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- Convenor:
-
Buddhadeb Chaudhuri
(IUAES)
Send message to Convenor
- Track:
- Survival and Extinction
- Location:
- University Place 3.212
- Sessions:
- Tuesday 6 August, -, -, -
Time zone: Europe/London
Short Abstract:
War and conflict leave people vulnerable. Children and women are more affected by break down of protection systems. They are vulnerable to rape, abduction, separation from their families, disabilities and grievous injuries, and long-term psychosocial effects.
Long Abstract:
Wars and conflicts have negative consequences in the lives of people in the area, but the effect is devastating on women and particularly children. There is the uncertainty factor and many families being forced to flee their homes, to be displaced within their countries or crossing borders as refugees.
Again, one can not deny the changing face of armed conflict and war in the world today. There has been a decrease in inter-state conflict but conflicts within countries and across borders is on the rise affecting the common people more. UNICEF in 2009 has noted that 90% of deaths during conflicts were civilians and 80% were women and children.
During armed conflicts, children and women also face a heightened risk of rape, sexual humiliation, prostitution and other forms of gender-based violence, which are downplayed as an unfortunate but inevitable side effect of war and conflict. Children are increasingly participating in war,deliberately recruited by government or rebel forces. The special needs of adolescents are often neglected during times of conflict and in the post-conflict rebuilding of their societies. Coupled with rapid social change which often precedes or accompanies war, armed conflict leads to a breakdown in the family support systems so essential to child's survival and development. Other forms of protection also slip away, particularly government and community support systems.
The situation of women and children. nature of human rights violations, the various legal measures at national and international level will be discussed with cross-cultural data in this session.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Tuesday 6 August, 2013, -Pinak Tarafdar (University of North Bengal)
Paper short abstract:
The present article will decipher the changing situation of health condition and health seeking behaviour among the Santal women and children in the different phases of conflict situations at the Jhargram region of West Bengal, India.
Paper long abstract:
Jhargram sub-division of West Bengal is one of the conspicuous tribal dominated parts of the state. Santal, the most significant tribe of the region had their age old health seeking behaviour which was intended to protect the most vulnerable section of the population i.e. women and children. Initially the traditional medical system was trust worthy for them during the era of Pre-conflict. The autochthons of the Jhargram sub-divisional region which is also geographically extended part of forest circumscribed Chotonagpur plateau experienced various cultural, social, political and physical conflicts in different phases of time. These turmoil circumstances encroached and altered the most essential part of the women and the children's life related with their health and health seeking behaviour. The present article will also decipher the matter of healthy survival and the question of cultural rights to the target population during the most intensified conflict situation of the region.
Maria Beldi de Alcantara (University of Sao Paulo)
Paper short abstract:
This paper is mainly focused on reports of violence suffered by women, children and indigenous youth. Although this literature is poor, it becomes even less when it comes to violence practiced by the indigenous population. The stories that will work is a result of 13 years of experience with young people, women and children, indigenous to the the Dourados Reserve, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil.
Paper long abstract:
This paper is mainly focused on reports of violence suffered by women, children and indigenous youth.
Although this literature is poor, it becomes even less when it comes to violence practiced by the indigenous population.
The stories that will work is a result of 13 years of experience with young people, women and children, indigenous to the the Dourados Reserve, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil.
Considered the most populous and violent Indigenous reserves in Brazil, it is located between two cities in the States considered the cradle of soybean exports and ethanol.
Faced with this reality we address livings in the stories together (they and I) with the purpose of presenting this as a being such arduous process of cultural dialogue between Western and indigenous population.
Claudia Maria Anleu Hernandez (Universidad Rovira i Virgili)
Paper short abstract:
The forced disappearance of children during the internal conflict in Guatemala, have separated hundreds of families. Understanding what and how it happened was the first part of my 7 years experience as researcher. Then the research process facilitated the reunification of many Guatemalan families.
Paper long abstract:
The internal armed conflict suffered in Guatemala for 36 years was one of the longest and cruelest conflicts that Latinamerica have sadly experienced in the last century. The United Nation Truth Commission registered 626 massacres, about 200 thousands death and disappeared persons, 500 thousand orphans and 250 thousand widows. But probably one of the worst human right violations was the forced disappearance of children. There are hundreds of parents (specially women) that lost their children and after more than 15 or 20 years they continue to live with the uncertainty of not knowing what happened to their children.
The paper I'll present, emerges of a pioneer project created in 1999, by a multidisciplinary team, which I was part, for the localization of disappeared children.
First I'll describe the problem of the disappearances of children during the internal conflict in Guatemala and specially the investigation process for making a social diagnostic of this particular phenomenon. Then I'll explain the experience of being a field researcher and how we created techniques and instruments for localize and make possible the reencounter of parents with their disappeared children after years of forced separation.
Hari Devkota (Unification Nepal )
Paper short abstract:
Nepal has ruined a decade long conflict and more than 12,407 people have been killed. Besides human casualty the conflict has shown that increasing number of people has been displaced(NRC200000. The conflict has adversely affected to women and children.
Paper long abstract:
During the conflict many women and girls were subjected to abduction, displacement, trafficking, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence. Some were killed. Women were deprived of education and health-care. Their reproductive rights were not protected. Many girls were forced by their families to marry at increasingly younger ages out of fear they would otherwise soon be raped, thus ruining their marriage prospects later. Men joined the fighting, fled or migrated to seek alternative employment to support their families. Thousands of young single women and widows were left with sole responsibility for families. Women combatants, activists, researchers, journalists, became victims of Human Rights' abuses by both State forces and Maoists.Women and children were highly affected during the conflict period and now they are most vulnerable and least priorities through government.The major problem of women at now is employment, survival. They called as underprivileged
Debjani Halder (Indian Council of Social Science Research)
Paper long abstract:
Dowry Practices: Human Rights Violation of Indian Brides
By
Dr. Debjani halder
In the name of Indian Tradition and Hindutava , a very strong gender bias has not only referred to the son preference, also it has violated to the human rights of married women. It is a very remarkable question of the article that why can we accept that dowry is an inevitable. Dowry has often cited as a reason why couples do not want to give birth to a female child. This according to some shows daughter aversion rather than son preference. Dowry is normally has given by the girl's/brides family to the boy/bridegroom and his family though certain gifts are also given by the boy's family to the girl particularly at the time of marriage. However, these can hardly be considered to be dowry as the law distinguishes, however imperfectly, between presents and dowry. Dowry leads to, in many cases, a devaluation of the girl as a human being. She is largely valued according to the dowry she has brought or is likely to bring in the future. If she has not brought or cannot bring 'sufficient' dowry she is ill- treated, abused mentally and physically and, in a surprising large number of cases, killed or driven to suicide. Therefore, in India dowry does not only fuel daughter aversion but also leads to wife/bride hatred and violence against her. So to fight against dowry was, not only to "uplift" women, but to a step towards Women's emancipation.
Debjani Halder (Indian Council of Social Science Research)
Paper long abstract:
The 2011 Census of India data has revealed that the child (0-6 age group) sex ratios have been steadily declining from 971 in 1981, to 945 in 1991, 927 in 2001 and 914 in 2011. This decline of the sex ratio of girls between the 0-6 age group has reported to be largely due to pre-natal sex selection, which located in the part of Rajasthan, Punjab, and Haryana specially, north region of India. Decline of the sex ratio of Girl Child in India has indicated to the strong feelings of son preferences, which refers that sons can provide old age support. In India, sons are important (for Hindus) because they alone can perform the funeral rituals of the parents. Added to this, most women have very limited opportunities to contribute towards their parents' welfare. Though socioeconomic and cultural reasons propagate son preference and thinking of daughters as a burden.
The Government of India introduced Pre- conception and Pre- natal Diagnostic Techniques Act (1994) to impede the female feticide. Simultaneously Indian electronic media specially, films and Tele- serials are trying to examine the impact of female feticide and female infanticide on the gender balance, and consequently the stability and attitudes of Indian society. Therefore, their story lines bears some resemblance to real-life instances of gender imbalance and economics resulting in fraternal polyandry and bride buying in some part of Northern India.
Debaki Acharya (Tribhuvan University )
Paper short abstract:
The suffering of women and children during recent violent movement in Nepal has been stated in this paper
Paper long abstract:
In the context of Nepal, Armed Conflict was there for 10 years long period of Peoples war by the Maoist. They started the conflict in 1996 and peace process started on 2006 June only. Due to fight every where and in every place women and children were more affected so the violence against women and children in armed conflict situations was one of the most massive scale violations of human rights in terms of atrocities and number of persons affected. It is only now that these war crimes against women and children are being known mainly because the women victims have decided to come out and tell the stories which they have tried to forget. The insurgency and counter-insurgency drives have had more negative impact on children and women. Children are the innocent in the all form of war. In Nepal more then 700 children have lost their life during the 10 years long armed conflict due to the explosive devices, killed by bullet etc. The cases of child marriage, girls trafficking, rape, torture etc are increasing everyday due to conflict. During armed conflicts, children and women also faced a heightened risk of rape, sexual humiliation, prostitution and other forms of gender-based violence, AUNICEF in 2009 has noted that 90% of deaths during conflicts were civilians and 80% were women and children.
Laksmisree Banerjee. (Kolhan University)
Paper short abstract:
The oppression, silencing, marginalization, rape, alienation & abduction of Women in private & public spaces during both war & peace are focused in most of Women’s Writings & their fervent Social Activism. This remains a basic Human Rights Issue for urgent redressal for the development of societies.
Paper long abstract:
Women, especially in developing and underdeveloped countries have suffered the brunt of highly ruthless and unjust practices of Patriarchic and Imperialistic societies. Women's Poetic Writings, evoke with veracity, the suppressed agony of inhuman subjugation. These literary texts from Vedic to contemporary times must be heard and studied as significant indices for anthropological and cultural mappings. The pioneering social consciousness of such Women Authors helps toward the elimination of unequal socio-political, economic practices with remedial action against continuous injustice and historical imbalances. Mary Collins of Canada had stated during the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1994 that "We must spread our conviction that equality for women is not just a bonus during good economic times but a primary pre-requisite for good economic times". The Indian poet Kamala Das writes about urgent necessity for establishing the identity of a woman in an egalitarian society, which still remains an elusive ideal: "Why not leave me alone? / ---- Why not let me speak in any language I like? / The language I speak / Becomes mine / It voices my joys, my longings, my hopes / It is human speech / Dress in sarees, be girl / Be wife, they said / ---- It is time to choose a name, a role. /---- I have no joys which are not yours, / No aches which are not yours. I too call myself I". It is time that we heard women speak and act for ushering in a better world.