Empowering Women: Unveiling Progress in Employment and Economic Participation

Sweety Supriya | 08 Feb 2024

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A notable challenge is that the proportion of women in salaried employment constitutes only around 20% of the total female labour force.

The Finance Minister of India highlighted in her budget speech 2024-25 that substantial progress has been made to empower women over the past decade. NirmalaSitharaman further emphasised in her speech that the government's targeted efforts, such as providing financial support to women through the Mudra Yojana and promoting education for women, have been instrumental in fostering increased Female Labour Force Participation (FLFP).This article aims to analyse the Finance Minister's statement, focusing on the recent rise in FLFP and its qualitative indicators.

It appears that the Minister’s statement is based on the findings of the Periodic Labour Force Survey 2022-23, which was released in October 2023. It would be relevant to provide a brief historical context of India's Female Labour Force Participation Rate (FLFPR) to understand the increasing trend in female labour force participation over the years. FLFPR measures the percentage of women who are either employed or actively seeking employment within the total population of women of working age i.e.15 years and above.The Government of India began employing the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) in the fiscal year 2017-18, replacing the quinquennial Employment-Unemployment Surveys (EUS) that were previously utilised to assess the employment scenario in the country. The introduction of PLFS marked a departure from EUS, featuring distinctions in terms of survey frequency, scope, and methodology.

It is important to understand there are two major methods of measuring employment or the labour force participation rate i.e. the Usual Principal and Subsidiary Status (UPSS) and the Current Weekly Status (CWS). Due to the differences in reference periods and methodologies adopted in these two methods, data obtained from UPSS and CWS surveys exhibit variations.

Figure: Labour Force Participation Rate (All India, age 15 years and above), CWS (in %)

EUS and PLFS Reports of Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation

The data presented in the table illustrates a decrease inLFPR from 2004-05 to 2022-23. The magnitude of the drop in LFPR from 2004-05 to 2011-12 was quitesubstantial, especially for females. Subsequently, the trend showed either a stagnation or slight increase in LFPR.

As regards the FLFPR, there was a reversal in the declining trend following 2018-19, with a significant increase observed in 2022-23.The initial decline in FLFPR observed from 2004-05 to 2017-18 has been attributed to factors such as the rising enrolment of women in schools and the relatively slow growth of employment opportunities during that period, as highlighted by several studies. According to recent reports, there has been an increase in FLFPR, particularly witnessing significant growth in 2023. The government claims this noteworthy surge in FLFP in 2022-2023 is a result of theformulation of policies and legislation for fostering women-led development.

Various studies have analysed this data to understand the qualitative aspects of this increase in FLFPR. The recent article of Ashwini Deshpande (2023) shows that the increase is driven by an increase in the proportion of rural women under the broad category of “self-employed”.Self-employed includes those who are own-account workers, employers or unpaid helpers.

The analysis of recent PFLS data further indicates that the proportion of women working as own-account workers increased, whereas the proportion of unpaid workers remained stable during 2021-22 and 2022-23. Thus, the increase in FLFPR is attributable to an increase in proportions of women working as own-account enterprises or as unpaid helpers.

In the post-COVID-19 period, the increase in FLFPR can be attributed to various factors, including the need for women to supplement household incomes due to declining wages and heightened employment uncertainty. This phenomenon reflects the income effect, where individuals, in this case, women, are motivated to join the labour force in response to economic challenges facing their households.

It is widely acknowledged that employment with longer-duration job contracts and access to social security benefits from employers are indicators of good quality employment. Data for these indicators of quality employment are collected only for regular workers which constitutes approximately 20% of total female workers. The analysis of recent PLFS reports conducted by experts indicate that there has been a significant decline in the proportion of female workers without job contracts, indicating a shift towards more secure employment arrangements. Specifically, in rural areas, the proportion decreased from 57.8% to 50.2%, while in urban areas, it declined from 71.72% to 55.61% between 2017-18 and 2022-23. Similar improvements have been recorded for both rural and urban men, suggesting a broader trend towards better quality employment across genders and locations.

Despite improvement in job contract duration of workers, there are concerning trends regarding the proportion of women in regular salaried work without social security benefits. In rural areas, the proportion of women in regular salaried work without social security benefits increased from 54.9% to 58%, indicating a rise in precarious employment conditions. Similarly, in urban areas, this proportion increased from 49.8% to 51.1%, further highlighting the vulnerability of female workers in terms of social security coverage.

Thus, it has been observed that with the increase in FLFPR,there is an enhancement in the quality of employment characterised by longer job contract duration of women workers. This leads to increased stability, productivity, and satisfaction for both employees and employers.However, this improvement in FLFPR is not accompanied by a corresponding increase in social security coverage for women salaried workers.

Overall, women in salaried employment have experienced some improvements in terms of working conditions. However, a notable challenge remains as the proportion of women in salaried employment constitutes only around 20% of the total female labour force. By highlighting this trend, the government can demonstrate their commitment to empowering women economically and creating an environment conducive to their active participation in the workforce. The government can reinforce its narrative of promoting gender equality and women's empowerment, which not only benefits individual women but also contributes to broader economic growth and social development.

The author is the Assistant Professor of Electronics at L.S.College, B.R.A. Bihar University, Muzaffarpur, Bihar.

D.E.I.

Gender Disparity, Backlogs and Lack of Transparency Huge Concerns With Information Commissions in India: Report

Newsclick Report | 09 Feb 2024

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As per the report, only 9% of all information commissioners in India have been women. Worryingly, no commission is currently being headed by a woman, and 12 information commissions have never had a woman commissioner.

The 'Report Card on the Performance of Information Commissions in India, 2022-23' by Satark Nagrik Sangathan (SNS) highlights the lack of diversity in the composition of information commissions in India. The English version of the report can be accessed here, and its Hindi version can be accessed here. 

As per the report, only 9% of all information commissioners in India have been women. Worryingly, no commission is currently being headed by a woman, and 12 information commissions have never had a woman commissioner. These commissions are West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Telangana, Sikkim, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Manipur, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Chattishgarh, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh. Of the 465 commissioners for whom the report had access to their background information, 58% were retired government officials, and 14% were former judges or lawyers. 

The report pointed out that nine commissions in the country were without a chief information commissioner as of October 12, 2023. Of these nine, all posts of information commissioners were vacant in three commissions (Jharkhand, Tripura and Telangana). 

Among other things, the report called out the opaque functioning of ICs, with only eight out of the 29 ICs stating that the public can attend their hearings. Six ICs said that "they do not allow anyone other than the appellant/complainant and the respondent (or their representatives) to attend the proceedings of the commission." 

Additionally, only three ICs allow live-streaming of their hearings, which are held via video conferencing. These ICs are Manipur, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Moreover, 23 out of 29 ICs were found to have provided public access to their orders. The SICs of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Manipur and Bihar do not upload their orders on their websites. Overall, there is a serious lack of transparency in the functioning of ICs. 

"By failing to disclose information on their functioning, ICs continue to evade real accountability to the people of the country whom they are supposed to serve. The legal requirement for the central and state information commissions to submit annual reports every year to the Parliament and state legislatures, respectively, is to make, among other things, their activities transparent and available for public scrutiny. Very few ICs fulfil this obligation, and even fewer do it in time," the report said.  

Several ICs have returned a large number of cases without passing any orders. The central and state ICs of Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan have returned 41% of the cases they received. Moreover, several commissions have been found to have extremely low disposal rates. These commissions include Chhatisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal; their disposal rates are low even though they have a huge backlog of cases. The backlog of cases and long waiting time for new cases have been attributed to vacancies in commissions and low disposal rates. As of June 30, 2023, there were around 4 lakh pending appeals and complaints in the 28 ICs. Of these backlogs, Maharashtra accounts for around 1.2 lakh cases. In West Bengal state IC, the estimated waiting time was found to be 24 years and one month. Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu state ICs had an estimated disposal time of around four years. 

The backlogs were also attributed to the fact that people have been filing a lot of cases with the ICs. 

"Another factor contributing to a large number of information requests being filed in public authorities, many of which subsequently reach ICs, is the absence of effective grievance redress mechanisms in the country. An analysis of RTI applications in previous studies showed that at least 16% of applications seek information aimed at getting action on a complaint, getting a response from a public authority or getting redress for a grievance. In the absence of effective grievance redress laws, people often invoke the RTI Act in an attempt to force the government to redress their complaints by seeking information about the action taken on their complaint." 

COMMON LAW IN INDIA

For Whom is Uttarakhand’s New Live-in Relationship Law?

The Leaflet | 10 Feb 2024

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The new Uttarakhand live-in law takes up a real problem but instead of addressing it, creates a few more problems, argues Farhan Zia.

When one finishes reading the three hundred and seventy-seven Sections of the Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code Bill, inspired by the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, one encounters a curiously novel part in the history of Indian legislation

Titled Part 3, it is a chapter of extensive legislation diligently devoted to the regulation of live-in relationships.

Such a new and modern addition that gives legal recognition to what was hitherto— in both Indian society and law— a taboo, naturally generates much excitement.

Several lawyers and experts’ comments and explanations can be found here and here. But a slight probing into its provisions and the settled law together invites the question: who is this proposed law for? What does it achieve, whether it helps, and how might it work?

The Bill is unclear which women it wants to help

It is common for women to get exploited in live-in relationships, physically, financially and emotionally. Clause 3(4)(b) defines live-in relationships as a “relationship in the nature of marriage” in a “shared household”.

The former phrase is left undefined, prompting us to search for clues to its meanings where it currently resides: the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005.

This Act includes a woman in a relationship in the nature of marriage to expand the ambit of women who could be protected. But determining who is included has been a matter of dispute. The Supreme Court has held that live-in relationships may be a part of such relationships based on certain criteria. These are namely that, along with residing in a shared household, they must:

1. Hold themselves out to society as being akin to spouses.
2. Be of legal age to marry.
3. Be otherwise qualified to enter into a legal marriage, including being unmarried.
4. Have voluntarily cohabited and held themselves out to the world as being akin to spouses for a significant period of time.

This interpretation left many women in potentially abusive relationships unprotected. Firstly, it has been pointed out that the Supreme Court’s interpretation was too narrow, since the court had already, in previous judgments, declared that a woman and man cohabiting for a prolonged time could be presumed to be married to each other for the purposes of maintenance.

The Supreme Court further explicitly also excludes from the “nature of marriage” cohabitees, or “keep” as it calls them, along with stating that not all live-in relationships would be in the nature of marriage.

The Supreme Court’s interpretation inclines towards testing whether a relationship resembles marriage, rather than towards whether a relationship has the potential for abuse.

The Domestic Violence Act did not merely use the recommendation of the Malimath Committee reports to extend the definition of the term “wife” to include women in a relationship with an already married man.

It explicitly added the phrase “nature of marriage”. Some have argued that the concern of the committee was not live-in relationships but women in bigamous marriages who needed protection since such women were exploited by men. Regardless, many abusive relationships would be excluded from the Supreme Court’s interpretation.

One could say then that perhaps Part 3 of the Bill addresses precisely this: it puts beyond doubt that women who are in relationships of significant time and commitment, but not closely resembling marriage, would receive the benefits of the law.

This could include cohabitees as well as those relationships in which women have the potential to be exploited, irrespective of whether they resemble a marriage. But this becomes harder to support because of the changes and, in turn, contradiction, that the text of the Bill introduces in the definition of “nature of marriage”.

Confusion about the meaning of live-in

First, there is a significant conflation in the Bill between: 1) The law on the nature of marriage, 2) The definition of a live-in relationship, 3) What live-in relationships mean to society.

The nature of marriage is a condition on what a live-in relationship is, which includes significant time (Condition 4 above). But Clause 387 also demands that live-in relationships be registered within a month.

Which is it then, one month or significant time? Even if it is the former, it is difficult to achieve a relationship that appears akin to spouses (Condition 1 above) to society in just one month.

The definition is contemplating marriage while Clause 387 seems to want to keep things casual. It sounds almost like the two provisions of the Bill need to talk to each other about their relationship.

Second, the definition can become unworkable. If we measure two people being akin to spouses based on how they feel about their relationship, it complicates things further.

A couple can cohabit indefinitely if they do not feel like they are spouses. The criminalisation of unregistered live-in relationships beyond a month would then become impossible. Even if at some point in their relationship, the couple decides that theirs is a relationship ‘akin to marriage’’, it would be difficult for a court of law to determine from when this date begins to count the one-month registering period. 

The law appears to be confused about who it wants to help. If it wants to help women, then women in which kind of relationship? Bigamous? Cohabitees? Adulterers? Situationships? A lack of a clear definition of ‘nature of relationship’ already causes problems, such as judges inventing new criteria to bar even women in bigamous marriages from being included.

The new law exacerbates these problems. It leaves a key phrase undefined but also inserts contradictions with the legally putative meaning of the phrase. It wants to enable women to claim maintenance from live-in relationships, yet defines them in such a way that it becomes at best discretional and at worst unworkable.

It is difficult to then say how Part 3 will end up helping women, either more than the current law or at all. It is perfectly acceptable for a piece of legislation to codify case law.

But in introducing new provisions, the legislation scatters the existing law, making implementation difficult and increasing the scope for discretion in an area already marred by judicial discretion.

In its objective to “regulate live-in relationships” to ensure support for women from desertion through maintenance, it creates overbroad provisions, creating sufficient possibility for harassment.

The queerest anti-queer legislation

Last year, a five-judge Bench of the Supreme Court in Supriyo verus Union of India decided that queer couples are not entitled to a right to marry. The principal reason being that marriage being a religious institution was outside of the court’s powers to interfere with.

The possibility of a civil union or a common law marriage for queers was also discarded by the majority for being a policy decision, by the Parliament or Executive, not in the hands of the court. Curiously, religion was not the reason here.

Queer people could have been a prime beneficiary of this Bill. Previously, the Uttarakhand High Court had ordered police protection to a gay couple. A registered live-in relationship with a degree of intrusion and recognition of the State would make it akin to a civil union. The putative definition of “nature of marriage” draws from the definition of common law marriage anyway.

But the Bill defines live-in relationships between two people: a man and a woman. Polyamorous, lesbian, gay, non-binary, transgender and, in many cases, bisexual relationships are excluded from the benefits of the law.

Binary trans-men and trans-women potentially might be included, given the recent Supreme Court ruling declaring that all personal laws shall include them within the definitions of “man” and “woman” in Supriyo.

Given the significant intrusion of the State into personal relations, most queer persons might be happy from being excluded.

But the interesting dynamic that comes out is the same one that hung over the proceedings of Supriyo: desiring something that is undesirable, but significant to be treated as an equally dignified member of society.

In sparing queer people the intrusion of the State, a legislature might have finally succeeded in creating the first-ever law that discriminates against straight people. But any celebration would be tinged with the undercurrents that the State continues to ignore the queer people, despite the significant statements of all judges in Supriyo.

The point here is that queer people are a prime group who could benefit from the legal recognition of live-in relationships. By excluding them, Part 3 fails further in justifying its existence.

Conclusion

One might say that the law merely seeks to morally police young partners. Given the recent revival of criminalisation of adultery in the new Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, despite the Supreme Court striking down its verbatim predecessor as unconstitutional, it would not be the first time the State is trying to expand its control over the moral actions of its residents.

The Bill applies to non-residents of Uttarakhand, criminally punishes non-submission of live-in statements within a month, specifically includes rented accommodation within “shared households” and sends notice of partners below the age of 21 to their parents, showing a great expansion in the State’s control over a moral matter.

The latter, after all, does create a situation where two eighteen-year-olds can marry without notice to their parents, but a twenty-year-old cannot legally enter a live-in relationship without their parents receiving intimation.

Such differentiation is hard to maintain under the right to equality jurisprudence, which requires that the differentiation has a reasonable link between the object of the legislation and the differentiation.

Recent happenings in Uttarakhand, such as women in live-in relationships being assaulted and killed, and queer petitioners turning hostile before the court shows that a legitimate purpose may be served by such legislation.

But the Bill as it stands fails to help those who need State support in live-in relationships by making it exclusionary and confounding.

The wise lawmakers in the Uttarakhand legislative assembly must remember that constitutional morality must motivate the State to ensure that Part 3 is not reduced to a mere instrument to enforce outdated morality.

Farhan Zia is a legal empowerment facilitator at the Centre for Social Justice, Ahmedabad and holds a LL.M. in comparative constitutional law from the Central European University. They enjoy shopping for clothes, learning languages and indulging in European history, anime and comic books.

Courtesy: The Leaflet

Uttarakhand: Women's Groups Reject Uniform Civil Code Bill, Call for Further Deliberations

Newsclick Report | 08 Feb 2024

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Representatives highlight concerns about autonomy and choice- particularly regarding adult consenting cohabitation, assert that the bill's provisions would erode the hard-won rights of women.

New Delhi: In a bold stance against the proposed Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill presented at the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly, women's groups and representatives in Uttarakhand have unequivocally rejected the draft. The bill, aimed at introducing uniform civil laws across religious communities, has drawn sharp criticism for its perceived infringements on constitutional rights and its failure to address gender inequalities effectively.

According to the collective response from Uttarakhand's women's groups, the bill, as it stands, "criminalises and regulates constitutionally acceptable behaviours" and introduces elements of moral policing. The representatives highlight concerns about autonomy and choice, particularly regarding adult consenting cohabitation, commonly referred to as "live-in relationships". They assert that the bill's provisions would erode the hard-won rights of women and undermine their struggles for equality within both domestic and public spheres.

Critics point out that while the bill claims to offer uniformity across religious lines, it disproportionately targets the Muslim minority community, criminalising aspects of their personal and marital practices without adequately incorporating positive and progressive elements from Muslim family law. The bill's focus on rectifying perceived defects in Muslim law while ignoring similar issues within Hindu family laws has raised concerns about bias and selective application.

“Majorly, it seeks to introduce changes in the provisions that are perceived as defective in the Muslim law, such as unequal inheritance, polygamy and the practice of halala ( by which a person can only remarry his divorced spouse after she has married someone else, consummated the marriage and thereafter obtained a divorce).  In one sense the Bill has terminated the application of Muslim family law and has further criminalised the Muslim man and woman. Ironically, the Bill has not incorporated positive and progressive aspects of Muslim law such as the compulsory payment of mehr by the husband to the wife which provides financial security of the wife, nikahnama (marriage contract) which allows for the spouses to add legally binding conditions that are mutually acceptable, and a  1/3 limit rule for willing away property.  Had the intention of the Bill genuinely been to bring about gender justice, such provisions could have been extended to women of all communities,” an excerpt from the statement reads.

Furthermore, the bill's silence on critical issues such as custody, guardianship, and adoption of children, as well as the rights of queer and transgender persons within families, has been deemed unacceptable by the women's groups. They argue that the bill's failure to address these issues reflects a lack of inclusivity and consideration for marginalised communities.

Of particular concern is the retention of archaic provisions, such as the restitution of conjugal rights, which has been challenged for its constitutional validity. Critics argue that such provisions perpetuate gender-based violence and undermine fundamental rights, including the right to live with dignity and freedom of choice.

The groups also maintain that this law denies or takes away fundamental rights. Even the existing provision of women's right to reside in their matrimonial homes has been taken away. “Thus rights to equality, right to live and livelihood and to live with dignity, right to freedom of speech and expression, freedom of conscience and right to freely profess, practice and propagate religion, have become casualties under this Bill,” the statement reads. 

In light of these concerns, the women's groups call for the bill to be referred to a Standing or Select Committee for further deliberations. They emphasise the importance of incorporating diverse perspectives, including those of women, queer, and transgender communities, in shaping legislation that will have far-reaching implications for the people of Uttarakhand and beyond. 

“In this form, this Bill should be referred to a Standing or a Select Committee for wider deliberations, as the Bill, which has much import for the people of Uttarakhand and also for the rest of India as a precedent setter, needs to be discussed and people’s, including diverse women’s, queer and trans communities’ responses from Uttarakhand need to be taken into account,” it concluded.

A New Bill in India Will Govern Unwed Couples Who Live Together

“The State is inside your bedrooms,” say critics

Astha Rajvanshi
Thu, February 8, 2024 


A couple seated, talking, on the sea wall overlooking Back Bay with the Malabar Hills suburb in the distance, in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. 

Credit - David Cumming/Universal Images Group—Getty Images

Uttarakhand, a Himalayan state in northern India, has become the first to pass a new law that, regardless of religion, governs the personal matters of all Indian citizens including marriage, divorce, adoption, and inheritance.

Drafted as the “Uniform Civil Code Bill” (UCC), the law was passed by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday, Feb. 7. It replaces a diverse set of religious and customary laws in place since India's independence in 1947 that applied to individuals based on their religious beliefs.

The final draft of the bill was approved on Sunday, Feb. 4, after which the bill sailed through the assembly and was sent to the President for ratification.

The State's Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the new law is about “equality, uniformity, and equal rights.” Referring to Article 44 of the Indian Constitution, which outlines the Indian government’s right to create new personal laws in the future, he added that the bill is especially aimed at creating equality for women. “The UCC will mainly remove the discrimination against women," he said.

Read more: The Controversy Over Some Hindu Nationalists’ Push to Rename India

With the bill’s passage near-complete, the stage is now set for other BJP-ruled states to pass similar legislation ahead of the next general election, which will likely see current Prime Minister Narendra Modi win a third term in office.
A long-held Bharatiya Janata Party promise

The passing of the new bill is widely regarded as the BJP fulfilling a major promise it made to constituents in its 2022 election manifesto as part of a longstanding campaign that dates back to the 1980s. Last June, Modi once again emphasized the need to implement it to BJP party workers.

The implementation of a Uniform Civil Code has featured heavily in the BJP’s election manifestos over the years, whose conservative Hindu-nationalist ideals stand in stark contrast to the secularist ideals propelled by the Indian National Congress during India’s independence. The BJP saw it as an attempt to appease India’s Muslims, who form India’s largest minority group with nearly 200 million people.

Critics accuse the Uttarakhand government of using the new law to target Muslims who follow customary rules on polygamy and divorce under Sharia law, which is now completely banned. “We cannot accept any law that is against Sharia because a Muslim can compromise with everything, but he or she can never compromise on Sharia and religion," stated a leading Muslim body, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, while opposing the new law.

“The State is inside your bedrooms,” say critics

The new law has also raised eyebrows for imposing on personal relationships conducted in the private sphere. Notably, it instructs unwed couples living together to register their relationship with the government and submit “a statement of live-in relationship” within one month from the “date of entering into the relationship.” If the couple fails to do so, they could face up to three months in jail.

This stipulation has especially drawn sharp criticism from many Indians on social media platforms. Some question an apparent lack of clarity around how the state plans to regulate and enforce courtship and breakups.

“The State is now inside your bedrooms, requiring you to ‘register’ who you love, where you love, when you started loving, when the love ended. This is moral policing given state sanction,” posted an India-based journalist on X (formerly Twitter).

Write to Astha Rajvanshi at astha.rajvanshi@time.com.

EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT
Patients at overwhelmed Gaza hospital are often 'dying or doomed to die'

Emergency medical personnel who volunteered to work at the European hospital near Khan Younis tell FRANCE 24 of the dire conditions at one of Gaza’s last functioning medical facilities, where overwhelmed staff grapple with an acute shortage of medicine and have to make agonising choices over which critically injured patients to treat.

Issued on: 11/02/2024 - 

A man sits outside a tent where displaced Palestinians are camped outside the European hospital near Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on December 31, 2023. 

© Said Khatib, AFP

By: Cyrielle CABOT

Doctor Raphaël Pitti and nurse Imane Maarifi returned to France on February 6 after a gruelling 16-day stint at the overcrowded European hospital in southern Gaza, where thousands of displaced people have joined the injured and sick, seeking shelter and safety.

Their account offers rare insight into the plight of the Palestinian enclave – a mostly no-go zone for the international media – much of which has been reduced to rubble after four months of devastating bombings and ground fighting.

In the opening stages of the Israel-Hamas war, Khan Younis witnessed an influx of tens of thousands of people fleeing the fighting in the enclave’s north. But in recent weeks, the southern city has itself become the focus of fierce clashes, leaving displaced Gazans at the mercy of daily bombardment.

“The local population are caught in a trap, living in extremely difficult conditions,” said Pitti, an emergency physician who was part of a seven-member team of health workers sent by the NGO PalMed Europe. “People sleep out on the pavement, under makeshift shelters,” he added. “The streets are filthy and the recent rainfall has left stagnant water everywhere.”

According to the medics, some 25,000 people are currently amassed around the hospital near Khan Younis and around 6,000 are crammed inside the facility. More arrive each day, hoping to find shelter or treatment.

“People lack everything,” said Maarifi, 37, whose last patient, a newborn baby, died of hypothermia in her arms. She recalled trying to resuscitate a patient on the floor in a corridor and seeing children steal gloves from her pocket “to make balloons out of them”.
‘Heartbreaking choices’

Israel launched its offensive after more than 1,100 people were killed in an October 7 attack on southern Israel by Hamas, the Islamist militant group that runs Gaza. Since then, more than 28,000 people have been killed in the Palestinian enclave, most of them women or children, according to health officials in the Hamas-run territory.

Israel and the United States accuse Hamas of using Gaza’s population as human shields and say Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad members are operating out of hospitals in the territory.

The European hospital is one of the last functioning medical facilities in the enclave. In its overcrowded corridors, medical staff and volunteers try as best they can to provide care to the sick and wounded, in daunting conditions.

Read more  Malnourished, sick and scared: Pregnant women in Gaza face ‘unthinkable challenges’

“You have volunteers doing the work of orderlies, nurses doing the work of doctors, and doctors standing in for surgeons,” said Maarifi, lamenting a critical shortage of medicine and equipment.

“There are no sheets, sterile drapes or compresses,” the nurse added, and the dwindling supply of painkillers has to be used sparingly. Her voice choking up, she recalled having to make “heartbreaking choices” between “a child hit by shrapnel” and another “whose leg had been torn off”.

In addition to the injured, the hospital is overwhelmed by patients suffering from chronic diseases, respiratory problems or illnesses linked to poor living conditions.

“We can no longer do any dialysis or chemotherapy. Patients who need treatment are either dying or doomed to die,” said Maarifi. She cited the case of a pregnant 24-year-old patient with diabetes who developed complications due to the shortage of insulin, lost her baby and died the next day.

‘Collapse of public health’

“We are heading for a collapse of public health in Gaza,” said Lucile Marbeau, spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which works in partnership with the Egyptian Red Crescent (which is in charge of coordinating international aid to Gaza) and its Palestinian counterpart.

“The war-wounded are amputated on a daily basis, the chronically ill can no longer receive treatment, and living conditions are stoking fears of a resurgence of diseases such as polio, cholera and chickenpox, which we won’t be able to treat,” Marbeau added.

She pointed to the worsening situation in nearby Rafah, on the border with Egypt, where desperate Gazans are gathering as Israel’s offensive pushes further south.

The city of around 270,000 inhabitants has seen its population increase sixfold since the start of the war, and is now home to more than 1.3 million people. Like Khan Younis, it has become a sprawling camp for displaced people crammed into tents and makeshift shelters.

Marbeau spoke of “deplorable hygiene conditions”, noting that water treatment plants have stopped working, depriving the population of toilets. “Access to drinking water is also very difficult and people are not getting enough to eat because the prices of the few foodstuffs available have soared,” she added.

Humanitarian aid ‘a drop in the ocean’

On December 22, the UN Security Council passed a resolution calling on all sides in the conflict to allow “safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale” into the enclave. But more than a month later, NGOs on the ground say only a trickle of the required aid has reached the people of Gaza.

“It’s a drop in the ocean,” said Marbeau, who also flagged the need for specific equipment to carry out repairs to basic infrastructure, such as plumbing work to improve access to drinking water.

The UN resolution also urged all parties to guarantee the “protection of humanitarian workers” and their “freedom of movement” throughout the enclave – conditions that are far from being met.

“Access to the north of Gaza is still impossible because of the security conditions there,” said Marbeau, whose team has been unable to visit northern parts of the enclave since the beginning of November. “It is now the most deprived area and we are unable to help vulnerable people there,” she added.

Expectations of an imminent Israeli ground offensive on Rafah have raised further alarm – particularly given that the border city is also the entry point for critically needed humanitarian aid from Egypt.

“A ground offensive in such a densely populated area would have dramatic consequences for the civilian population,” Marbeau warned. “We must, at all costs, show greater respect for humanitarian law in this conflict if civilians are to be spared.”

This article has been translated from the original in French.

IMF chief says Israel-Hamas war 'devastating' Palestinian economy

Dubai (AFP) – The Israel-Hamas war has devastated the economies of both the embattled Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, the International Monetary Fund's chief said Sunday, adding that only "durable peace" would improve the outlook.


Issued on: 11/02/2024 -

© OLIVIER DOULIERY / AFP

"The Palestinian economy's dire outlook is worsening as the conflict persists," managing director Kristalina Georgieva told the World Governments Summit in Dubai.

"Only a durable peace and political solution will fundamentally change it".

"Economically, the impact of the conflict has been devastating," Georgieva said.

In the war-ravaged coastal territory, economic activity dropped 80 percent from October through December compared with a year earlier, the IMF chief said.

In the West Bank, the drop was 22 percent, she added.

The larger Palestinian territory has been hit hard by Israel's withdrawal of 130,000 work permits, the proliferation of checkpoints that has heavily disrupted transportation, the loss of tourism, being cut off from Gaza and Israel's withholding of tax revenues from the Palestinian Authority.

The Gaza Strip has been under intense Israeli assault for over four months, in retaliation for the October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel.

Hamas's unprecedented attack resulted in the deaths of about 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Israel vowed to destroy the militant group and launched air strikes and a ground offensive that have killed at least 28,176 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

Georgieva spoke at the opening of the World Government Summit, an annual gathering of top business and political figures in the United Arab Emirates, which runs until Wednesday.

Beyond the Palestinian territories, the Israel-Hamas war has also hit the tourism sectors of neighbouring countries such as Egypt and Lebanon, she said.

Meanwhile, attacks on commercial shipping by Yemen's Huthi rebels, which the group says are in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, is leading to "rising freight costs and reduced Red Sea transit volumes (which are) down by nearly 50 percent this year in our PortWatch data," Georgieva said in her speech.

For the Middle East and North Africa region as a whole, GDP growth is expected to improve from last year but will likely fall below earlier IMF projections, partially because of the Israel-Hamas war, the fund reported in its latest forecast last month.

The IMF now sees the economies of the region expanding 2.9 percent this year, a decrease of half a percentage point from its October forecast.

West Bengal: Peace Movement Condemns Israeli Aggression in Gaza

Sandip Chakraborty | 07 Feb 2024

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Peace movement organisers from West Bengal condemned the raining Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.

AIPSO west bengal units 4th  conference in kolkata

Kolkata: "The war against humanity is being fought in the Gaza strip, and how can we as peace-loving Indians stay aloof from that international situation," Arindam Mukherjee, a peace activist, told NewsClick. Mukherjee and 300 activists were the delegates to a peace conference recently held in Kolkata.

Peace movement organisers from the state of West Bengal on Sunday gathered at the 4th State Conference of All India Peace and Solidarity Organisation (AIPSO). They univocally condemned the raining Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip residents, which has so far put the figure of those killed, crippled, and missing in wa at nearly one lakh, according to the latest report from the United Nations.

The Subarna Banik Hall, where the conference was held, was named after Palestine solidarity city, and the podium was named after late doyens Tarun Majumdar, Gitesh Sharma and Wasim Kapoor Manch. Veteran Peace Movement leader Rabin Deb hoisted the organisational flag at the venue in the morning after floral tributes were paid in memory of the martyrs.

Renowned actor Samik Bandyopadhyay gave a speech to over 300 delegates from 14 districts. He highlighted that wars are often the result of a conspiracy by certain groups who seek economic and political gains; these groups include imperialists, big corporations and some mainstream media outlets who promote war efforts and create war hysteria. Such propaganda can influence the common people and lead to devastating consequences, like the ongoing conflict in Palestine where the people's right to self-govern has been curbed by the war waged by Israel, he added. Bandyopadhyay strongly criticised the creation of this war mongering and called for peace and understanding among nations.

AIPSO national General Secretary Harcharan Singh Bhat said that most of the common people voice their support for Peace efforts while only a handful want war to go on, hence people must come together to resist the war efforts. the war lover fears the unity of people, he said in his speech.

Senior AIPSO leader Nilotpal Basu said that the State of Israeli reflects the asirations of imperialism and Zionism and is carrying out mass genocide in Israel. In the present times, more and more European powers even are finding it difficult to support Zionist Israel. there is not single European country where there has been not a peace march held in support of the Palestinian people. "Peace loving people from the whole world are coming to the streets to decry the blatant effort to erase Palestinian people from their homelands," he said.

Basu also advocated for an intermingling of demands of the working class people , environmental demands and demands against the corporate loots to be incorporated within the ambit of the peace movement of the country .

During the conference, six proposals were adopted. These included the formation of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state, the dissolution of NATO, the pursuit of an independent foreign policy to protect national interests, the protection of the secular democratic aspects of India's constitution, and the safeguarding of the secular democratic aspects in the state of West Bengal.

Addressing delegates, the General Secretary of AIPSO, Anjan Bera, emphasised that even during peacetime, the logic behind having a peace movement should not be dismissed. He stated that corporate interference often leads to impatience, and eventually, military conflicts. Bera strongly advocated for employee movements to fight against the privatisation of bank insurance, railways, telecom service providers and called for supporting the farmer's movements. He believes that all these movements are associated with the peace movement of the country. 

AIPSO has around 60 mass organisations as members, and Bera urged them to intensify their organisational fight against corporate interest and Hindu nationalism. He also encouraged them to share their experiences of the fight with each other.

South African Foreign Minister Faces Threats to Family in Wake of ICJ Case Against Israel

Tanupriya Singh | 10 Feb 2024

Pandor has reported receiving threats against her and her children and has alleged involvement of Israeli intelligence

Naledi Pandor, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa. Photo: Rafael Stedile

South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Naledi Pandor, has stated that she and her family have been receiving threats in the aftermath of South Africa’s case against Israel accusing it of violating the Genocide Convention at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). 

Speaking to reporters in Cape Town on February 9, Pandor, who has been outspoken and steadfast in her support of the Palestinian people, said that she had to increase her security and that she was worried about her family given that threats on social media had mentioned her children. 

“The Israeli agents, intelligence services, this is how they behave, and they seek to intimidate you…we must not be intimidated. There is a cause that is underway,” she said. 

“The people of the world and of Palestine didn’t draw back when the apartheid state was at its worst. They stood with the liberation movement so we can’t stand back now. We must be with them and one of the things we must not allow is a failure of courage.” 

Not only did Israel call the South African government the “legal arm of Hamas” and spread bizarre misinformation that Iran had somehow funded its case at the ICJ, Pandor stated recently that Israel had also called her an ISIS supporter. 

“We will strive on. As long as the people of Palestine know we as South Africa are with them, we will strive on.”   

In its initial ruling on January 26, the ICJ had upheld South Africa’s case against Israel, and granted the provisional measures sought by Pretoria, including ordering Israel to take “all measures within its power to prevent the commission of all acts within the scope of the Genocide Convention.” The acts defined included the killing of members of the group (the Palestinian people), causing them physical or mental harm, and imposing on them conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction. 

It was almost immediately apparent that Israel was violating the provisional measures, given that it had killed over 373 people within 48 hours of the ruling. “I can’t be dishonest. I believe the rulings of the court have been ignored.” Pandor had said at a press conference at the end of January. 

“Hundreds of people have been killed in the last three or four days. And clearly Israeli believes it has license to do as it wishes”. 

Nearly 28,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza as Israel continues its genocidal war on the besieged enclave. On February 8, the Zionist occupation rejected a ceasefire proposal presented by Hamas on behalf of the Palestinian resistance, a proposal which would have seen the return of all Israeli hostages, the freedom of Palestinian political prisoners, reconstruction, and negotiations towards a “sustainable peace.”

While Israel continues to blatantly flout international law under the diplomatic and military support provided by the United States and its allies, South Africa has also taken the matter to the International Criminal Court (ICC). 

Last November, South Africa was among a group of countries who filed a referral to the Court, which is established under the Rome Statute and has jurisdiction over crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide, and crimes of aggression. The ICC is an independent entity that prosecutes individuals, as opposed to the ICJ, which is a UN institution that settles disputes between states. 

However, despite having an open investigation into the situation in Palestine since 2021, Palestinian human rights organizations have accused the ICC’s incumbent chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, of delays and double standards in his handling of the case, particularly in light of the atrocities committed by Israeli forces, and sanctioned by its seniormost leadership, since October 7. 

In its case before the Court, South Africa had appealed to the Court to issue an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and to investigate the commission of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide against the Palestinian people. 

In the press conference on January 31, Pandor stated that a South African delegation had met with Khan and the ICC president, emphasizing Pretoria’s “concern at the slow pace of action on matters that we referred to them as urgent matters”. 

She stated that the ICC prosecutor had assured the delegation that the matter was being looked at, however, “What I felt he didn’t answer me sufficiently on was– I asked him why he was able to issue an arrest warrant for Mr. Putin while he is unable to do so for the Prime Minister of Israel. He could not answer and did not answer that question.”

Courtesy: peoples dispatch