Hello,
Today we cover some amazing photos by the late photojournalist Danish Siddiqui and talk about population, rude behaviour and Bill on Human Trafficking.
Here are some of the fine works of Danish Siddiqui-
Population: A governance issue or a solution to plenty?
The state with 152 of 304 MLAs having more than 3 kids, has drafted a 2-child policy bill and is planning to bring it forth a year before the election. The Draft Population Control Bill 2021, was introduced on 11th July, and the state government has invited suggestions till 19th July, for the same.
Irony and Question
The Irony- Uttar Pradesh Law Commission stated that policy is voluntary and will not be forced upon anyone but the Bill promotes a two-child policy and mentions that there are disincentives for those who will violate the law as they won’t have access to local body elections, any government job or subsidy.
The question is, how would the law impact women’s autonomy and minorities in the state?
The Other Perspective
While the opposition parties believe that the proposed bill is election propaganda.
Bihar’s Chief Minister remarked on the structure of policy itself-
“Every state is free to do whatever it can do to check population growth. Laws alone can’t help check the population. It was found after a lot of research work that the rate of reproduction comes down effectively if women are educated. Bihar has experimented with it by promoting education among the girls and achieved success. If it continued, the state would have negative growth of population after 2040.”
The analysts opposed the bill based on a two-child policy norm-
P. Arokiasamy, professor of development studies stated that- “Fertility levels have all come down in some states without having such kinds of policies. For example, in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, they reached a fertility rate of less than 2 in 1990 and Uttar Pradesh is already on the low fertility trajectory and needs just a last push in terms of improving healthcare and development.”
So is the policy directed in the right direction? Share your thoughts
(Sources: The Wire, Quint, The Print, India Today)
Rude Behaviour and Productivity
Do you know that even small instances of rude behaviour in our surroundings can impact our critical thinking skills?
A study was conducted by a partnership of multiple universities, across different environments from medical settings to general knowledge testing.
Observations by the researchers:
Small insults and other forms of rude behaviour that seem to be harmless, can have a serious impact on our decision-making ability.
The impact of workers on rudeness leads them to engage in a judgment bias called anchoring, which is the tendency to fixate on one piece of information while making a decision, hence narrowing perspectives.
How to handle rude behaviour in organisations?
Develop perspective-taking skills- Employees should view the same problem from another person’s viewpoint.
Practice information elaboration- Employees should practice identifying the task at hand and then think about what information they need to help them make a decision.
(Sources: The Swaddle, Hindustan Times)
Another Bill and its Impact
The Union Government introduced a draft of the Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection, and Rehabilitation) bill on June 30 and invited comments from all stakeholders by July 14.
The question is, why are the sex workers protesting against the bill if it is for trafficking?
The bill combines both sex work and trafficking.
It criminalizes sex work and does not provide rehabilitation for people already in the profession.
There are over 800,000 sex workers who will lose their livelihood if the bill gets passed. Yes, you read that right.
Why are the organisations and stakeholders opposing the bill?
Stakeholders got a brief period to give feedback about the new draft. Legally any draft legislation is supposed to be in public for 30 days.
The inclusiveness is missing in the draft as it is only available in English, which might not be accessible for all.
Experts’ say-
Amit Kumar, AINSW’s national programme coordinator, stated that they would oppose the Bill and have demanded the deadline to be extended till August 13.
Abhijit Datta, an advocate of West Bengal, observed that section 370 IPC covers trafficking quite extensively, it will take time in understanding the implications of all the provisions.
(Sources: The Wire, The Swaddle)
What else is happening?
Danish Siddiqui, the Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer and an award-winning photojournalist, was killed on 16th July 2021, while covering a clash between Afghan security forces and Taliban fighters near a border crossing with Pakistan.
Devastating floods have swept through Western Germany, and other parts of Europe and the death toll has passed 120, with some 1300 people gone missing.
Zomato, the largest food delivery company in India, launched its IPO on 14th July valued at Rs. 9,375 crore. The IPO closed on July 16 and within two days, it has seen an oversubscription of 4.18 times by retail investors.