the universal principles of justice and liberty; it symbolises the need for a just and peaceful resolution to Kashmir’s tragedy

Muslim women in India

Seema Kaz

Local companies underperform: a comparative study of industries in Pakistan

The capacity of the organization to produce high-quality products at the lowest cost with the fast pace of delivery of goods and services has the potential to determine the survival, sustainability, and growth of organizations in emerging globalization and competition. The researcher has critically examined the impact of people's development, employee welfare, leadership effectiveness, and Human Resources operations effectiveness in the context of local, Multinational Companies, and public sector organizations operating in Pakistan. This research has also considered previous studies. The study results show that the sustainability and growth of organizations depend on how engaged and motivated employees the companies have to be to achieve organizational goals. MNCs invest in best talent acquisition and development, take care of employee welfare, and consistently improve the system thus sustain and grow. It was discovered that the local companies still could not shift from ownership to corporate culture and leading by "Seth" (entrepreneur mindset) lacking professional approaches. The local organizations are penny-wise, by compromising on capacity building of people, employee welfare, leadership development, and implying an efficient system. Unlike MNCs, 'Seth' companies operate with low capacity employees, disengaged workforce, ineffective leadership, and obsolete systems and suffer huge hidden productivity and efficiency losses that are never surfaced and monitored. The data of this research was generated based on information provided by HR heads of 15 MNCs, local and public sector companies. HR experts were interviewed in focused groups and through questionnaires

Responsiveness of millenial (generation Y) to social media recruitment campaigns: evidence from Pakistan

The utilization of social media has expanded rapidly in the 21st century; the majority of people use social media and social networking sites (SNSs) especially millennial “Generation Y” (born between 1980 to 1994 and now 26 to 40 years old). The purpose of the study is to observe the responsiveness of Millennial (Generation Y) to social media recruitment campaign in Pakistan. The research involves the dependent variable as recruitment and selection of generation Y and four independent variables as perceived costs, perceived risks, perceived opportunities, and perceived benefits. Survey sent to 150 respondents, out of which 106 being received. The data gathered was tested by using the SPSS for descriptive statistics, standard deviations, Correlation, regression analysis was done to check the relationship between dependent and independent variables. The results of the first objective revealed that the utilization of social networking in recruitment is inexpensive for many companies, the outcomes of the second variable indicated that when using social media, the human resource professionals gather consistent information for all candidates making fair and speedy hiring, to analyze the third objective, the outcomes have shown that there are numerous risks associated while using social networking sites and lastly when testing the fourth objective observed that various organizations don't have job portal page for  recruitment of Millennial (Generation Y) and majority candidates use LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter for job searching. The study concluded that appropriate utilization of social networking sites in recruitment and selection of Millennial (Generation Y) provides excess to more extensive pool of candidates, is cost effective, faster and practical for organizations. They take benefit by utilizing social networking sites for recruitment campaigns yet the quality and competency of candidates not compromised however the candidate’s information privacy risk need mitigation

The Spectrum of Histopathological Lesions in Children Presenting with Steroid-Resistant Nephrotic Syndrome at a Single Center in Pakistan

Steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS) is a common problem in pediatric nephrology practice. There is currently little information in the literature on the spectrum of histopathologic lesions in children presenting with SRNS in Pakistan. This study was designed to determine the histopathologic lesions in children presenting with SRNS at our center. The study was conducted at the Histopathology Department, Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) from January 2009 to August 2011. All children (≤16 years) presenting with SRNS, in whom renal biopsies were performed, were included. Their demographic, clinical, laboratory, and histopathological data were retrieved from files and original renal biopsy forms. The results were analyzed by SPSS version 10.0. A total of 147 children were included. Of these, 91 (61.9%) were males and 56 (38.1%) females, with male-to-female ratio of 1.6 : 1. The mean age was 7.03 ± 4.0 years (range: 6 months–16 years). The histopathological lesions seen on renal biopsies comprised of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) (38.5%), followed by minimal change disease (MCD) (23.2%), IgM nephropathy (IgMN) (13.6%), idiopathic mesangial proliferative GN (10.2%), membranous GN (8.2%), and mesangiocapillary GN (4.8%). Our results indicate that FSGS is the predominant lesion in children with SRNS, followed by MCD and IgMN