By Guest Writer Rafsi Albar
Image by Arkananta Dhimas Naufal
For 31 of its 78 years, Indonesia was ruled by the iron fist of the “smiling general,” Suharto. His leadership, known as the “New Order,” originally focused on economic development in order to make up for the losses suffered as a result of President Sukarno’s political manoeuvres. Despite being arguably successful in improving the welfare of its more than 100 million people across three decades, his military background eventually found a way to intervene in the young nation’s supposed democracy.
The dual function of the armed forces, more commonly known locally as Dwifungsi ABRI, is a doctrine developed around the same time as Suharto’s rise to power following the political upheaval caused by the Indonesian Communist Party’s insurgency in 1965. The armed forces—or ABRI—then encompassing both the military and police, saw civil administration as ineffective. As such, they believed that former and active ABRI personnel should be able to assume strategic positions in...
By Guest Writers Jayam Jha and Pooja Rajawat
In the ongoing session of the Rajya Sabha, the seat of the former Indian Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh was shifted from the first row to the last row, due to his inability to walk to the first row because of health-related issues. This has sparked a debate regarding the accessibility of public buildings for persons with disabilities. It asks a pertinent question: what do we do when the parliament of a country is not accessible for persons with disabilities? Out of all other institutions, the need to revamp educational institutions—be it public or private—is more important than ever before, especially when we observe the 30 years of Unni Krishnan vs. The State of Andhra Pradesh, wherein the Right to Education was included within the ambit of Right to Life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. This right to education was later explicitly inserted under Article 21A of the Constitution by...
By Guest Writer Surjit Raiguru
In a seminal statement, Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud shines a spotlight on the intricate tapestry of gender identity and expression, deconstructing long-held misconceptions. Departing from reductionist notions, this article explores the profound interplay between biology, psychology, and society in shaping an individual's gender identity. By elucidating the nuanced nature of gender, CJI Chandrachud calls for an inclusive society that respects and validates diverse experiences, unravelling the complexities of gender, heralding a new era of acceptance and understanding.
Gender identity and expression are complex and multifaceted concepts that cannot be reduced to simplistic notions based on reproductive organs. In a recent statement by CJI DY Chandrachud, he rightly acknowledged that there is no absolute concept of man or woman based on reproductive organs. However, his statement has been misunderstood by some, leading to misguided criticisms.
CJI Chandrachud's statement highlights the fact that gender is not solely determined by biological sex. It goes beyond the physical characteristics...
By Guest Writer Shaharyaar Shahardar
The right to life and the corollary right to be free from the arbitrary deprivation of life constitutes an essential human right that was formally codified in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in 1976. Article 6(1) of the ICCPR states that “every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.” This principle now has attained the jus cogens status as a peremptory norm in international law. Nevertheless, States continue to engage in this practice, justifying such killings as necessary to maintain law and order, combat terrorism, or suppress dissent. Similarly in India, neither extrajudicial killings nor the indifference of authorities towards them is new. What is worrisome this time, however, is authorities’ explicit support for extrajudicial killings.
Recently, Asad, son of Atiq Ahmed (a former Parliamentarian) and his aide, Ghulam, were killed in an ‘encounter’ in Jhansi,...
By Guest Writer Prasun Nabiyal
The Hindu Succession Act (Amendment) of 2005 placed Hindu daughters on an equal footing with sons by giving them coparcenary rights over their father’s ancestral property. Coparcenary rights are a bundle of property rights shared among joint-heirs. According to N.R. Raghavchariar’s “Hindu Law Principles and Precedents”, this includes rights such as right to joint-possession and right to demand partition. Prior to the 2005 amendment, these rights were the exclusive domain of Hindu sons. The amendment thus marked a watershed moment, moving away from the gender-discriminating Hindu Succession Act of 1956. Last year, the Supreme Court of India, in the same tradition, held that Hindu daughters can inherit both self-acquired-property and coparcenary property.
However, despite these progressive developments in the legal realm, the societal perception towards the issue of Hindu women possessing property rights persists. The mainstream view continues to believe that only sons, not daughters, have coparcenary rights. Thus, the exercise of these rights by daughters is...
By Guest Writer Ketan Aggarwal
“My parents were sleeping inside the house. They demolished the house without informing us and set it on fire. I somehow managed to come out of the house. The policemen caught me and beat me up. They were trying to push me inside the burning house. My father was severely burnt, while my mother and sister died in the fire.”
These were the words of Shivam, whose house was demolished during an anti-encroachment drive in the Kanpur Dehat district of Uttar Pradesh this month.
This disturbing incident is not an isolated case of what has been termed "Bulldozer Justice." Similar incidents of forced evictions and demolitions have occurred in other parts of India, including Delhi and Madhya Pradesh. Many political parties, NGO & human rights groups like Al Jazeera have criticized these actions, which disproportionately target marginalized and minority communities, as a form of extrajudicial punishment.
The use of bulldozers to demolish homes and businesses has become increasingly prevalent...
By Guest Writers Desi Yunitasari and Devi Yusvitasari
Introduction
With a population totaling around 260 million individuals, Indonesia is the fourth-largest country in terms of population size. This has contributed to the surplus of workers in Indonesia. Domestic workers are a fundamental part of the movement of the activities of millions of households in line with the increasing demand for the needs of families in urban and rural areas to do household work such as care and maintenance-and household services. Indonesia not only employs millions of domestic workers but supplies them in large numbers to Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea and Middle Eastern countries. Domestic workers indirectly affect national economic growth, as the wages they send home contribute to the country's foreign exchange earnings.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimated that 80 percent of all domestic workers are women, while underage female workers make up 30% of the workforce. Most of these women and girls are breadwinners for their families. Moreover,...
By Guest Writer Avanti Deshpande
Introduction
Free and fair elections underpinned by the universal adult franchise are undoubtedly the cornerstone of a democratic state in today’s standards. Yet, while most democratic countries acknowledge the importance of voting rights, voter suppression and voter disenfranchisement are not new problems and have long been plaguing democracies.
Indian law places a blanket ban on voting for all prisoners; i.e., not only convicts but under-trial prisoners whose innocence or guilt is yet to be proven conclusively in a court of law. With no exception, reasoning, or rationale being provided under law for denying prisoners the right to vote, this piece will attempt to critically engage with the issue of the disqualification of prisoners from voting in elections and argue that it is fundamentally unconstitutional and violative of the basic tenets of a democratic state.
Overview of the Present Legal Framework
The issue of the disenfranchisement of prisoners in India stems from Section 62(5) of the Representation of the People Act,...
By Guest Writers Srushti S Kekre* and Udisha Surana**
Of all forms of inequality, ‘injustice in healthcare’ is the most shocking and inhumane.
-Martin Luther King Jr.
Since time immemorial, the LGBTQIA community has been subjected to regressive and dehumanizing practices. Pervasive intolerance and prejudice has forced them to live on the margins of society and fight for something as indispensable as healthcare.
The Indian healthcare system has historically functioned around a heteronormative mindset, actively dismissing the interests of people with gender diverse identities. Yet Article 14 of the Constitution of India guarantees protection against any discrimination on the basis of caste, race, gender and religion. Meanwhile, the Indian Supreme Court, in the landmark case of L.I.C of India v. Consumer Education and Research Centre, expressly applied the principles of equality to eliminate any form of discrimination and protect the right to health and adequate healthcare facilities.
Lamentably, bigotry has progressed to an extent where, throughout the Covid-19 global pandemic, the LGBTQIA community was intentionally...
By Guest Contributor Farid Noori.
On September 30, 2022, 18-year-old Marzia Mohammadi started somewhat of a different day. A special day, some might say. She was going to take the practice version of Afghanistan’s national university entrance exam in a country where schools are closed for girls past sixth grade. Smart, beautiful, and ambitious, Marzia kept a diary in which she wrote lofty dreams like one day meeting in Paris her favorite author, Elif Shafak, and going for a bike ride. Her entry on September 22 reads:
“When national results are out, Marzia, daughter of Bostan Ali, will score in the top 10.”
Eight days later, while preparing for that same exam, instead of showing the world her talent and grit, Marzia was torn to pieces. A suicide bomber entered the classroom and detonated himself among the students killing Marzia, her cousin Hajar, and 55 other students. Besides being mostly girls, the victims shared another identity: all were Hazara, an ethnicity heir...
