Finding Lost Voices: An Archaeological Study of Historic, African American Burial Sites in North Georgia

As the city of Atlanta rapidly expands, burial grounds that have been lost in history are being rapidly rediscovered. This project surveyed three historic, African American burial sites in North Georgia with the aim of documenting the sites for preservation purposes. Survey methodologies included ground-penetrating radar and ground probing. Site histories were compiled using archival data, oral history collection, and the analysis of historic maps. Ground-penetrating radar results were compared with previous surveys for verification. This work has been conducted through the framework of archaeological praxis, where the project design and implementation was conducted in consultation with local stakeholders with the ultimate goal of benefitting community members and stakeholders. Additionally, this research provides a case study for the benefits of community-based archaeological projects. Deliverables included georeferenced maps, processed GPR data, and comprehensive site histories built upon both archival data and the unwritten, oral histories provided by individual, community members and community-based organizations

The Application of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act to the Segregation of HIV-Positive Inmates

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome has posed a formidable challenge to correctional administrators because of the perception that prisons and jails hold high concentrations of individuals at risk of developing the disease. Housing decisions are particularly difficult. Administrators often segregate inmates who have AIDS, ARC or asymptomatic HIV infection from the general prison population by housing them in a separate unit. This Article analyzes whether such a practice violates section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which forbids programs which receive federal financial assistance from discriminating against otherwise qualified handicapped persons. The analysis focuses on three issues: the epidemiology of HIV in correctional facilities; whether HIV-positive inmates are handicapped under the Act; and whether HIV-positive inmates are otherwise qualified to be integrated into the general prison population

Dilemmas of Representation: Women in Pakistan’s Assemblies

Recognizing constraints Pakistani women legislators face despite their entry into politics on a 17 per cent quota in national and provincial assemblies, it is time to rethink how quotas can lead to their political mainstreaming. This article explores quota legislators' views on their own accountability and empowerment based on the first online survey in Pakistan with 200 women in the assemblies (2013-18). Findings show quota legislators resist classification as male proxies and view themselves as accountable to notional voters, although they are indirectly elected. Many report silencing and harassment by male colleagues. Cross-party women's caucuses in each assembly have a mixed track record of facilitating substantive representation, undermined by religious parties and class differences. Respondents favoured further affirmative action mechanisms to increase their political voice, e.g. additional quota requirements within parties, more tickets for general seats and participation in key decision-making bodies of parties. A trajectory for women in politics to move from quota seats (in local bodies and assemblies) to general seats is not yet in place

Women in Politics: Gaining Ground for Progressive Outcomes in Pakistan

This paper is an analysis of findings from a study of women’s political voice in Pakistan under the A4EA Research Programme. It is based on mixed methods, drawing together archival and secondary sources, qualitative interviews with activists, politicians and key informants, and the findings of an online survey with women parliamentarians. Section 1 unpacks the history of women’s struggle for political inclusion, explaining how activism led by the women’s movement prepared the ground for the military regime to restore and increase a quota for women in all elected bodies. Section 2 examines how women elected to the Senate, National Assembly and provincial assemblies view their own accountability as politicians, the strengths and limitations of women’s caucuses as a means to push for progressive policies, and their own vision for political empowerment. Set against discussions with other stakeholders, the section concludes that women may be less empowered than their male counterparts in politics in terms of exercising their voice, yet they aspire to becoming mainstream politicians and view themselves as accountable to a broader electorate. Section 3 places the political participation of women in a broader context of progressive policymaking since Pakistan’s formation in 1947. It identifies three ‘golden periods’ for such policies, each characterised by strong political backing for reform on women’s issues. It concludes that only when women appeared in larger numbers in the assemblies, and caucuses were formed in 2008, were they able to exercise sufficient voice and push for political support to address sensitive religious and cultural norms through progressive legislation

Empowering Women Politicians in Pakistan: Views from Within

Women parliamentarians and local legislators in Pakistan still face a significant uphill battle to establish or deepen their political careers, despite recent gains such as the Election Law 2017 which mandated parties to issue 5 per cent of their tickets for general seats to women. Even with constitutional protections, women’s entry into the political arena is still subject to religious and ideological debate and, when they do manage to enter this arena, their personal credibility and physical safety is subject to attack. A recent survey of women politicians flags up both significant challenges such as silencing and verbal harassment and areas for improvement, particularly in the cross-party women’s caucuses.UK Department for International Developmen

Impact of Difficulties Faced by Adolescents in Making Career Decision on their Mental Health

This research aimed to explore the impact of difficulties faced by adolescents in making a career decision on their mental health. The objective of the research was to explore the factors affecting career decision making and to explore the psychological effect of career decision making difficulties. A quantitative research design was used to collect data through online survey by random sampling method in which a sample of 70 adolescents aged between 18-24 both male (28) and female (42) were collected from Rawalpindi, Pakistan and then analyzed on SPSS. A correlation (p: .002) was found between career indecisiveness and mental health. Independent T test result suggested that gender difference exists with respect to career indecisiveness indicating a value of p to be .01, while one way ANOVA indicated a value of p to be .382, showing that no significant difference exist with respect to respondents age. A chi square result indicated the factors affecting career decision making to be parental (p: .000) and peer pressure (p: .002) and indicated that career decision making time period is stressful for adolescents who feel difficulty in making a career decision (p: .000) indicating a psychological effect. Thus, the hypothesis was proved that adolescents face career decision making difficulties which negatively impact their mental health and it is recommended that they should be given career guidance to help them out in exploring what they really want to do in their lives instead of making a wrong career and regretting it later

Moving Beyond the Binary: Gender-based Activism in Pakistan

This article challenges the binary framework within which women in Pakistan have been viewed, by political actors, the state, and more broadly as well, as either ‘secular/feminist/godless/Westernised’ or ‘authentic/ Islamic/traditional’. It begins by contextualising the genealogy of this binary in Pakistan’s colonial and political history, which has led to the state’s side-lining of moderate religious voices and promotion of right-wing religious parties that suited its political objectives. Even the scholarship produced by the women’s movement, which arose in response to a politicised Islamisation process begun under military rule in the 1980s, inadvertently reproduces this binary as activists sought to assert a rights-based agenda and were supported by international donor funds. A shift in recent years in response to West-based international scholarship post 9/11, which focusses on the subjectivity and organisation of Islamist women, has influenced work on women in Pakistan as well as a donor turn to funding faith-based initiatives. The paper then examines current gender justice movements that emerged independently at a grass-roots level, and draws attention to their effectiveness despite lack of strong linkages with either the women’s movement or Islamist women. These include rights-based mobilisations by peasant women, community health workers, tribal women in the Taliban/conflict-affected north-west, and transgender activism. It ends by challenging feminists to engage more deeply with these forms of activism