Stories that Matter

APRIL 30, 2011 INDIA: The Extraordinary Story of Jyotsna Bewa . http://www.seniorsworldchronicle.com/2011/04/india-extraordinary-story-of-jyotsna.html CAMBRIDGE, Maryland /  TwoCircles.net  / Indian Muslim / Women / April 30, 2011 Extraordinary Stories of Ordinary Women  Meet Jyotsna Bewa of West Garo Hills, Meghalaya By Anjuman Ara Begum,  TwoCircles.net Jyotsna Bewa, 48 years old, was the principal care-taker of the Dargah Sharif of Hazrat Shah Kamal Baba, popularly known as Pirsthan situated in Mahendraganj, West Garo Hills, Meghalaya.  She became the only female  de-facto  care-taker of the Pirsthan in 1998 and continued in the post till 2005, when the management of the Pirsthan was handed over to the Waqf Board of Meghalaya.  She challenged this and as a result a civil suit is pending for disposal in the Supreme Court of India [Appeal No. Review Petition No 13 (SH) of 2008 in writ appeal no. 34(SH) of 2008].  Please tell us about your family. I was born in Mahendrag

INTERVIEW: Farooq Ahmed And His Passion For Rewriting History Posted by  Editor  on Friday, June 3, 2011 11:13 am //  No Comment Farooq Ahmed. Image Credit: TwoCircles.net A book, “Manipuri    Muslims : Historical Perspectives 615-2000    CE ,” authored by    Farooque Ahmed  was released in  Imphal  recently. The author talks to Anjuman Ara Begum of TwoCircles.net about Manipuri Muslims and about his work. Qs. What inspired you to write such a book? Ans: I was keen to know about my community or, more precisely, to know about myself in  Manipur  and also to know the history of    Muslims in Manipur . I always looked for history books on Manipuri Muslims but always felt frustrated as there is no comprehensive literature on this topic. After completing my M.A in political science, I started reading history books on Manipur and I read many books like Manipuri Muslims by Khairuddin Khalakpam which was published in 1997, Meitei Pangal Horompam published in 1991, Janab Khan’s book called Man

INTERVIEW: Farooq Ahmed And His Passion For Rewriting History Posted by  Editor  on Friday, June 3, 2011 11:13 am //  No Comment Farooq Ahmed. Image Credit: TwoCircles.net A book, “Manipuri    Muslims : Historical Perspectives 615-2000    CE ,” authored by    Farooque Ahmed  was released in  Imphal  recently. The author talks to Anjuman Ara Begum of TwoCircles.net about Manipuri Muslims and about his work. Qs. What inspired you to write such a book? Ans: I was keen to know about my community or, more precisely, to know about myself in  Manipur  and also to know the history of    Muslims in Manipur . I always looked for history books on Manipuri Muslims but always felt frustrated as there is no comprehensive literature on this topic. After completing my M.A in political science, I started reading history books on Manipur and I read many books like Manipuri Muslims by Khairuddin Khalakpam which was published in 1997, Meitei Pangal Horompam published in 1991, Janab Khan’s book called Man

THURSDAY, JANUARY 20, 2011 Women Human Rights Defenders in North East India Anna Beard 1/20/11 6:00 P.M. http://soc202events.blogspot.com/2011/01/women-human-rights-defenders-in-north.html This article discusses how Female Human Rights Defenders in North East India work to gain equality.  Author Anjuman Ara Begum, also discusses how and why it is nearly impossible for defenders to advance in their projects, as well as why it is hard for women to be involved in human rights demonstrations period. This article also gives specific examples of stories about a few of the courageous women and abuse they endured while defending their rights. One of the women is Birubala Rabha of Goalpara, Assam. She faced harassment from members of her community because she was working against witch hunting. After facing this treatment, she eventually had to escape from the village to save her life. Another woman named Parvati Thousen started an organization called Shakti Mahila Mandal. The organization

Political entitlements of women: recent developments in Nagaland and Manipur Anjuman Ara Begum Despite legislations granting women’s representation in decision making bodies like Town and Municipal Councils, patriarchal mindset and culture of male dominance prohibits women from enjoying their entitlements. This has been observed in the recent developments in Nagaland regarding the women reservation issue in Nagaland. Nagaland Government had passed an amendment in 2006 ensuring 33% reservation for women in all town and municipal councils in Nagaland. Women groups in Nagaland have been constantly submitting memorandums to ensure the proper implementation of this amendment in the state but all fall in the deaf year of male dominated political structure in Nagaland. Despite these efforts elections are at halt in the state due to the ongoing peace process. Various excuses like customary laws, ongoing peace process, ‘its too early for women to come to such bodies’ are often citied to discou

Political entitlements of women: recent developments in Nagaland and Manipur Anjuman Ara Begum Despite legislations granting women’s representation in decision making bodies like Town and Municipal Councils, patriarchal mindset and culture of male dominance prohibits women from enjoying their entitlements. This has been observed in the recent developments in Nagaland regarding the women reservation issue in Nagaland. Nagaland Government had passed an amendment in 2006 ensuring 33% reservation for women in all town and municipal councils in Nagaland. Women groups in Nagaland have been constantly submitting memorandums to ensure the proper implementation of this amendment in the state but all fall in the deaf year of male dominated political structure in Nagaland. Despite these efforts elections are at halt in the state due to the ongoing peace process. Various excuses like customary laws, ongoing peace process, ‘its too early for women to come to such bodies’ are often citied to discou