Human urine-derived stem cells have robust regenerative potential

Peer-Reviewed Publication

WAKE FOREST BAPTIST MEDICAL CENTER

WINSTON-SALEM, NC – June 28, 2022 – The Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) researchers who were the first to identify that stem cells in human urine have potential for tissue regenerative effects, continue their investigation into the power of these cells. In their latest published study, they focus on how telomerase activity affects the regenerative potential of these and other types of stem cells.

Telomerase is an enzyme that is essential for the self-renewal and potential of different types of stem cells. Telomerase activity is also closely related to longevity. The research team investigated the regenerative significance of telomerase activity, particularly in terms of characteristic cell surface marker expression, multipotent differentiation capability, chromosomal stability, and safety of in vivo formation of tumors.

Their findings provide a novel perspective to evaluate the capacity of telomerase-positive human urine-derived stem cells to become a wide variety of other cell types, and to be used as an optimal cell source for stem cell therapy or cell-based tissue regeneration.

WFIRM’s Yuanyuan Zhang, Ph.D, lead author of the paper published by Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, said that human urine-derived stem cells can be easily isolated from urine samples which offers clear advantages over stem cells from other sources, like bone marrow or fat tissue which often require a surgical procedure for collection.

“Being able to use a patient's own stem cells for therapy is considered advantageous because they do not induce immune responses or rejection,” said WFIRM Director Anthony Atala, MD, who is a co-author of the paper. “Additionally, the non-invasive collection method is suitable for rapid clinical translation.”

The study demonstrates that human primary urinary stem cells with positive telomerase activity act as a distinct subpopulation with potential regeneration capacity in both cell growth and its capacity to become other cells, Zhang said. Better understanding of alterations in this cell subpopulation throughout the human lifespan, and how they translate into, aging, kidney damage, or cancer, among others will be beneficial overall.

“As a safe cell source, telomerase-positive human urine-derived stem cells have a robust regenerative potential, which might induce better tissue repair,” said Zhang.

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. This work is partially supported by Research Grants from the National Institutes of Health NIDDK (R21DK071791), (R56DK100669), NIAID (R21AI152832), and (R03AI165170).

Additional co-authors include: Yingai Shi, Guihua Liu, Rongpei Wu, David L. Mack, Xiuzhi S. Sun, and Xuan Guan.

About the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine: The Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine is recognized as an international leader in translating scientific discovery into clinical therapies, with many world firsts, including the development and implantation of the first engineered organ in a patient. Over 400 people at the institute, the largest in the world, work on more than 40 different tissues and organs. A number of the basic principles of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine were first developed at the institute. WFIRM researchers have successfully engineered replacement tissues and organs in all four categories – flat structures, tubular tissues, hollow organs and solid organs – and 15 different applications of cell/tissue therapy technologies, such as skin, urethras, cartilage, bladders, muscle, kidney, and vaginal organs, have been successfully used in human patients. The institute, which is part of Wake Forest School of Medicine, is located in the Innovation Quarter in downtown Winston-Salem, NC, and is driven by the urgent needs of patients. The institute is making a global difference in regenerative medicine through collaborations with over 400 entities and institutions worldwide, through its government, academic and industry partnerships, its start-up entities, and through major initiatives in breakthrough technologies, such as tissue engineering, cell therapies, diagnostics, drug discovery, biomanufacturing, nanotechnology, gene editing and 3D printing. 

---

JOURNAL

Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology

DOI

10.3389/fcell.2022.890574 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Differentiation Capacity of Human Urine-Derived Stem Cells to Retain Telomerase Activity

How to MRI your dragon: Researchers develop first bearded dragon brain atlas

by Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology
Interdisciplinary researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign performed MRI scans on bearded dragons, like the one shown here, to generate a first-of-its-kind brain atlas: a high-resolution map of regions in the creatures' brains. 

Credit: Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology.

They're not too cuddly, but bearded dragons are working their way into the hearts and homes of American families. And now, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign are ensuring that these scaly companion animals receive the same medical care as Fluffy, Stripes, and Snowball.

Interdisciplinary researchers at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology and the College of Veterinary Medicine performed MRI scans on bearded dragons to generate a first-of-its-kind brain atlas: a high-resolution map of regions in the creatures' brains.

Currently, there no standardized protocol for performing MRIs on America's No. 1 companion reptile.

"It is challenging to get spatial resolution sufficient to see disease in the brain of a bearded dragon using a clinical MRI machine designed for humans," said Brad Sutton, a professor of bioengineering and the technical director of the Biomedical Imaging Center at the Beckman Institute. "It is important to understand what a healthy bearded dragon's brain looks like, and to understand the variation across different animals."
Bearded dragons are America's No. 1 companion lizard.

 Dr. Krista Keller and "B" the bearded dragon discuss why they are creating an MRI brain atlas for these amazing reptiles. Keller is an assistant professor in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. "B" is a bearded dragon with swag. 

Credit: Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology.

Anesthesia is routinely used for animals during MRI scans. Because the scanner contains a strong magnet, specialized metal-free anesthetic monitoring equipment is also required.

"There are several instances when a bearded dragon would benefit from an MRI exam. However, a strong consideration prior to ordering this diagnostic would be the risks associated with anesthesia," said Krista Keller, an assistant professor of veterinary and clinical medicine and the service head of zoological medicine at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital.

Interdisciplinary researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign performed MRI scans on bearded dragons, like the one shown above, to generate a first-of-its-kind brain atlas: a high-resolution map of regions in the creatures' brains.This image depicts a bearded dragon mid-sagittal slice and was generated using a 3 Tesla MRI scanner located in the Biomedical Imaging Center at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. The bearded dragon is facing left, with the top of its head corresponding to the top of the image. 

Credit: Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology.

The researchers' work appeared in Frontiers in Veterinary Science. It identified a predictable and safe anesthetic protocol that can be used in future clinical cases. Data from this study also expands the clinical information available to researchers performing high-resolution MRI scans of bearded dragons in the future.

To compile their data, the team used a 3 Tesla MRI scanner located in Beckman's Biomedical Imaging Center to image seven bearded dragons safely and non-invasively. The bearded dragons came from a research and study colony and represent the most common lizard species encountered in veterinary medical practice.


The researchers used an image averaging strategy to compile the scans into a single idealized model of a bearded dragon brain; the resulting atlas will be used as a standard reference material in the event that a bearded dragon may be diagnosed with or treated for a neurological disease. Anatomical atlases of reptiles including the tawny dragon, the tokay gecko, and the garter snake were also used for reference.

While bearded dragons could certainly benefit from MRI exams, the risks associated with anesthesia are significant, according to assistant professor of veterinary clinical medicine Krista Keller (pictured with a bearded dragon at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign College of Veterinary Medicine). 

Photo courtesy of L. Brian Stauffer. Credit: L. Brian Stauffer.

"Our goal for this study was to not only provide clinicians with an anatomic reference of the bearded dragon brain, but to also establish a safe and efficient MRI and sedation protocol that can be utilized in practices with access to either a 1.5 or 3 Tesla MRI," said Kari Foss, an assistant professor of veterinary and clinical medicine.

The researchers identified nine anatomic structures in the bearded dragon brain including the thalamus, optic nerve, optic tectum, lateral ventricles, medulla, telencephalon, tectal ventricle, cerebellum, and the olfactory lobe and stalk.

Explore furtherClimate change may be making bearded dragons less intelligent
More information: Kari D. Foss et al, Establishing an MRI-Based Protocol and Atlas of the Bearded Dragon (Pogona vitticeps) Brain, Frontiers in Veterinary Science (2022). DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2022.886333

Provided by Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology

How Nigeria can turn its huge cashew waste into valuable citric acid

Cashew apples. VW Pics via Getty Images

THE CONVERSATION
Published: June 28, 2022 

Nigeria – the sixth largest producer of cashew nuts globally – exports more than 80% of its raw cashews primarily to Vietman and India where they are processed into various consumer products such as butter, food and cosmetic ingredients.

But Africa’s most populous nation can extract more economic value out of cashews by using their wastes to produce citric acid.

Cashew is a tropical tree cultivated for its fruit (cashew nut) and pseudofruit (cashew apple). The nut is the major reason for planting cashew – it is very nutritious. The fleshy “apple” part yields a juice which is high in vitamins and minerals.

But the juice is high in anti-nutrients too. These are compounds that prevent the body from absorbing nutrients. They also make the juice less palatable. Because of this, cashew apples are mostly discarded.

Get news that’s free, independent and based on evidence.Sign up for newsletter

The apple pulp, shell and liquid from the shell are all wasted or underutilised. Yet, these are valuable materials and they can be improved by biotechnology.

We’ve been conducting work into the potential of producing citric acid from cashew juice. It was the first effort globally to produce citric acid from cashew juice. Citric acid is widely used to preserve blood, drugs and processed foods and drinks. Its global value is expected to reach US$4 billion in 2027.

We used cashew from Ogbomoso, south west Nigeria, an area that produces some of the best cashew nuts in Nigeria.
Cashews in Nigeria

Nigeria currently harvests 200,000 to 240,000 metric tons of raw cashew nuts each year, with about 85% of this exported. Nigeria’s no different to other African countries that export the bulk of their production as raw cashew nuts.

Africa, with production of 2,334,405 tons, is the world’s largest producer and exporter of raw cashew nuts, accounting for more than 50% of production. Between 2000 and 2018, world trade in raw cashew nuts more than doubled to 2.1 million tons, and African producers – led by Côte d’Ivoire – accounted for almost two-thirds of the growth. In 2020, trade in cashew nuts was worth US$6.87 billion.

Cashew farming contributes about N24 billion (about US$58 million) to the Nigerian economy annually. It employs more than 600,000 people.

The sector could do more. Our work shows that citric acid can be produced from cashew apple juice, which is abundant in Nigeria. Domestic production would save Nigeria US$31 million a year in foreign exchange, based on citric acid imports for 2020.

Nigeria can produce citric acid from cashew apple juice by using biotechnology - the science of using biological processes to produce valuable materials and services. For instance, man makes use of some bacteria to convert milk to yoghurt. Yeast is used in producing bread via biotechnology. Biotechnological products were valued at US$752.88 billion in 2020 with projected growth of 15.83% for 2021-2028.

Cashew wastes, too, can be turned to wealth by creating new products. For instance, cashew nut shell liquid produces chemicals that can be used in the making of paints, varnishes, agrochemicals and medicines. Shell and pulp are used through biotechnology to produce animal feeds and bioethanol. Biotechnology can also turn the juice into drinks and ethanol.
Citric acid from cashew

In our efforts to add value to cashew, we focused on the underutilised cashew apple juice and aimed to test the possibility of producing citric acid from the juice.

The demand for citric acid is growing because of its usefulness in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. New sources of nutrients are needed to grow microorganisms that produce citric acid.

Nutrients in the cashew juice and pulp support the growth of microorganisms.

We used cashew apple juice to grow black mould to produce citric acid for the first time globally. Black mould is a fungus that is widely distributed in the environment. It produces black spores when it grows. It is scientifically known as Aspergillus niger.

The mould grows on simple and cheap materials. It has been used to produce citric acid since 1919. It is used to produce different products, including enzymes, proteins and animal feeds. It is celebrated as a microorganism that has made huge contributions to biotechnology for 100 years.

The best locally sourced black mould consumed the juice to produce citric acid in large quantities. It produced 92.8g of citric acid per litre of juice after 10 days of growth. The yield is considered very high compared to those that were earlier reported.

We used the citric acid to coagulate soy milk to make cheese. Citric acid is used as coagulant in producing cheese. We asked a panel to test the quality of the cheese. They found the soy cheese to have better characteristics than those produced locally using fermented liquor of corn. These include better colour, texture, flavour and firmness.

We then used scientific techniques to increase the citric acid production. We manipulated growth conditions of the mould and applied nanomaterials in its nutrition in this regard. It was the first report globally to increase citric acid production by applying nanotechnology.

At various times, we used four techniques to improve capability of the mould. These include obtaining high-yielding mould by exposure to radiation. Then, we added sugar to the juice to study its effect on yield of citric acid. We evaluated the addition of zinc oxide nanoparticles on citric acid production. Finally, we determined the best growth conditions to support citric acid production by our mould.

These efforts increased citric acid production by the mould in cashew juice by about 2.38 to 11.98 times of the original production. For instance, addition of zinc oxide nanoparticles gave yield of 34.62% citric acid per day. The best growth conditions turned in 92.61% citric acid per day. These results showed that we can improve productivity of the mould to enhance commercial production of citric acid.
Moving forward

Large scale production of citric acid using cashew apple juice could achieve several benefits. It could:

add value to cashew farming and increase income from planting the crop


reduce the environmental nuisance of disposal of cashew apple


enhance Nigeria’s potential to produce citric acid locally


boost the economy and save foreign exchange reserves.

Authors

Agbaje Lateef
Professor of Microbiology, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso

Adeoye O. Adekunle (PhD)
Lecturer in Food Science, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso

Disclosure statement
Agbaje Lateef receives funding from TETFund.

How Dragonflies Make the Most Extraordinary Journey in Nature

The globe skimmer dragonfly flies from India to Africa during its annual migration. Now researchers are beginning to understand some of the tricks that make this feat possible.

By The Physics arXiv Blog

Jun 28, 2022 10:40 AM

(Credit: Danita Delimont/Shutterstock)

Every October, the globe skimmer dragonfly, Pantala flavescens, migrates from India to Africa via the Maldives in the Indian Ocean. The nonstop journey from the Maldives across the Indian Ocean to Somalia is 2500 kilometers.

The dragonfly is just a few centimeters long so for its body size, this is the longest nonstop journey of any creature.

This extraordinary feat has long puzzled biologists who wonder how such a small creature can endure over such long distances. Various researchers have debated the role of wind, rain and life cycle on this phenomenon. But in the absence of sensors small enough to track insect flight over these distances, nobody has settled the question of how P. flavescens achieves this feat.

Enter Kumar Sanat Ranjan and colleagues at the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur in West Bengal. This group has brought together all these factors along with a detailed study of dragonfly endurance to work out how long they can fly, what factor the wind must play and the annual timing of the migration.

The Globe Skimmer dragonfly migrates each year from India to Africa and back again. 

The yellow dots are recorded sightings. (Source: arxiv.org/abs/2206.11226

In this way, they show how P. flavescens perform their extraordinary migration, why it is only possible at a certain time of the year and how the dragonflies become so widely dispersed across Asia.

At the heart of the work by Ranjan and colleagues is their model for studying the energetics involved in dragonfly flight. Their model includes factors such as lift, drag and energy involved in flying with wings beating at a certain frequency. It then compares it with the chemical power the insect has available from onboard fuel storage.

“Energetics calculations reveal a P. flavescens can endure 90 hours of steady flight at 4.5m/s,” say Ranjana and co.

That’s an important finding that suggests the migration is not possible without help. “The prevailing winds play a pivotal role; a direct crossing of the Indian Ocean from Africa to India is feasible with the Somali Jet, whereas the return requires stopovers in Maldives and Seychelles,” say the team.

The team analyzed wind patterns throughout the year and found that they only became favorable for a crossing from India to Somalia after September with the greatest probability of success in December.

Indeed, that’s exactly what entomologists observe. P. flavescens arrive in Somalia in November and December having travelled from India via the Maldives and the Seychelles. The researchers say that the prevailing wind means that each leg of the journey can be done in under 90 hours.
Endurance Limit

The return journey is assisted by the Somali Jet, which sends moisture towards Asia for the Summer monsoon. Again this becomes possible within the 90-hour endurance limit.

Ranjana and co say that more than one route satisfies the conditions for flight. That probably explains why the routes dragonflies take are not always the same and why they end up elsewhere in Asia too — the same pattern of flight, wind, moisture and other factors can send them to entirely different places.

That’s interesting work that shows how important the timing of the journey must be. The dragonflies can only make the journey when the winds at their chosen altitudes are strong enough and in the right direction.


Even then, this can send them to far-flung destinations. And yet a huge number make the journey from India to Africa, presumably when the triggers to fly are exactly right. That raises interesting questions about the way climate change will influence migratory patterns, probably not always for the best.

The research leaves numerous other questions unanswered, such as how the dragonflies know when the winds are optimal for the journey, how they navigate to tiny islands in the Indian Ocean along the way and most puzzling of all, how this knowledge is passed from one generation to the next, since the same flight patterns occur every year.

Researchers have recently made Important progress in understanding how birds navigate so accurately. But dragonflies must have similarly capable navigation systems to achieve their feats. For now, these mysteries remain unsolved.

Ref: Transoceanic migration of dragonflies and branched optimal route networks : arxiv.org/abs/2206.11226

New resources designed to prevent cruel and inaccurate representation of self-harm in literature

by University of Exeter

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Experts and campaigners working to prevent cruel and inaccurate representation of self-harm have created new resources to encourage better portrayal of those in mental distress.

There are few representations of self-harm in fiction or other media, perhaps because writers feel anxious about depicting characters experiencing these struggles. But more thoughtful depiction—which reflects complexities—could help people feel less alone and support treatment.

The resources are designed to show there is no one way to perfectly represent self-harm—it can be experienced in varied ways and can mean different things to different people—even to the same people at different points in their life. They also show that fiction can be a way to open up conversations around self-harm or to reflect on assumptions we take for granted—this can be helpful for health care professionals, for teachers, and for family and friends of people who self-harm.

The research is designed to encourage writers and creatives to avoid misperceptions about what sort of person usually self-harms, and to reflect on how their representations might shape how people who self-harm are treated.

It encourages writers not to reinforce false assumptions, for instance that people who self-harm are seeking attention or are manipulative, or that self-harm itself is bizarre and inexplicable. It also encourages writers to be aware that always ending stories with recovery could feel hopeful but can also make ongoing self-harm or scars harder to talk about or recognize.

The two guides—one for writers and creatives and another for professionals who support a person who self-harms—are written by Veronica Heney from the University of Exeter and Durham University. Dr. Heney worked with people who had self-harmed to learn more about their experiences and to collaboratively produce the resources.

Dr. Heney, who is based at Durham University's Institute for Medical Humanities, said: "The stories we tell about self-harm are incredibly important. They can help people to feel less alone in what can be an isolating or difficult experience. If you know someone who self-harms or you support them in a professional capacity then fiction can be a way to reflect on their experience or gain insight into it. Fiction can also be a good way to start conversations around self-harm, which is something people often find difficult.

"But irresponsible and careless depictions of self-harm can reinforce shame and spread misperceptions. Stereotypical or inaccurate depictions can have an impact on how people who self-harm are treated. It's important for writers and creators to think about how their work might shape how the public sees self-harm. And it's helpful for people who support self-harm to think about how fiction might be impacting their assumptions around the self-harm."

During interviews and workshops people with experience of self-harm discussed how shallow depictions of self-harm were hard to identify with or even felt hurtful. They said self-harm was sometimes portrayed as attention-seeking, or as strange and difficult to sympathize with.

Many depictions of self-harm in fiction used stereotypes about what self-harm is, and especially about who self-harms: most characters who self-harmed were white, middle class, young girls and this can make the many people who don't fit that stereotype feel erased.

Dr. Heney said: "Although we've talked and written about what we think is unhelpful or inaccurate in depictions of self-harm, we hope this doesn't mean creators erase or avoid self-harm in fiction. In fact something that came out strongly from the research was a desire to see self-harm depicted more often, especially in ways that are nuanced or that represent the multiplicity of self-harm. A narrative where self-harm is present doesn't have to be 'about' self-harm; self-harm can be a part of many stories, just as it is a part of many lives.

"Across the research there was a sense of the real value of representations of self-harm—they can be really meaningful both to those with experience of self-harm and to others trying to understand our experiences. But they can also reinforce shame, and they can make it easier for others to treat people who self-harm cruelly or without care."

The resources urge writers to focus on telling a specific story rather than trying to create something "perfect" or "universal." It encourages them not to use self-harm as just a plot device, or to signal "madness" or "dysfunction" or to "raise the stakes." They encourage health care professionals and teachers to think about what stories or narratives might have shaped their own attitudes around self-harm. The resources are designed to show how with self-harm there are often few straightforward lessons or simple answers. They suggest that an important step in any creative process might be talking with people who have self-harmed, reading testimony from people who have self-harmed, or looking for their feedback on the work. Experiences are diverse and nuanced—understanding this can be helpful both for those creating fiction and for those reading or watching it, especially those who support people who self-harm.

The resources were created collaboratively with people with experience of self-harm, and with Make Space, a user-led group that facilitates conversations around self-harm. You can find out about Make Space's work and see the resources around self-harm here.GP attitude and access plays important role in young people seeking help for self-harm

More information: Self-Harm and Fiction: www.makespaceco.org/fiction

Provided by University of Exeter 

Cyberbullying increases the risk of suicide among children more than ‘traditional’ bullying

by Study Finds

PHILADELPHIA — Cyberbullying has a stronger impact on adolescent victims than “traditional,” in-person bullying, a new study reveals. A team from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) says victims of online bullying in early adolescence are more likely to report suicidal thoughts and attempts, going far beyond that of offline bullying.

Researchers at Lifespan Brain Institute (LiBI), the University of Pennsylvania, and Reichman University in Israel looked at the records for more than 10,000 children between 10 and 13.

“Being a target of cyberbullying was associated with suicidality over and above experiences of perpetration of offline peer aggression,” study authors write in the journal JAMA Network Open. “The association with suicidality remained for targets of cyberbullying even when accounting for multiple confounders, including experiences or perpetration of offline peer aggression.”

“At a time when young adolescents are spending more time online than ever before, this study underscores the negative impact that bullying in the virtual space can have on its targets,” adds senior author Ran Barzilay, MD, PhD, an assistant professor at the Lifespan Brain Institute (LiBI) of CHOP, in a media release.

“Given these results, it may be prudent for primary care providers to screen for cyberbullying routinely in the same way that they might screen for other suicide risk factors like depression. Educators and parents should also be aware of the substantial stress bullying in the cyberworld places on young adolescents.”

What’s the difference between these forms of bullying?

The suicide rate in children has been steadily increasing in recent years. In 2018, it became the second leading cause of death for young people between 10 and 24. One of the surprising results of the study was that online bullying was a different phenomenon in comparison to offline bullying. The team defined online bullying as harmful texts or group texts, or social media posts on platforms like Instagram or Snapchat.

Researchers split offline bullying into three categories: overt aggression, such as threatening or hitting; relational aggression, such as not inviting or leaving someone out; and reputational aggression, such as spreading rumors or gossiping.

Prior to this study, it was not clear whether being a target of cyberbullying is an independent risk factor for suicide as traditional bullying is, due to the stress it causes.

The researchers analyzed data collected between July 2018 and January 2021 from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study (ABCD Study), a diverse sample of over 10,414 American children between the ages of 10 and 13. Of the children in the study, 7.6 percent responded that they had experienced suicidal thoughts or acts, 8.9 percent reported being targets of cyberbullying, and 0.9 percent admitted to cyberbullying others.

The team found that being a target of cyberbullying displayed a connection with suicidality, whereas being the perpetrator of cyberbullying did not. That finding was distinct from traditional offline bullying, where being either a target or perpetrator of bullying showed a link with suicidality.

‘Cyberbullying is a distinct phenomenon’

Additionally, the study finds that being the victim of bullying online only partly overlaps with offline bullying, supporting the notion that cyberbullying is a distinct phenomenon, independent from offline experiences of bullying. This may suggest that youngsters affected by cyberbullying are different from those encountering bullies in the real world.

“We found that cyberbullying experiences only partly overlap with offline peer aggression experiences, with most targets of cyberbullying not reporting being targets or perpetrators of offline peer aggression,” the researchers write.


“This finding supports the notion that cyberbullying is a distinct phenomenon, independent of offline peer aggression experiences and suggests that adolescents affected by cyberbullying are different from those affected by offline peer aggression and screening for cyberbullying experiences may detect youths at risk who are not detected when screening for offline peer aggression experiences.”

“Our findings suggest being a target of cyberbullying is an independent risk factor for youth suicidality,” Dr. Barzilay concludes. “For policy makers wishing to optimize youth suicide prevention efforts, this study should further encourage interventions for those who are being bullied online.”


With the rise of cyberbullying due to the COVID-19 pandemic and more remote communications, the team cautions that more research is necessary to be completely clear as to the effects of the phenomenon.

South West News Service writer Jim Leffman contributed to this report.

Microfluidic-Based Soft Robotic Prosthetics Promise Relief for Diabetic Amputees

Pneumatic actuators can control fit of prosthetic sockets, reducing pain and skin ulcerations

21-Jun-2022 

 by American Institute of Physics (AIP)

Credit: Waterloo Microfluidics Laboratory at University of Waterloo

Proof-of-concept rendering (left) and photo (right) of the prototype

 of the new microfluidics-enabled soft robotic prosthesis for lower

 limb amputees.

Newswise — WASHINGTON, June 28, 2022 – Every 30 seconds, a leg is amputated somewhere in the world due to diabetes. These patients often suffer from neuropathy, a loss of sensation in the lower extremities, and are therefore unable to detect damage resulting from an ill-fitting prosthesis, which leads to the amputation of a limb.

In Biomicrofluidics, by AIP Publishing, Canadian scientists reveal their development of a new type of prosthetic using microfluidics-enabled soft robotics that promises to greatly reduce skin ulcerations and pain in patients who have had an amputation between the ankle and knee.

More than 80% of lower-limb amputations in the world are the result of diabetic foot ulcers, and the lower limb is known to swell at unpredictable times, resulting in volume changes of 10% or more.

Typically, the prosthesis used after amputation includes fabric and silicone liners that can be added or removed to improve fit. The amputee needs to manually change the liners, but neuropathy leading to poor sensation makes this difficult and can lead to more damage to the remaining limb.

"Rather than creating a new type of prosthetic socket, the typical silicon/fabric limb liner is replaced with a single layer of liner with integrated soft fluidic actuators as an interfacing layer," said author Carolyn Ren, from the University of Waterloo. "These actuators are designed to be inflated to varying pressures based on the anatomy of the residual limb to reduce pain and prevent pressure ulcerations."

The scientists started with a recently developed device using pneumatic actuators to adjust the pressure of the prosthetic socket. This initial device was quite heavy, limiting its use in real-world situations.

To address this problem, the group developed a way to miniaturize the actuators. They designed a microfluidic chip with 10 integrated pneumatic valves to control each actuator. The full system is controlled by a miniature air pump and two solenoid valves that provide air to the microfluidic chip. The control box is small and light enough to be worn as part of the prosthesis.

Medical personnel with extensive experience in prosthetic devices were part of the team and provided a detailed map of desired pressures for the prosthetic socket. The group carried out extensive measurements of the contact pressure provided by each actuator and compared these to the desired pressure for a working prosthesis.

All 10 actuators were found to produce pressures in the desired range, suggesting the new device will work well in the field. Future research will test the approach on a more accurate biological model.

The group plans additional research to integrate pressure sensors directly into the prosthetic liner, perhaps using newly available knitted soft fabric that incorporates pressure sensing material.

###

The article "Air microfluidics-enabled soft robotic transtibial prosthesis socket liner towards dynamic management of residual limb contact pressure and volume fluctuation" is authored by Peter S. Lee, Run Ze Gao, Alyson Colpitts, Robin W. Murdock, Doug Dittmer, Andreas Schirm, James Y. Tung, and Carolyn L. Ren. The article will appear in Biomicrofluidics on June 28, 2022 (DOI: 10.1063/5.0087900). 

After that date, it can be accessed at 

https://aip.scitation.org/doi/full/10.1063/5.0087900.

ABOUT THE JOURNAL

Biomicrofluidics rapidly disseminates research in fundamental physicochemical mechanisms associated with microfluidic and nanofluidic phenomena. The journal also publishes research in unique microfluidic and nanofluidic techniques for diagnostic, medical, biological, pharmaceutical, environmental, and chemical applications. See https://aip.scitation.org/journal/bmf.

###

The Practice of Nonviolence
By Anam Thubten Rinpoche
June 17, 2022


Ahimsa (Skt: nonviolence), is the central observance of the Buddhist tradition and belongs to the practices of sila (Skt: ethics), which is one of the three trainings of the Noble Eightfold Path, along with wisdom and meditation. When someone embarks on the Buddhist path, she or he takes a vow to refrain from harming others until the moment of death. The sutras offer specific definitions of ahimsa, such as refraining from taking the life of other beings, including animals. In many Buddhist cultures, the popular understanding of ahimsa is mainly associated with refraining from taking life from others, the first of the five precepts of being a Buddhist. There are specific occasions when adherents observe these precepts with a great deal of care, especially during holy days based on the Buddha’s life.

But in essence, ahimsa means not causing harm to others. As the world around us is continually changing, the definition of ahimsa should be interpreted in a way that meets the spiritual needs of modern people.

First, let’s realize that the world has entered a new era—what we might like to call the “era of conscientiousness.” With rapid technological advances, all forms of information are becoming more available than ever before—news from one side of the world can travel to the other side in seconds; people are more informed about everything than their parents’ generation; and so forth. Climate change, war, violence, inequality, injustice, all these issues from around the world are talked about in conversation at the dinner table, on various online platforms, and in national and regional news. Perhaps many people in Japan care about the civil war in Syria, whereas a few centuries ago, the general population of Japan may have had no geographical knowledge about that part of the Middle East. South Koreans are aware of the hardships of people in Africa, who are suffering from food shortages. Americans are deeply concerned about ethnic conflict in Myanmar, yet only a few centuries ago, Americans had nothing to do with that country. Not only that, slavery would have been a legitimate, widespread system in US. Since then, the world has come long way. It can be a stunning matter to compare past circumstances with the present.

This new level of conscientiousness should be welcomed, even though it might sometimes not give us easy solace. There is also resistance from people who feel comfortable thinking in terms of old social and economic structures that have served them quite well. It’s like spoiling the party. Yet the old party is enjoyed by very few and might not be sustainable. It is better to wake up and to be part of this global awakening.

The biggest challenges facing us now are pathological inequality and environmental degradation. Unless these issues are addressed, and unless we take action to change them, humanity is going to face endless problems and suffering for centuries to come. These two problems are not easing but are being continually exacerbated. Let’s talk about the impact that these problems are having in the world.

Inequality is not only an issue in so-called third-world countries. It is a major global problem and an impediment to the healthy economic growth of entire nations. Inequality causes calamity for its victims, including health and mental issues, and depriving them of their basic human dignity. Data on inequity around the world can shock us so much that we might feel that there is something wrong with the whole system. This inequality has many shades. In extreme situations, it breeds poverty, which becomes the cause of numerous problems, such as modern slavery. The practice of slavery has been pretty much abolished in the constitutions of almost all nations. Yet a highly concealed institution of slavery continues to exist in different forms that are not easily seen, unless a thorough analysis is performed. Some of these analyses show that there are more slaves now than any time in human history.

What will the world look like a few decades from now? This is a question that makes many people nervous. Yet even if it comes with discomfort, the question should be asked again and again. Our children might not inherit a planet where they can enjoy a good life. Of course, no one has a crystal ball to perfectly predict the course of the future. But we do know that if current ecological trends continue, there will be extreme weather, droughts, floods, fire, and massive relocation on a global scale, which will also result in political chaos. The main factor behind all of these is environmental degradation. Instead of some kind of unexpected periodic occurrence in the natural world, such as the Ice Age, or the comet that wiped out dinosaurs, environmental degradation is directly related to anthropogenic activities. There is mounting scientific evidence to prove this.

Ahimsa is a practice that intentionally stops any activities that can cause harm to living beings and also to the natural world. It begins with conscientiousness; otherwise, ahimsa will remain purely an incomplete theory. In the beginning, responsible individuals can practice this holistic ahimsa. Eventually, the whole of society must embrace it—religious and secular people alike. Ahimsa doesn’t come with a religious badge. You can be a Buddhist or non-Buddhist and practice ahimsa in everyday life for the benefit of the whole world. Indeed, many secular people are embodying ahimsa in their lives, protecting the environment and working for good causes. With all of the heartbreaking problems in the world, our world is also blessed by all these goodhearted people.

Therefore, there is hope.

It is like a beacon shining in the darkness. It will grow brighter and brighter.
See more

Dharmata Foundation
Related features from BDG

Buddhistdoor View: On the Moral and Traditional Complexities of Abortion
Manifesting Avalokiteshvara: The Jewel within the Lotus
A Metta Prayer
More from Dharma Gossip by Anam Thubten Rinpoche
Tags: ahimsa, Anam Thubten Rinpoche, awakening, buddhism, buddhist path, conscientiousness, digital technology, environmental crisis, environmental degradation, environmental ethics, equality, ethics, hope, inequality, Noble Eightfold Path, nonviolence, sila, slavery, social change, Tibetan Buddhism, vajrayana



Anam Thubten Rinpoche  grew up in Tibet and at an early age began to practice in the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Among his many teachers, his most formative guides were Lama Tsurlo, Khenpo Chopel, and Lama Garwang. He is the founder and spiritual advisor of the Dharmata Foundation, teaching widely in the US and internationally. He is also the author of various articles and books in both the Tibetan and English languages. His books in English include The Magic of Awareness and No Self, No Problem. Through the essential wisdom of Buddhism and his personal experience on the spiritual path, Anam Thubten brings alive the timeless teachings and invites everyone to participate. More infomation can be found at: www.dharmata.org Dharma Gossip is published bi-monthly

OPINION
Everything That's Wrong With Rewriting History Under Hindutva Nationalism

The BJP, with its insistence on the purity of Hindu Rashtra, would sadly reduce the soaring generosity of their founding vision to the petty bigotry of majoritarian chauvinism.

Mahābhāratakālīna Bhāratavarshācā nakāśā: A map showing place names

 in associated with the Mahābhārāt 

Photo: Getty Images

In all the debates about the ruling establishment’s resurrection of history as an instrument of its majoritarian politics, many of us are guilty of not looking beyond the Hindutvavadis’ obvious political misuse of the past to further their interests in the present. In fact, history plays a profoundly important role in the Hindutva conception of Indian nationalism, and it is worth delving into its ideological underpinnings to understand its present significance.

The concept of nationalism arose around the world, as I pointed out in my book The Battle of Belonging, when the absolute power of the traditional ruler became untenable in more complex societies, and power began to be diffused. At that stage, people began to relate to each other by identifiable and unchanging common features that could be considered the attributes of a nation—a political entity broadly understood to be united by a defined geography, ethnicity, language, religion, and culture, common (and idealised) heroes, and a shared identity and sense of community for all its constituent people.

Indian nationalists fighting the British Raj quickly seized on this, and Hindutva ideologues went farther; in keeping with the race doctrines of the times, Savarkar in the 1920s conceived Hindutva as an indefinable quality inherent in the Hindu ‘race’, which could not be identified directly with the specific tenets of Hinduism. To him, the religion was therefore a subset of the political idea, rather than synonymous with it—something many of its proponents today would be surprised to hear. Despite this distinction, Hindutva would help achieve the political consolidation of the Hindu people, since Savarkar also argued that a Muslim or a Christian, even if born in India, could not claim allegiance to the three essentials of Hindutva: ‘a common nation (rashtra), a common race (jati) and a common civilisation (sanskriti), as represented in a common history, common heroes, a common literature, a common art, a common law and a common jurisprudence, common fairs and festivals, rites and rituals, ceremonies and sacraments’. Hindus, defined as possessing these common values and practices, constituted the Indian nation—a nation that had existed since antiquity, since Savarkar was explicitly rejecting the British view that Indian nationhood was a creation of the foreign imperium.

Rightwing idealogues RSS icons Vinayak Savarkar (left), and M.S. Golwalkar

Savarkar’s vision of Hindutva saw it as the underlying principle of a ‘Hindu Rashtra’ that extended across the Indian subcontinent, and was rooted in an undivided India bounded by the mountains and the seas (‘Akhand Bharat‘) corresponding to the territorial aspirations of ancient dynasties like the Mauryas (321 BCE–185 BCE), who under Chandragupta and Ashoka, had managed to knit most of the subcontinent under their control. In the words of a later RSS publication, Sri Guruji, the Man and his Mission, ‘It became evident that Hindus were the nation in Bharat and that Hindutva was Rashtriyatva [nationalism].’

For Savarkar, Hinduness was synonymous with Indianness, properly understood. Savarkar’s idea of Hindutva was expansive: ‘Hindutva is not a word but a history. Not only the spiritual or religious history of our people as at times it is mistaken to be by being confounded with the other cognate term Hinduism, but a history in full.... Hindutva embraces all the departments of thought and activity of the whole Being of our Hindu race.’ In turn, the Hindu ‘race’ was inextricably bound to the idea of the nation. As Savarkar put it, ‘We Hindus are bound together not only by the tie of the love we bear to a common fatherland and by the common blood that courses through our veins and keeps our hearts throbbing and our affections warm, but also by the tie of the common homage we pay to our great civilisation—our Hindu culture.’

However, his idea of Hindutva excluded those whose ancestors came from elsewhere or whose holy lands lay outside India—thereby eliminating Muslim and Christians, India’s two most significant minorities, from his frame of reference. What their place would be in Savarkar’s construction of the nation was not made explicitly clear, but the best they could hope for was a sort of second-class citizenship in which they could live in India only on sufferance.

Portrait of India Christians pray during Easter in Guwahati | Photo: Getty Images

This logic was taken even further by M. S. Golwalkar, the sarsanghchalak or head of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for three decades (1940–1973), who supplanted Savarkar as the principal ideologue of Hindu nationalism, notably in his 1939 screed We or Our Nationhood Defined and in the anthology of his writings and speeches, Bunch of Thoughts. Golwalkar made it clear in his writings that India was the holy land of the Hindus alone. He writes: ‘Hindusthan is the land of the Hindus and is the terra firma for the Hindu nation alone to flourish upon….’ According to him, India was a pristine Hindu country in ancient times, a place of unparalleled glory destroyed in successive assaults by foreign invaders. He felt that a ‘national regeneration’ was necessary.

The final construction of Hindutva ideology came from Deen Dayal Upadhyay, President of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh and author of Integral Humanism, who argued that India could and should contribute to the world ‘in consonance with our culture and traditions’. That culture and those traditions were, of course, Hindu. In India, ‘there exists only one culture….There are no separate cultures here for Muslims and Christians.’ Every community, therefore, including Muslims and Christians, ‘must identify themselves with the age-long national cultural stream that was Hindu culture in this country’. His logic was that ‘unless all people become part of the same cultural stream, national unity or integration is impossible. If we want to preserve Indian nationalism, this is the only way’. To him, ‘the national cultural stream would continue to remain one and those who cannot identify themselves with it would not be considered nationals’.

To Upadhyaya, the national culture to which he was referring had to be Hindu; it explicitly could not be Muslim. ‘Mecca, Medina, Hassan and Hussain, Sohrab and Rustom and Bulbul may be very significant in their own ways but they do not form a part of Indian national life and stream of Indian culture. How can those who are emotionally associated with these and look upon [the] Rama and Krishna tradition as alien be described as nationals? We see that the moment anybody embraces Islam, an effort is made to cut him off from the entire tradition of this country and connect him to the alien tradition.’

Portrait of India Muslims offer prayers at the shrine of Moinuddin Chisti in Ajmer. | Photo: Getty Images

Muslims, said Upadhyaya, even related differently to India’s past: ‘Some events involve triumph, some our humiliation. The memories of our glorious deeds make us proud; ignominies make us hang our heads in shame.’ But Hindus saw such historical events differently from Muslims. ‘Aggressions by Mohammed Ghori or Mahmood Ghazni naturally fill us with agony. We develop a feeling of attachment to Prithviraj [Chauhan] and other patriots. If instead, any person feels pride for the aggressors and no love for the Motherland, he can lay no claim to patriotism. The memory of Rana Pratap, Chhatrapati Shivaji or Guru Gobind Singh makes us bow down our heads with respect and devotion. On the other hand, the names of Aurangzeb, Alauddin, Clive or Dalhousie, fill us with anger that is natural towards foreign aggressors.’ Only Hindu society, Upadhyaya underscored, felt this way about its heroes, supporting Rana Pratap over Akbar; therefore there was really no ground for doubt that Indian nationalism is Hindu nationalism.
Upadhyaya’s Conclusion Was Blunt: The Muslims Sought ‘To Destroy The Values Of Indian Culture, Its Ideals, National Heroes, Traditions, Places Of Devotion And Worship’.

Upadhyaya’s conclusion was blunt: the Muslims sought ‘to destroy the values of Indian culture, its ideals, national heroes, traditions, places of devotion and worship’, and therefore ‘can never become an indivisible part of this country’. In Upadhyaya’s vision, the inherent consciousness of unity, identical ties of history and tradition, relations of affinity between the land and the people and shared aspirations and hopes, made Hindustan a nation of Hindus. ‘We shall have to concede that our nationality is none other than Hindu nationality. If any outsider comes into this country he shall have to move in step and adjust himself with Hindu nationality.’

But Upadhyaya did not adopt his mentor Golwalkar’s ideas about dealing with India’s Muslims as Hitler had dealt with the Jews. ‘No sensible man will say that six crores of Muslims should be eradicated or thrown out of India,’ he admitted in an article titled ‘Akhand Bharat: Objectives and Means’. ‘[B]ut then they will have to identify themselves completely with Indian life.’ Muslims had to be accommodated within the Indian reality, but on what basis? ‘This unity…can be established only among homogeneous cultures, not among the contrary ones. A preparation of various cereals and pulses mixed together can be prepared: but if sand particles find their way into it, the whole food is spoilt,’ he explained. The way to eliminate these ‘sand particles’ was to ‘purify’ or ‘nationalise Muslims’—to ‘make Muslims proper Indians’. The Congress-led nationalist movement had wrongly tried to forge Hindu–Muslim unity against the British, but ‘unless all people become part of the same cultural stream, national unity or integration is impossible.… A situation will have to be created in which political aspirations of Islam in India will be rooted out. Then and then alone can a longing for cultural unity take root.’

Portrait of India A mural in Delhi depicting a Hindu saint offering prayers. | Photo: Getty Images

The critics of Hindu Rashtra, Upadhyaya argued, found that the term was inexpedient for them in the country’s competitive politics: they were afraid of losing millions of Christian and Muslim voters. Their misconception was that the use of the term excluded Muslim and Christian communities. If both these communities became one with the national cultural mainstream—without any change in their modes of worship—they would be welcome in the new India. All they had to do was to own up to the ancient traditions of India, to look upon Hindu national heroes as their national heroes, and to develop devotion for Bharat Mata. Then they would be fully accepted as nationals of the Hindu India that he envisioned.

In the Hindutva-centred view, history is made of religion-based binaries, in which all Muslim rulers are evil and all Hindus are valiant resisters, embodiments of incipient Hindu nationalism. The Hindut­vavadis believe, in historian Audrey Trus­chke’s words, ‘that India was subjected to repeated defeats over the centuries, including by generations of Muslim conquerors that enfeebled the people and their land. The belief…that Muslim invaders destroyed their culture, religion, and homeland is neither a continuous historical memory nor is it based on accurate records of the past. But… many in India feel injured by the Indo-Muslim past, and their sentiments [are] often undergirded by modern anti-Muslim sentiments.’ As K. N. Panikkar has stated, liberal and tolerant rulers such as Ashoka, Akbar, Jai Singh, Shahu Maharaj, and Wajid Ali Shah do not figure in Hindutva’s list of national heroes. (Indeed, where many nationalist historians extolled Akbar as the liberal, tolerant counterpart to the Islamist Aurangzeb, Hindutvavadis have begun to attack him too, principally because he was Muslim, and like most medieval monarchs of both faiths, killed princes who stood in his way, many of whom happened to be Hindu.)  

 

Heroes and ‘villains’ (Clockwise from top left) Akbar, Maharana Pratap, Bahadur Shah Zafar and Shivaji.

Communal history continues past the era of Islamic rule. Among those Indians who revolted against the British, Bahadur Shah, Zinat Mahal, Maulavi Ahmadullah, and General Bakht Khan, all Muslims, are conspicuous by their absence from Hindutva histories. Syncretic traditions such as the Bhakti movement, and universalist rel­igious reformers like Rammohan Roy and Keshub Chandra Sen, do not receive much attention either. What does is the uncritical veneration of ‘Hindu heroes’ like Maharana Pratap (portrayed now in Rajasthani textbooks as the victor of the Battle of Haldighati against Akbar, which begs the question why Akbar and not he ruled the country for the following three decades) and Chhatrapati Shivaji, the intrepid and courageous Maratha warrior, whose battles against the Mughals have now replaced accounts of Mughal kings in Maharashtra’s textbooks. (The educational system is the chosen battlefield for the Hindutva warriors, and curriculum revision their preferred weapon.)

This is the context in which the current Hindutva campaigns, from textbook revision to challenging mosques built on the ruins of temples, must be understood. Between the ‘civic nationalist’ notion of Indian diversity (which Salman Rushdie celebrated as ‘mongrelisation’) and the Hindutvavadi’s insistence on ‘authentic’ Indian culture—narrowly interpreted, and uncontaminated by colonial influence or “Ganga–Jamuni” hybridity—there lies a chasm. Our nationalist movement and its leaders created a nation built on an ideal of pluralism and freedom: we have given passports to their dreams. This should have been the principal theme of the 75th anniversary of our independence that we celebrate in a few weeks’ time. The BJP, with its insistence on the purity of Hindu Rashtra, would sadly red­uce the soaring generosity of their founding vision to the petty bigotry of majo­ritarian chauvinism.

(This appeared in the print edition as "History and Hindutva Nationalism")

(Views expressed are personal)

Shashi Tharoor is a politician and author

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Hinduism Is Fascism: Modern Hinduism is fascism and racism. It is the origin of what we would call modern Fascism. Based on a religious caste system that is Aryan

CANADA SHOULD LEAD ON PROTECTING AFGHAN WOMEN AND GIRLS
BY  MUSTAFA ARYAN

JUNE 28, 2022

The human rights situation facing Afghan women and girls continues to deteriorate. Canada should live up to its lofty ideals and take the lead on protecting women’s rights in Afghanistan, writes Mustafa Aryan.

At the end of a recent visit to the country, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, said that Afghanistan is now facing a plethora of critical human rights challenges that are severely impacting the people of Afghanistan. However, arguably those facing the worst situation are Afghan women who are at the eye of the world's worst women's rights crisis. Afghan women are being hunted, targeted, and hidden from sight behind burqas and shuttered doors. The international response to the violation of human rights and women’s rights in Afghanistan has been, frankly, ineffective. Leaders express a lack of urgency, and there is little evidence of a well-coordinated strategy—let alone one that robustly seeks to protect Afghan women and girls' rights. Canada—a long time champion of women’s rights—needs to take a stand and be a voice for Afghan women.

Afghanistan faces grave human rights challenges. Since the Taliban takeover on 15 August 2021, women's and girls’ rights have worsened drastically. The Taliban have issued several edicts that prohibit women from work, shut secondary schools for girls, and restrict women's movement and dress. In recent weeks, female TV presenters and other women on screen have been required to wear face masks on-air. Journalists and women, particularly those who take part in or report anti-Taliban protests, have been increasingly targeted. The Taliban is attempting to extinguish 18 million bright lights–Afghan Women and girls are disappearing from public life as a result of continuous restrictions on their freedom. According to UN Special Rapporteur Bennett, many Taliban policies are diminishing, if not erasing, a litany of human rights. The increasing marginalization of women in public life is alarming and has implications not just for Afghan women, but for women regionally and globally.

Since 2001, Canada has directly contributed to improving the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan—providing $3.6 billion in international assistance to the country and playing a critical role in ensuring women’s security, education, and health, as well as human rights and the rights of Afghan women and girls. Between 2001 and 2014, 40,000 Canadians Armed Forces served in the NATO mission in Afghanistan—Canada’s largest deployment since the Second World War. Canada's efforts in Afghanistan have had a positive impact, but at a high cost. 158 soldiers of the Canadian Armed Forces died fighting for peace and freedom. While Canada has continued to support the people of Afghanistan and pledged to bring vulnerable Afghan refugees to Canada, there is much more to be done.

The defense of women’s and girl’s rights is a core tenet of Canada's foreign policy. Canada has a long history of supporting gender equality and women’s rights around the world. It played a crucial role at the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, which resulted in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action—this document ensures the protection and advancement of women’s rights around the world. As a founding member of the United Nations, and in alignment with the Feminist International Assistance Policy and Canada’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security, Canada has played key roles in supporting women’s and girl’s rights.

Canada should build on its efforts and sacrifices over the last two decades and its legacy of supporting women’s rights to once again stand up for Afghan women and girls and lead efforts to help protect women's and girls’ rights in Afghanistan. Canada can promote the rights of Afghan women and girls and take the lead in achieving global goals that assist the integration of the women, peace, and security agenda into programs and initiatives. Furthermore, by appointing a special envoy within the Global Affairs Department, Canada can take the initiative to lead multi-nation efforts. The special envoy for women's rights in Afghanistan will not only help mobilize international assistance, but will also accelerate Canadian efforts to effectively support the protection and promotion of Afghan women and girls. Canada could also hold a global conference for Afghan women and girls' rights, since women rights are a top priority for the country.

It is time for Canadian leadership to match rhetoric with action and do more to protect and promote human rights. This great country believes in democracy, fundamental human rights, and global partnership. By utilizing Canada’s influence, it can mitigate and combat the worsening human rights situation in Afghanistan. There is an urgent need to lead and coordinate international diplomatic actions to protect Afghan women and girls. It is time for Canada to raise her voice on behalf of her sisters in Afghanistan.

About

Mustafa Aryan

:

Mustafa Aryan is the former Director of Regional and International Affairs of Afghanistan’s High Council of National Reconciliation (HCNR). He holds an MA in International Security from the University of Reading in the UK.

The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of any other organization.