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Transgender people in El Salvador are defending their right to vote · Global Voices
Carlos Lara

Photo of Paula Rosales on a march against transphobia in El Salvador in 2019, used with permission.
El Salvador will hold local, legislative and regional elections on February 28. Although there are laws that guarantee that every Salvadoran citizen has the right to vote, transgender and non-binary people continue to face discrimination. To combat this, I joined a group of 14 LGBTQI people hired by El Salvador’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE). We are working to overcome this discrimination and to ensure that transgender, non-binary and non-heteronormative people can vote in El Salvador, through the use of training programs in polling stations.
The biggest obstacle is that El Salvador still has no Gender Identity Law that allows transgender people to change the name and gender listed on their identity document. This hinders their access to rights such as education, healthcare, employment, and voting, among others.
As a result, a person's national identity card (known as the Documento Único de Identidad, DUI) can display a name and gender that is different from their gender expression. This has been the excuse used to deny transgender people their right to vote. Polling station staff, who are responsible for the electoral process, have refused transgender people access to voting stations in previous elections on the basis of this argument. This is not legally justified as Articles 7 and 9 of El Salvador’s Electoral Code state that a person’s gender identity is neither a requirement nor a reason to prevent that person from being able to vote.
In this photo, the author Carlos Lara talks about the LGBTQI population's access to the vote at a training centre in Jiquilisco, Usulután. Photo by Raul Benitez, journalist, used with permission.
The backdrop to all this discrimination is religion, given that some polling station staff have been heard saying to their colleagues things such as, “God hates homosexuals,” “He created everyone male and female,” and even, “Who told you fags that you have rights?” The Bible is not part of this country’s laws, therefore it is completely unacceptable to use this type of excuse against the LGBTQI population and their right to vote.
Homophobic and transphobic attitudes are felt the minute that LGBTQI people, and particularly trans people, “feminine” gay men, and “masculine” lesbians, walk into the polling station. They are on the receiving end of laughter, wolf whistles, catcalls, derogatory names and insults. They have bottles of water, rotten fruit and vegetables thrown at them and nobody does anything to stop it. In 2014, a transgender woman, Stacy Araujo, was physically attacked at a polling station where she was the presiding officer.
In 2014, Camila Portillo, a transgender woman, went to vote in San Marcos, but the polling station clerk refused to give her the ballot paper. It was not until Camila had alerted trans organisations, who in turn alerted the international observers, that she was allowed to vote.
In El Salvador, the trans population suffers frequently from violent transphobic attacks. “At least 20 transgender women between the ages of 16 and 32 were killed in this Central American country from 2017 to 2019,” according to an article in Deutsche Welle.
A transgender woman exercising her right to vote at a polling station in San Salvador. Photo by Raul Benitez, journalist, used with permission.
Although there is still resistance from a certain section of the population, LGBTQI organisations have taken steps alongside the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) to guarantee the LGBTQI community’s right to vote. A few months prior to the 2018 legislative and local elections, the TSE employed two trans women and two gay men to give sensitivity training to polling station staff. For the 2019 elections, the number of these trainers rose from 4 to 14. In the upcoming elections on February 28, there will still be 14 trainers, of which I will be one, and we aim to reach training centres throughout the country.
A transgender man employed by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal talks about the LGBTQI population's access to the vote at a training centre in Cuscatlán. Photo by the author.
The recommendations we make include, for example, that no polling station staff should ask a transgender person to return wearing clothing appropriate to the gender listed on their national identity card. This shows a complete lack of respect and is also a crime, as nobody should block another person’s right to vote, according to Article 295 of El Salvador’s Penal Code.
Staff must also check that the person is on the electoral register and that their features match the photograph on the identity card (makeup does not alter facial features and, due to job discrimination, the average per capita income of a transgender person in El Salvador is not enough to afford facial surgery). The training teaches polling staff to respectfully address transgender people according to their gender expression and to avoid using the name on their identity card.
All this work is supported by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Articles 1, 2 and 7), Article 3 of the Constitution of the Republic of El Salvador and the Salvadoran Electoral Code, which guarantees that we are all equal and have the right and a duty to vote (Articles 3, 4, 7 and 9).
The press interviews a trans member of the LGBTQI community. Photo by Raul Benitez, journalist, used with permission.
However, despite the fact that voting is a civil right for all Salvadoran citizens and that the Supreme Electoral Tribunal hired LGBTQI people to support this community’s access to the vote, there has been resistance from polling station staff and from the general population. At times it is difficult for us to find the space to carry out this training. However, we continue with our work, travelling to as many training centres as possible throughout El Salvador. We believe that the discrimination has not yet been beaten, it is merely lying dormant.
We work so that the entire LGBTQI population in El Salvador can vote with pride, united and taking care of one another. Long live diversity!
In this photo, the author, Carlos Lara, one of the trainers hired by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal waits to give a session to a group in Usulután. Photo by Raul Benitez, journalist, used with permission.

author: Carlos Lara


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In post-war Armenia, legislators take aim at press freedom · Global Voices
OC Media

Armenia – Republic Square, Yerevan by Dumphasizer. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
This article originally appeared in English on OC Media. An edited version is republished here via a content partnership agreement.
Victoria Andreasyan, a journalist working for Infocom, visited Armenia’s Syunik province on February 7 to cover the personal stories of residents living near the border with Azerbaijan. When she and her camera operator reached the entrance of the border village of Shurnukh, they were stopped at the checkpoint.
“Border troops told us we needed permission from the National Security Service (NSS) to enter the village,” she told OC Media. Three days after Andreasyan’s trip, the NSS announced that journalists needed permission to work in border areas.
After some negotiations, Andreasyan’s team was allowed in, but was “barred from talking to residents and shooting videos,” she said.
Andreasyan’s experience was not unique. Since the signing of the tripartite peace agreement at the end of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War on November 9, 2020, the work of journalists in Armenia has been thrown into disarray by new and often vague regulations and laws.
In 2021, two separate bills on speech and press were presented to the Armenian parliament. The first bill entails a fivefold increase in fines for “insults and defamation” — ֏5 million (9,500 USD) ֏10 million (19,000 USD), respectively — and has already passed its first hearing in the legislature.  The second bill proposes to fine with up to ֏500,000 (1,000 USD) media outlets that quote as sources websites or social media accounts whose ownership is not publicly known.
The latter bill is widely acknowledged to be a response to the growing popularity of anonymous Telegram channels during and after the war, some of which had a pro-opposition bent and occasionally posted anti-government disinformation which was then echoed by established opposition media outlets.
A third draft bill, which has been proposed by Armenia’s General Prosecutor’s Office but not yet presented to parliament, would make it illegal “insulting or slandering a person in public service in connection with his/her performance of official duties.” Those found guilty would face a fine of up to ֏3,000,000  (6,300 USD) or up to two years imprisonment.
A number of Armenian media watchdog organisations, including the Media Initiatives Centre, issued a joint statement denouncing the bill as “a logical continuation of a number of legislative initiatives introduced by the authorities in recent months” that “envisage unacceptable restrictions on freedom of expression.”
“It is impossible to ignore the fact that officials and various politicians often perceive the objective criticism of the media as an insult, as slander, and try to take revenge through the courts,” the statement reads.
Shushan Doydoyan, the president of the Freedom of Information Center and Associate Professor Journalism at Yerevan State University, told OC Media that she believes these laws will backfire if they pass.
“Society has a demand for information, and it will find ways to satisfy that demand,” she said. “If journalists are banned from creating quality stories, the gap would be filled with gossip and fakes.”
Gegham Vardanyan, editor-in-chief of the Media Initiatives Centre, a media literacy NGO, told OC Media that the laws would only create a more hostile media environment. “A few years ago, even the Constitutional Court recommended courts avoid applying the maximum fines as it could be viewed as pressure on the media,” he added.
The sudden shift in Armenia’s media landscape began with the introduction of martial law on September 27, the first day of the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Under martial law, Armenian journalists were forbidden from criticizing the actions of state officials or the performance of Armenia’s army.
According to Armenian law-enforcement, 13 media outlets and 62 individuals were fined before publication restrictions were lifted on December 2. While the restrictions were in place, roughly 600 foreign journalists received accreditation from Armenian and Nagorno-Karabakh authorities to report in Nagorno-Karabakh. Only one journalist’s accreditation was suspended — that of Ilya Azar, who published a strongly critical account of the Armenian military in the Russian independent publication Novaya Gazeta.
After the war, Karen Harutyunyan, editor-in-chief of CivilNet, harshly criticised the restrictions placed on journalists during wartime, which resulted in reporting that only “further dulled the public’s already foggy sense of reality.”
“The course of the 44-day war showed that journalists’ unrestricted work would have saved the country from much greater damage and tragedy,” he wrote.
After the end of the war, the country’s Ministry of Defence appears to have maintained its strained relationship with the media — particularly through silence. Numerous media organisations report that their freedom of information requests made to the Ministry of Defence were denied on the grounds that the information requested was a “state secret,” even when it was something as basic as the number of dead, wounded, and missing Armenian soldiers.
Shushan Doydoyan said that, ultimately, she fears that the degradation of the post-war information environment and the rash censoriousness of the government threatens media freedom, something “Armenia has gained with enormous effort over the years.”

source: news-globalvoices

license: Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

author: OC Media


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Philippines’ ‘Paradis Island’ has a message for ‘Attack on Titan’ fans · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Nendoroid Colossal Titan & Attack on Titan Playset. Photo by Charlie, Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
Paradis Island PH is a vacation resort in the Philippines and it has no connection with the Paradis Island in the popular manga and anime series “Attack on Titan” (進撃の巨人). To make that clear, Paradis Island PH created a Facebook post assuring readers and potential visitors that there were no “titans” at the resort—and the tongue-in-cheek post quickly went viral.
The island resort is in Lake Lumot, Cavinti, located in Laguna province, south of the capital region of Metro Manila. It offers recreational activities for those who want to rent the villas on the “eco-friendly and unspoiled” private island.
Meanwhile, the Paradis Island of “Attack on Titan” is where the Eldian people have relocated and built gigantic walls as protection against giants, the “titans.” The original Japanese manga series is written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama, and the animated version of the series is currently wildly popular around the world.
This year marks the final season of the series and this probably led more people to look for information about the manga, including the setting of the story on “Paradis Island.”
Paradis Island PH acknowledged the coincidence of sharing a name with an island in a popular manga and used this to post a light-hearted disclaimer on Facebook:
Disclaimer: Maraming kumakalat na balita online na ang Founding Titan ay nasa Paradis Island PH at itinatago daw namin ito. Sa mga hindi po nakakaalam, ang Founding Titan ay na kay Eren Yeager na, kasama ng Attack Titan at War Hammer Titan.
Kami ay isang inosenteng isla lamang sa isang lake sa Laguna at walang kinalaman sa mga Titans. ?
Maaari po kayong magpabook sa amin ng inyong events ngayong summer, masisiguro po naming magiging masaya at enjoyable ang inyong stay (at wala pong Titan na mambubulabog)
Disclaimer: News is spreading online that the Founding Titan is in Paradis Island PH and that we are hiding it. For those who do not know, the Founding Titan is already with Eren Yeager, including the Attack Titan and War Hammer Titan.
We are an innocent island in a lake in Laguna and we have nothing to do with Titans. You can book events with us during the summer, we assure you that your stay will be fun and enjoyable (and no Titans will disturb you)
The Philippines’ Paradis Island. Not to be confused with Attack on Titan's ‘Paradis Island’. Screenshot of Google Map
This post became popular and was widely shared by netizens especially those who know the manga and anime series. A local news website also published a story about the viral social media disclaimer.
The Paradis Island PH Facebook page posted a funny disclaimer denying that they were hiding the so-called Founding Titan from popular anime series “Attack on Titan.” https://t.co/mCtbCAHrt5
— GMA News (@gmanews) February 23, 2021
Another Facebook post by the resort has also gained popularity. It refers to the soundtrack of the anime which features the Japanese word sasageyo (捧げよ, calling upon another to sacrifice oneself in battle).
Paalala madlang citizen:
Napag-alaman po namin nitong nakakaraan na maraming nagchecheck at gusto bumisita sa lake at sa paligid ng Paradis. Pakiusap po sana, bawal po mag-ingay lalo na ang sumigaw ng “SASAGEYO SASAGEYO” pag nandon na sa lake. Ninenerbiyos po kasi yung mga guests pati yung caretakers namin.
Pag po ganyan, wala na po kaming choice, mapipilitan na kami magpalagay ng walls sa Paradis Island.
Reminder to fellow citizens:
We recently learned that many are inquiring and interested to visit the lake and Paradis. We are begging you, refrain from being noisy and don’t shout “SASAGEYO SASAGEYO” if you are in the lake. It is scaring our guests and caretakers. If this persists, we will have no choice and be forced to build walls on Paradis Island.
We expect more hilarious social media updates from Paradis Island PH alluding to “Attack on Titan” especially as the series will continue to publish and air more episodes until April.

author: Mong Palatino


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What keeps people with disabilities indoors in Azerbaijan? The answer is not COVID-19 · Global Voices
Mahammad Kekalov

Image by man pikin, licensed under CC BY 2.0
I was doing a focus group in 2020 with a group of Paralympic athletes in Azerbaijan when one of them gave me an eye-opening statistic: Only 3 per cent, or 20,000, of people with disabilities in the country have a social life. I knew the number would be low, but the actual number was shocking to me. In Azerbaijan, people with disabilities comprise 6 per cent of the total population. Weeks later, I had an exchange with a woman who was in a wheelchair, who told me she had spent the last 40 years of her life inside her home. She never left unless there was a burning reason to do so.
On a typical evening in the center of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, you are unlikely to see anyone with disabilities other than beggars (and that is assuming they really have a disability). I kept asking myself why was that? Why did people with disabilities never go out, or if they did, why so rarely? Eventually, I realized the problem was deeply rooted in our perceptions, culture, legislation and infrastructure.
Let’s start with public transportation. In Azerbaijan, the bus system is largely unable to accommodate people with disabilities, with the exception of maybe a dozen routes—but these are limited to central Baku. If you live in the suburbs, parts of the city where these lines simply do not run, or if you don’t live in Baku at all, your only real options are walking, driving, or taking a cab.
The metro is an option, but the way it operates for the disabled is absurd and inefficient. With hopes of boosting the use of the metro by the disabled community, Baku Metropolitan launched a program in 2019 that allocated not one, but two, metro staff to chaperone the traveler through their destination. To use the service, first, a phone call must be made to the metro, at least an hour in advance of the trip, informing staff of the intended travel route. Once the phone booking is complete, the passenger is greeted at the metro and helped to get to the desired destination. This superficial solution to a profound problem is indicative of just how difficult it is to come about real change. At the moment only two metro stations offer lifts according to the Baku Metro, and both are offered at two recently built metro stops.
Getting around the city in a wheelchair is not feasible either, because the sidewalks, the underground passes, the traffic stops, to name a few aspects of infrastructure, are not built for people with disabilities. Added to this is the unsuitable texture of the sidewalks, which makes it difficult to navigate if you are in a wheelchair.
The lack of employment opportunities
Then there is the option of taxi services, but taking taxis regularly or often is costly. For that, you need to have a job that pays well, which brings me to another issue: the employment opportunities for people with disabilities. No employer wants to hire people with disabilities because of doubts about their skills and education. The responsibility for this unequal approach is closely connected to government policies. Even though employers are legally obligated to hire a certain percentage of employees with special needs, according to the size of their enterprises, they don't tend to hire disabled people. If anything, they are able to get away with paying a small fine.
In Azerbaijan, the government doesn’t provide inclusive education opportunities. Not only are the physical schools inaccessible to students with special needs but so too is the school curriculum. These obstacles leave a significant number of people with disabilities uneducated, unless at their own expense, which shouldn’t be the case as education is their fundamental human right. Because people with disabilities lack proper education, not only can’t they get jobs but also they cannot defend themselves if it ever becomes necessary. They are forced to be dependent on others—often their families—because authorities fail to provide their basic rights and services.
This brings me to my next question. Why is the government not interested in providing lasting, sustainable and impactful solutions to the problems people with disabilities face in Azerbaijan? This is not a political problem and has no political consequences in a system deeply rooted in clientelism, nepotism and cronyism. The government has partnered with international institutions to implement various programs over the years. Most recently, the UNDP held a virtual round-table event with representatives of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, UNFPA Azerbaijan and some 20 representatives from companies to discuss best practices in employing people with disabilities and creating more opportunities for them. Azerbaijan is also party to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities since 2009, but when it comes to practice and implementation, there is little to show.
This gives me reason to think that the problem is cultural and has to do with the national mentality. Ableism is deeply rooted in Azerbaijan and there’s a huge lack of disability-related education for the general public. The prevailing thinking is not sympathetic, and people with disabilities are often just pitied. A saying in Azerbaijan demonstrates this: “If you have a good neighbor, then your crippled daughter will get married,” (“Qonşu qonşu olsa, topal qız ərə gedər”).
There's an Islamic obligation of giving donations (“nazir”) to the less fortunate and in Azerbaijan, this is often given in the form of money to people with disabilities—as though they were beggars, regardless of whether they ask for help. If someone wants to make a pledge, they will pledge to donate to people with disabilities. Also, seeing people with disabilities reminds the abled that they are thankful to Allah, thankful that they don't have a disability.
One systemic solution would be through educating people at schools and universities about the importance of inclusion for people with disabilities. That would go a long way to solving this cultural problem in a matter of a few generations, though reforms are needed on all levels—state, society, and of course, through education and culture.
I remember a conversation I once had with a friend during which I was telling him about a new civic tech project I was working on that would make Baku more accessible. He told me something I still remember.  He said, “To make Baku a disability-friendly city, you need to disassemble every street, every building, every corner, and rebuild it again so it’s accessible and inclusive.” I think he was right. There seems to be no other way.

author: Mahammad Kekalov


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Could Trinidad & Tobago’s COVID-19 travel exemption process be compromising citizens’ rights? · Global Voices
Rachel-Ann Charles

Invalid Trinidad and Tobago passport. Photo by Janine Mendes-Franco, used with permission.
This is the second instalment of a two-part post. The first can be found here.
Ever since Trinidad and Tobago closed its borders to everyone but its nationals at midnight on March 17, 2020, and then to its own citizens by March 23, nationals have been waiting to be granted permission to come home. However, the travel exemption process by which applications are granted is coming under fire for being inefficient, especially since those who applied under the initial process are now being asked to reapply under an updated system.
Minister of National Security Stuart Young has minimised the harsh realities still being faced by nationals stranded abroad, referring to them as “rabble-rousers, mischief-makers and those who want to be relevant.”
In October 2020, British Member of Parliament Steven Baker appealed to the Trinidad and Tobago government to repatriate its nationals stranded in the U.K. Prime Minister Keith Rowley's riposte referred to a completely separate matter—that of money stolen from the Trinidad and Tobago treasury, allegedly by a British senior counsel with the assistance of local opposition party officials—and dismissed MP Baker as an “itinerant UK MP” that the opposition United National Congress had convinced to raise the issue in the UK Parliament. Prime Minister Rowley's response did not outline his government's exemption strategy.
Kirsten Forkert, Professor of Cultural Studies at the Birmingham School of Media, noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed inequality on a global scale, but finds it “unfortunate that countries are using the pandemic to close borders and deny access to healthcare to those with precarious immigration status and those who have been stranded.” She added that the reaction of some news organisations in vilifying those stuck abroad “raises serious questions about the role and responsibility of the media in the pandemic, at a time when holding governments to account is all the more urgent.”
Many still-to-be-repatriated Trinbagonians blame what they deem the government’s poor communication, weak technical support and lack of transparency for their emotional and financial trauma.
Many are seeking legal counsel in an attempt to be compensated. By using a “flawed” exemption system, they contest, Trinidad and Tobago has violated their human rights. However, local attorneys have said that Trinidad and Tobago is well within its rights to do so, suggesting that stranded nationals do not have a solid case against the state.
One Trinidad-based attorney, who wished to remain anonymous, said that recourse wasn’t a straightforward matter. The government’s ability to regulate borders, he explained, “is no way in question, as it has an absolute right and a duty to do so;” however, whether the exercise of that power intersects with the rights of the citizens remains to be argued.
Although the country’s Immigration Act states that entry can be denied to certain people, including those “afflicted with any infectious or dangerous infectious disease,” citizens and residents whose legal status has not been revoked are expressly exempted from these prohibitions.
“Accordingly,” says the attorney, “nationals have a right of entry. The question to be answered here is whether the government’s exemption system constitutes a denial of that right or whether the system is so intrinsically prohibitive in nature that it significantly limits the ability of citizens and residents to exercise their right of admittance.”
While he noted that Section 4(1) of the Quarantine Act gives the Minister of Health the power to “regulate the whole or any part of Trinidad and Tobago for the prevention of danger to public health from ships or aircraft or persons or things therein,” it is unclear whether those powers extend to prohibiting entry to citizens and legal residents.
Constitutional rights must also be considered, explained the attorney, specifically the rights to enjoyment of property, equality of treatment from any public authority in the exercise of any functions, and freedom of movement. “Traditional wisdom,” he says (which is supported by case law), “suggests that this refers to movement within the borders; however, it is worth another look.”
The question of “equality of treatment” has been raised with regard to the granting of exemptions. The attorney noted, however, that whereas this is a valid concern, the burden of proof to raise such a challenge is “particularly onerous.”
With regard to the issue of healthcare, he added, “Citizens with subsisting conditions or someone who has been exposed to the COVID-19 virus and is in need of healthcare will rely on the government services they have been paying taxes to for years. Can the government, by virtue of its policy, deny access to healthcare to its own citizens, and if so, which public authority must a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago outside the borders turn to?”
The attorney was aware of legal challenges being mounted over the re-entry process. Over time, he says, they should “bring some clarity,” but as it stands, there is no telling how they will turn out.
In the interim, thousands of Trinidad and Tobago nationals continue to wait.

author: Rachel-Ann Charles


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In Azerbaijan, death of young woman renews conversation on domestic violence · Global Voices
Arzu Geybullayeva

“Clear legal basis needed to combat violence against women” by European Parliament. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Sevil Atakishiyeva, 20, was a student at Azerbaijan's Tourism and Management University. Like most unmarried women in Azerbaijan, she lived with her parents but had big dreams of moving abroad and building a life of her own. On February 18, Sevil took her own life.
On two occasions in 2019 and 2020, Sevil reached out to Gulnara Mehdiyeva, a founder of a local feminist collective, to whom she told she had been suffering harassment and physical abuse at the hands of her family: That her father had threatened to kill her if she ever engaged in inappropriate behavior, and that he would pay the police a hefty sum to not investigate the case.
“If anything happens to me, please take those messages into account,” Sevil said on a text, according to screenshots of the exchange Gulnara posted on Facebook after Sevil's suicide.
Gulnara's post went viral, and the hashtag #sevilüçünsusma (don't stay silent for Sevil) has been trending in Azerbaijan since. Sevil's story hit close to home for many Azerbaijani women, for whom physical and psychological abuse at the hands of not only their partners, but also their siblings, parents, and in-laws are all too common.
Here are some of the tweets reacting to Sevil's death, and Gulnara's subsquent post:
in this country if a girl wants to live freely, she’s labeled as a whore. in this country, a father won’t hesitate to tell his daughter that he’ll kill her if she ever makes a mistake. in this country parents treat their kids as their property. rest in peace, angel #Sevilucunsusma pic.twitter.com/VkodMmeRmf
— maryam ⁷ (semi ia) (@spideykoook) February 21, 2021
Sometimes I try to imagine the degree of desperation that drives a person to commit suicide, and my imagination paints a dark, slimy quagmire where only death is seen as a ray of light…R. I. P SEVIL#sevilucunsusma pic.twitter.com/AcTVEEK6n4
— Michael Iskanderli (@MichaelIskende1) February 21, 2021
Bu qədər şən, həyat dolu birinin ümidlərini, xəyallırını 20-ci mərtəbədən əl birliyi ilə itələdiyiniz üçün utanın! #sevilucunsusma pic.twitter.com/lULMAbiZS3
— Narmin (@narali249) February 20, 2021
you should be ashamed of unanimously pushing the hopes, and dreams of someone so full of life from the 20th floor.
Bu dünyada Bir qadın,bir uşaq,birdə Heyvan olmaq çətindir.#Sevilucunsusma#sevilüçünsusma pic.twitter.com/RHC6kSyMu4
— ?? (@lchfrv11) February 20, 2021
in this world it is hardest to be a woman, a child, and an animal.
Activists also shared screenshots of messages from women who claimed they were facing domestic abuse:
Posted by Seymour Nazar on Sunday, February 21, 2021
Hi, I am doing very bad. I feel desperate. All I can think of is suicide. I don't know what else to do. I am subject to violence and harassment. They are telling me if I want to be a whore, every day, for simply doing make up. I am sick of it. Can you help me?
Sevil is the third woman to die by suicide in Azerbaijan this month.
On February 22, the prosecutor's office launched a criminal investigation against Sevil's father under Article 125 of Azerbaijan's Criminal Code for “incitement to suicide”.
Samir Atakisiyev, however, refuted his daughter's claims that he had threatened or beat her. “If I was aggressive, or violent, I would not have allowed her to finish school. She would have studied for a year or two, and then I would have kept her home,” he has told journalists. “Yes, I would get angry with her, if she was home past her curfew, but never violent,” he added.
According to Azerbaijan's State Statistical Committee, at least 1,180 cases of domestic violence against women were reported in 2020. In 2019, there were 1,039. The real number is likely much higher, as domestic violence is often underreported.
There are only three shelters for victims of domestic violence operating in all of Azerbaijan, a country of 10 million people.
There is also an 11-year-old law against domestic violence, but it's rarely enforced. The Committee for Family, Women, and Children Affairs, activists say, are “not doing their job.”
In recent years, activists have demanded Azerbaijan sign the Istanbul Convention, an agreement of European countries pledging to prevent violence against women and end impunity for perpetrators. By the convention, which Azerbaijan's close ally Turkey has ratified, signatories must keep official statistics on gender-based crimes and offer victims financial compensation.
The Istanbul Convention is a heated topic of discussion in Azerbaijan, especially because it refers to the rights of same-sex couples. Conservatives in the country often postulate that such an agreement will “destroy” Azerbaijan's traditions.
In recent years, a few Azerbaijani women took to social media to speak out about their own experiences of domestic violence publicly, and that in turn encouraged other women to do the same.
In 2019, 18-year-old Seljan Yagmur posted on Facebook about the violence the women in her family had endured at the hands of her father. This prompted others to share their stories too, usually using hashtags such as #qadınaşiddətəson (“end violence against women”) and #Leylaüçünsusma (the reference to another woman who had been stabbed to death in Baku).
In conservative #Azerbaijan, domestic violence is seen as a strictly private concern — but one young woman's bravery has encouraged others to speak out as well to #EndGBV. #qadınaşiddətəson #Leylaüçünsusma #DözməYürüşEthttps://t.co/qo2NxJZBhj pic.twitter.com/XJRytwYC5p
— UNFPA Eastern Europe & Central Asia (@unfpaeecaro) November 1, 2019
On February 4, a small group of women held a protest outside the Government House in Baku with a poster bearing the words “femicide is political”. The protest was triggered by the news of yet another victim of domestic abuse: Banu Maharramova, 32, was brutally murdered by her father-in-law, according to the local police reports. The victim's body was found in bags in the trash, dismembered. The protesters were quickly dispersed by the police.
On March 8, 2020, another protest marking International Women's Day was dispersed by the police in the capital of Baku. And in October 2019, police violently dispersed a peaceful protest calling to end domestic violence against women.
In the meantime, the reality on the ground paints a stark picture. As long as existing national legislation fails to protect victims of all kinds of abuse and harassment, more stories like that of Sevil will continue making the headlines.

author: Arzu Geybullayeva


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Trinidad & Tobago’s COVID-19 travel exemption process is demoralising its citizens abroad · Global Voices
Rachel-Ann Charles

Invalid Trinidad and Tobago passport. Photo by Janine Mendes-Franco, used with permission.
This is the first instalment of a two-part post. The second can be found here.
In an effort to deal with the COVID-19 epidemic, Trinidad and Tobago closed its borders to everyone but its nationals at midnight on March 17, 2020. By March 23, citizens abroad were also being barred from re-entering the country. An exemption application system, which now pertains to both arrivals and departures, was subsequently put in place but it is a process deemed a failure by many nationals stuck abroad, many of whom have unsuccessfully applied to come home—especially since those who applied under the initial process are now being asked to reapply under an updated system.
As they continue to wait, some have been forced to beg for or borrow money, rely on the kindness of friends or set up crowdfunding pages in order to survive. I interviewed several Trinbagonians who have found themselves at the mercy of the exemption process, in order to better understand their experiences and assess the challenges with the system.
One student enrolled at university in the UK, who prefers to remain anonymous, described her plight as being “stranded for over 300 days.” She had applied for a travel exemption to return home in May 2020 and finally entered the country in January 2021. “This is not a case of me being a ‘Trickidadian’ or making a false claim,” she says. “It was traumatic being the only person left in dorms. My classmates had all returned to their various cities during the national lockdown.”
Fortunately, she was able to access mental health and wellbeing tools through her university but maintains that the experience of being ignored because of the travel exemption process made her feel reduced.
Prior to the pandemic, her parents would pay her tuition while she worked to make ends meet. However, Trinidad and Tobago’s initial lockdown brought financial hardship to her family and she herself grappled with job loss in the UK. Forced to stay at a friend’s place, she contacted various Trinidad and Tobago High Commission offices until she eventually received humanitarian support from the government, which allowed her to pay the outstanding balance on her rent.
Despite Minister of National Security Stuart Young’s claim that the majority of nationals have been repatriated, there are still citizens—many of them students—waiting to be approved.
“I wrote to the Minister of National Security as well as to the Heads of Missions in London and New York repeatedly, begging and pleading to return to Trinidad and Tobago, before finally receiving an acknowledgment from the Ministry of National Security that appeared to be generic.” These are the types of testimonials being shared in WhatsApp groups that stranded Trinidad and Tobago nationals have established to communicate with one another.
While there is frustration, there is also a lot of gratitude being shared as members offer one another solace, practical support and a sense of community. The groups also serve as a channel through which to exchange pertinent information.
Citizens of Trinidad and Tobago have a constitutionally enshrined right to freedom of movement and residence. Many who have not been able to see their homeland since the start of the pandemic say they feel marginalised and dehumanised by the process; some find the tone tantamount to bullying, leaving them asking whether the system favours those with means, leaving those with shallower pockets with ever-mounting debt.
Inconsistencies in communication do not help: at first citizens were told that exemption requests were being dealt with on a first-come-first-served basis; this later changed to a case-by-case basis, which felt grossly unfair to those who have been trying to return home for over 10 months.
Meanwhile, politicians, their family members and non-nationals were being granted exemptions to leave and enter the country, as thousands of citizens remained in the queue without even an official acknowledgment of their exemption requests. The owner of one company who was allowed to bring in foreign workers, however, suggested that singling out such exemption approvals as proof of inequity was tantamount to “political mischief” by the country's opposition.
Brandon Serrao, a Trinidadian who is making attempts to get home having completed his studies, thinks that all citizens should be treated with dignity and respect. Though not in a desperate financial position himself, he finds the new exemption application process anxiety-inducing. Recalling some of the stories shared by fellow nationals, some of whom have lost their homes and their jobs, Serrao says it’s almost as if the passport is worth nothing: “It is embarrassing and disgraceful that nationals are being treated in this manner. There is a stateless feeling.”
In an attempt to paint a clear picture of the reality faced by nationals abroad, he recently designed the TT Lockout Map, an interactive online platform showcasing stories of citizens stuck abroad. Viewers can select the various location pins to identify the various parts of the world where these nationals are located, whether they have received exemptions, and the nature of their experience. In our interview, conducted via WhatsApp, Serrao noted that citizens have confided they are afraid of speaking out about their experiences for fear of it having an adverse effect on their applications’ approvals.
In several cases, citizens who have been granted exemption approvals still have not been able to enter the country, as the process can be costly. Of those fortunate to be granted exemptions, a number of them are unable to afford flights, the required polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and exorbitant hotel fees often attached to quarantining and/or waiting for flights, since Caribbean Airlines (CAL), the regional carrier, does not always schedule their flights on the same day as arrivals from the U.K., for example.
One elderly couple, members of the WhatsApp group I was privy to, explained that they will not reapply for travel exemptions because of the high costs associated with the process.
Minister Young, in commending his ministry’s move to the updated system and emphasising that the strict management of the exemptions process is “designed to protect the population of Trinidad and Tobago,” reported the number of applications as being low. In early February, Minister Young told reporters that as at January 21, there were 19,941 exemption applications; of those, 11,682 were granted. With the new system, he added, the number of approved applications rose to 12,338, but he could not offer statistics comparing the number of citizens who were granted exemptions with the number of those who have actually been repatriated.
Meanwhile, citizens abroad have continued to resort to borrowing or raising funds online in order to survive; some have fallen ill or even died because of the lack of medical access in the countries where they have been temporarily staying.
On January 31, 2021, after paying close to 500 United States dollars to travel from Barbados to Trinidad and Tobago, citizens were voluntarily repatriated using a Caribbean Airlines aircraft. Those who travelled from the U.K., in keeping with the new guidelines put in place since the COVID-19 Variant B117 became a concern, had to spend 14 days in state quarantine.


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Activists demand action over slow pace of online sexual predators case in North Macedonia · Global Voices
Metamorphosis Foundation

Jana Kocevska from the Gender Equality Platform. Photo by Vančo Džambaski, CC BY-NC-SA.
This story was originally published by Meta.mk. An edited version is republished here via a content-sharing agreement between Global Voices and Metamorphosis Foundation.
On February 24, the Gender Equality Platform, a network of civic organizations, held a media event in front of the Public Prosecutor's Office in Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia, demanding accountability for the justice system's inaction in investigating and prosecuting an organized ring of online sexual predators, and gender-based violence in general.
The case involves the use of a Telegram group called “Javna Soba” (“Public Room”) by thousands of people to share stolen photos and personal data of women and girls from North Macedonia, Serbia, and possibly other countries. The case remains unsolved over a year after it became a public scandal. The lack of judicial action has fueled public outrage, and this was expressed through a surge of online activism and a massive protest against impunity for sexual predators that took place in Skopje on February 3.
Activists have continued organizing smaller-scale events in order to prevent what they say is another round of cover-ups by authorities and lack of public awareness because of media inertia.
Gender Equality Platform representative  Jana Kocevska stated:
Бараме ефикасна и ефективна заштита на жртвите на родово засновано насилство. Затоа, Љубомир Јовевски, јавен обвинител на РСМ и Ацо Колевски претседател на Советот на јавни обвинители ве потсетуваме на обврската за навремено и ефикасно кривично гонење на сторителите согласно кривичниот законик.
Со оглед на тоа што обвинителството е клучен орган за прогон за сторителите на кривичните дела, сметаме дека постапките за насилство врз жени и девојки не се водат доволно стручно и професионално. Ниту една мерка за спречување и заштита од насилство нема да го има посакуваниот ефект доколку насилниците не се гонат кривично и избегнуваат одговорност за сторените дела.
We demand efficient and effective protection for the victims of gender-based violence. Therefore, Ljubomir Jovevski, the Public Prosecutor of the Republic of North Macedonia, and Aco Kolevski, the Chair of the Council of Public Prosecutors, we remind you about your obligation to timely and effectively conduct the criminal prosecution of the perpetrators in accordance with the Criminal Code…
Having in mind the fact that the Prosecutor’s Office is the central authority for the prosecution of the perpetrators of these criminal acts, we believe that the proceedings about the violence against women and girls are not conducted in an expert and professional manner. Not a single measure for prevention of and protection from violence, will have the desired effect if the attackers are not being prosecuted criminally and avoid the responsibility of the criminal acts.
Kocevska said that, as organizations that provide free legal aid to the victims, it has been their experience that the Prosecutor’s Office does not adequately protect victims of gender-based violence. According to the Platform, the Council of Public Prosecutors does not effectively apply its power of control over the work of public prosecutors who deal with criminal proceedings regarding gender-based violence.
“We demand increased control over the work of the prosecutors in the Public Room case, as well as the prosecutors who are working on the proceedings about the violence against women. We demand consistent application of the internal rules that specify the obligations and the manner of conduct of the prosecutors in these cases, in accordance with the Law on Prevention and Protection of the Violence against Women and the Domestic Violence, and the Istanbul Convention,” Kocevska said on behalf of the Platform.
‘What does the Public Prosecutors’ Office do?’ reads the mask of a protester in Skopje, North Macedonia. Photo by Vančo Džambaski, CC BY-NC-SA.
The Platform announced that they will not stop addressing the issue of the Public Room case and will continue protesting until March 8, unless the Public Prosecutor delivers tangible results about their concerns that will show that at last there is some action.
Organizers of the protests also pointed to the unprofessional conduct of some police officers, who they said often blame the victims and do not follow up on these types of cases, and who themselves are perpetrators of violence.
The Platform stressed that they will not accept responsibility to be transferred from one institution to another in this matter, and are insisting on comprehensive results before March 8, International Women's Day. They are also demanding criminal prosecution of the organizers and administrators of the Public Room Telegram group, as well as prosecution for all adult group members for a range of suspected felonies.
So far, the Public Prosecutor's Office has charged two alleged group administrators for only one crime—“production and distribution of child pornography.”
Human rights activists demand investigation and prosecution for the following acts covered by the North Macedonia Criminal Code: abuse of personal data; facilitating prostitution, threats to the personal security, or spread of racist and xenophobic materials by means of a computer system, depending on the circumstances of each case of shared content within the group. They also called for the inclusion of online sexual harassment in the Criminal Code.
Members of the Gender Equality Platform in front of Public Prosecutors’ Office in Skopje, North Macedonia. Photo by Vančo Džambaski, CC BY-NC-SA.
Previously, on February 17, the Platform held a press conference in front of the premises of the Ministry of Interior, demanding tangible results and a real willingness to proceed. They also expect the sanctioning of police officers who had been violent to women, who were found guilty of unprofessional conduct or failure to take action—and demanded professional training for police with respect to cases of gender-based violence.
After the press conference, the Macedonian Police Trade Union issued a statement asking the Platform to refrain from putting all police officers in one category because of the Public Room case. They stated that their members adhered to high professional standards of integrity, and gender stereotypes and prejudices do not influence their work.
At the time the Public Room case began in January 2020, a number of girls reported cases of abuse of their photographs, and the public was angered by the content that was being shared in this group. The case was revived this year after Ana Koleva publicly shared her experience of sexual harassment in that Telegram group.
Last year Meta.mk spoke to several experts in the fields of education, information technology and communications about the case. Vancho Ordanoski, the founder and the director of one of the oldest Macedonian IT companies, InfoProjekt, said it is no wonder that the Telegram app had been chosen for that purpose.
Изборот на „Телеграм“ не е направен наивно, бидејќи тој се користи за споделување на доверливи информации. Терористи користат „Телеграм“. Тој е енкриптиран, никој не знае кој е корисникот. Органи на прогон не можат да го прислушуваат.
The choice of the Telegram app is not done naively, as it is used for sharing confidential information. Тerrorists have been shown to use the Telegram app. It is encrypted and no one can really know the identity of the users. The prosecution services cannot wiretap it.

author: Metamorphosis Foundation


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Community in Trinidad says ‘No’ to quarry operator targeting area’s last untouched watershed · Global Voices
Cari-Bois News

President of the Acono Village Dynamic Action Committee (AVDAC), Simeon Nakhid, and vice president of the Maracas Valley Action Committee (MVAC), Kelvin Nakhid, observe the effects of quarrying on the Maracas Valley landscape. Photo by Zico Cozier, used with permission.
This article was written by Giselle Permell and originally published on Cari-Bois News. An edited version is republished here as part of a content-sharing agreement with Global Voices.
Frustrations are at an all-time high in the village of Acono where residents say they have exhausted almost every avenue available in their attempt to stop a new quarry operator from entering the Maracas Valley, along Trinidad's east-west corridor.
This is the third time the community, which has been dealing with the adverse environmental effects of quarrying for the past 70 years, has had to push back against efforts by Blue Diamond Quarries Ltd. (BDQL) to mine for blue limestone in the valley’s last untouched watershed.
Simeon Nakhid, vice president of the Acono Village Dynamic Action Committee (AVDAC), told Cari-Bois News that the residents won’t back down until the operator backs off:
The bottom line is, we don’t want any new quarry in the Maracas Valley.
Nakhid explained that residents already suffer from water supply shortages and fear that a new quarry may further aggravate the situation.
BDQL is currently pursuing an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in order to secure the necessary permissions from the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) to mine in the La Caurita watershed of Maracas Valley.
The company sent us a statement which affirmed that it is “seeking to develop the
area” because of its “potential for economic development:”
Being in a global pandemic and with many countries pursuing opportunities for its citizens and economy, this is a direct local and foreign investment for both country and community.
One of the goals of BDQL is to be certified in LEED, ISO 9001, ISO 45001 and ISO 14001 in order to maintain global standards and to ensure all concerns of stakeholders are met. We intend to work alongside the community to develop the area and to ensure they benefit from this undertaking. We will create jobs for members of the community and upkeep the area as we operate.
However, the proposed site is located on the other side of a mountain top from another quarry, operated by Coosal’s Group of Companies. Nakhid cited the community’s experience with the existing quarry as their reason for opposing a new quarry in the valley:
I’ve seen how the natural environment in Acono has changed over the years because of quarrying and the community has had enough.
A company called Kairi Consultants Ltd. was contracted to engage the community in consultations as part of the requirement for the EIA, which included a cottage meeting held on December 19, 2020. The consensus among attendees was “No new quarry”:
Despite such opposition, the BDQL stated that it had received “constructive feedback and concerns from the community and [has] the support of the majority of residents.”
When we contacted several residents of Acono, many, like retiree Julie Reyes De Matas, pointed to the “nasty” state of the Acono River. Others, like system analyst Ray Francis, shared a more nuanced perspective:
On one hand, you need the quarry stone for buildings and construction, but then you have a community that feels you don’t care about them 'cause you won’t try to fix up the place after you get what you want.
AVDAC wrote to the EMA on January 14, 2020, detailing the major issues that the community had with the proposed quarry, including that:
The Acono River, the main drainage for the watershed that Coosal’s quarry occupies, is destroyed—muddy, dry and lifeless. It is so unfit for human use that it was diverted away from WASA’s [the Water and Sewerage Authority] intake.
Simeon Nakhid shows the murky condition of the Acono River. Photo by Zico Cozier, used with permission.
The letter further states that the Caurita River is now the community’s only dependable water source, flowing from the La Caurita watershed where Blue Diamond Quarries hopes to establish operations.
The proposed quarry would be located in the centre of the hiking trails to the Caurita Petroglyphs, the largest documented rock art site in Trinidad, described by the country's National Trust as being “an important spiritual place for the First Peoples or Amerindians in Trinidad.” The Santa Rosa First Peoples Community places special spiritual significance on this site and the surrounding area.
Other concerns include the destruction of community access roads and bridges which cannot withstand heavy equipment, runoff which would worsen the condition of the river and increase the likelihood of flooding, disruption to the life and safety of residents, many of whom live in homes close to the roadside, which would not hold up to heavy blasts within such close range.
The Maracas Valley Action Committee (MVAC) has also been vocal in its opposition, leading calls for pushback and collaboration with other groups within the community.
Both organisations stood against Blue Diamond Quarries’ 2016 attempt to mine in the valley. Simeon Nakhid said that he is now worried that even together, ADVAC and MVAC may not be powerful enough to stop the quarry this time around. He does not believe there can be a compromise and suggested that the community may have no choice but to take drastic action, like blocking access.
That, however, would be the last resort. They are instead exploring all available options. The letter his group sent to the EMA highlighted a 15-year timeline of resistance to the proposed quarry and called for all stakeholders to address the issues already plaguing the community as a result of quarrying:
Instead of facilitating any new attempts to exploit the valley, we urge the EMA and all other stakeholders to focus on improving and rehabilitating the environment […] through the restoration of the water courses available to us by damming the Concorde River upstream of Coosal’s and making it available to the Acono Water Works; by mandating ecologically appropriate rehabilitation of quarry lands to increase the resilience of the watershed; and by listening to the community when we say NO.
Copies of the letter were sent to Minister of Energy and Energy Industries Franklin Khan, Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan, Member of Parliament for Tunapuna Esmond Forde, the Water And Sewerage Authority (WASA), and Kairi Consultants Ltd., which responded:
We are conducting a neutral study. So we get information from the community as well as government agencies on the issue and we use that information to make our assessment.
BDQL says that at this stage, it is “solely conducting the required Environmental Impact Assessment to seek approvals from the EMA”:
This will then feed into how we set up operations in a conscious manner while
accounting for the needs of the communities. Lessons have been learnt from past operations and the concerns of the community are being addressed in our plans. These plans are dynamic and are being guided by the social and environmental assessments.
Meanwhile, the community waits to find out whether they are actually being heard and whether their concerns will be addressed.

author: Cari-Bois News


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Myanmar illustrators unite to distribute protest art for free · Global Voices
The Stand News

Screen capture from yangon.design.
This post was originally published in Chinese on the Stand News on February 25, 2021. The English version is published on Global Voices under a content partnership agreement with the Stand News.
A group of 30 artists from Myanmar uploaded more than a hundred protest posters to the website yangon.design for free print and use by those rallying against the military coup.
In an interview with The Stand News, a representative of the artist's collective said:
Like all other Myanmar citizens, artists want to contribute to the national struggle… [we] can assist other protesters with our art. [Protesters] can bring the posters to the streets or hang them on walls.
The collective noticed that protesters were bringing placards with the illustrators’ art to demonstrations, and indeed many artists had shared their poster designs online for free.
However, these efforts so far have been decentralized, something the new website would like to amend. “We want to build a platform and collect high-quality designs for public access,” the collective representative told The Stand News.
Yangon.design was launched about two weeks ago. Once admins spot relevant protest poster designs circulating online, they will contact the artist and secure an agreement for distributing design.
The posters have attracted the attention of the “Milk Tea Alliance” online:
As we are #MilkTeaAlliance members, maybe we need some posters to spread #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar
Protest posters designed by various Burmese artists can be downloaded:https://t.co/lj4bmVlZpa#myanmar #Burma #StandWithMyanmar #SaveMyanmar #緬甸 #Myanmar #AungSanSuuKyi #evilCCP pic.twitter.com/TGijngkQyI
— Peter Erica (@ElisabePearson) February 24, 2021
Through the protest artworks, viewers can develop an understanding of Myanmar people’s aspirations. Below is a selection of posters with brief explainers:
“You messed with the young generation” is the most popular slogan in the anti-coup protests, which have had a massive presence of young people. This slogan is often accompanied by “No! Not 88 anymore!” in reference to the 1988 uprising. Image downloaded from Yangon.design, free public use.
Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar democracy icon, continues acting as the spiritual leader of the current protests. She is detained and has been accused of election fraud. Image downloaded from yangon.design, free public use.
Myanmar anti-coup protesters compared military commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing to Hilter. Hlaing has taken power after the coup and, according to a report by the UN Human Rights Commission, he was the brains behind the ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya people. Image from yangon.design, free public use.
A poster in support of the general strike against the coup. Most of Myanmar's population is Buddhist, but there are sizable Christian and Muslim populations too. This poster suggests solidarity among different religious groups against the military coup. Image downloaded from yangon.design, free public use.
This poster is a response to the alleged involvement of the Chinese government in Myanmar’s military coup. Many protesters believe China has provided the military government with experts and equipment.
Image downloaded from yangon.design, free public use.
The three-finger salute from the Hunger Games universe, which represents solidarity in a dystopian world, was first adopted by Thai protesters and then by Myanmar anti-coup protesters. Image downloaded from yangon.design, free public use.
Urban residents bang pans and pots to protest against the military coup at night. The act is reminiscent of a Buddist tradition to drive out “evil spirits”. Image from yangon.design, free public use.

author: The Stand News


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Nigerian politician arrested for condemning the kidnap of schoolchildren · Global Voices
Nwachukwu Egbunike

Families displaced by Boko Haram attacks in Adamawa and Borno states, Nigeria. Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the kidnap of 300 school boys in December 2020. Photo by EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid on Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Salihu Tanko Yakasai, who until recently was the social media aide to the governor of north western Nigeria's Kano State, was arrested on February 26 by the Department of State Services (DSS) for criticizing the country's deplorable security situation.
Yakasai’s father told the online newspaper CableNG that his son was arrested by the DSS on his way to the barber's, adding, “But I cannot confirm to you whether he is here in Kano or somewhere else.’
Yakasai has spoken out against President Muhammadu Buhari's government — of which he is a member — for doing very little to address the country's lack of security and the resulting incidents of kidnapping. In a series of tweets made on the day of his arrest, he suggested that the administration had failed the people:
Clearly, we as APC government, at all levels, have failed Nigerians in the number 1 duty we were elected to do which is to secure lives & properties. Not a single day goes by without some sort of insecurity in this land. This is a shame! Deal with terrorists decisively or resign. https://t.co/L5YCvik1Eb
— Peacock (@dawisu) February 26, 2021
Bemoaning that the kidnapping of schoolchildren has become a tragic norm in northern Nigeria, Yakasai said that even though citizens “lament, condemn, [and] create hashtag[s]”, there are “no concrete steps to prevent reoccurrence [sic], and then we repeat the process”.
He went even further, tweeting:
Just last week it was #freekagaraboys, today we have a new hashtag #RescueJangebeGirls, who knows tomorrow what hashtag we will come up with? Perhaps one for ourselves when we get caught up in one of these daring attacks. This is sad & heartbreaking, I feel helpless & hopeless ?
— Peacock (@dawisu) February 26, 2021
By February 27, Yakasi had been fired by Abdullahi Ganduje, the governor of Kano, for his “unguarded comments and utterances” which was deemed at odds with the position of the “the (APC) government which he is serving.”
Meanwhile, Nigerian netizens are already calling for Yakasi's release, with the hashtag #FreeDawisu trending on Twitter, and journalist Omoyele Sowore stating that the DSS is “happy to pounce on Nigerians critical of the failing regime”:
#FreeDawisu Lawless DSS has arrested @dawisu for freely expressing his views regarding the failure of the @MBuhari’s govt. The DSS lazy leadership can’t help Nigerians facing insecurity but only ready and happy to pounce on Nigerians critical of the failing regime #BuhariMustGo
— Omoyele Sowore (@YeleSowore) February 27, 2021
Writer Demola Olarewaju added that some “political parties”, a veiled reference to the APC, “operate like a cult”:
Some political parties operate like a cult with the President as a god and if you belong, you cannot break code and speak against the party line – whether you're in the ponmo ranks or higher.
For the sake of shared humanity, one joins in saying to his captors #FreeDawisu pic.twitter.com/i6Rl5Rci3Y
— Demola Olarewaju (@DemolaRewaju) February 27, 2021
One Twitter user found Yakasi's arrest reminiscent of the modus operandi of Nazi Germany's secret police:
The manner of @dawisu’s arrest was gestapo-esque. They didn’t inform a single member of his family. They disappeared him. They didn’t arrest him like Nigeria was operating under the rules & engagement of democracy. Hitler would have been proud of the DSS on this one #FreeDawisu pic.twitter.com/viGRG7msxU
— JJ. Omojuwa (@Omojuwa) February 27, 2021
Another didn't fail to notice the brokenness of the system:
I’m just finding it funny now that I tweeted “Alhamdulillah @dawisu has been found” because we learned he was abducted by the state not kidnappers. What a dysfunctional country! #FreeDawisu
— Mr. M (@WordsworthGwary) February 27, 2021
Yakasi’s tweets came after the February 26 kidnapping of more than 300 schoolgirls at the Government Girls Secondary School in the town of Jangebe, located in north-western Nigeria's Zamfara state.
It was an attack that came on the heels of the kidnapping — nine days prior — of about 42 people, including 27 school boys, at the Government Science College in Kagara, located in Niger State in the country's north-west. The armed gunmen in that incident released their captives ten days later, on February 27.
No one has yet claimed responsibility for these two incidents. However, in December 2020, the Islamic jihadist group Boko Haram did claim responsibility for the abduction of about 300 schoolboys from the Kankara Government Science Secondary School, in the north-western state of Katsina. The boys were released after a few days in captivity.
Nigeria: reported number of abducted individuals pic.twitter.com/XaiqtUMJZK
— José Luengo-Cabrera (@J_LuengoCabrera) February 26, 2021
The kidnapping of schoolchildren in Nigeria has seen an alarming spike, according to security analyst Bulama Bukart, for very specific reasons. Not only does the abduction of minors boost the public profile of groups like Boko Haram, which feeds off of the publicity, it also results in political pressure being put on the government, making it easier for kidnappers to demand ransoms.
As at the time of publication, there has been no further word on Yakasai's release.

author: Nwachukwu Egbunike


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Dr. Wayne Kublalsingh, the man at the heart of Trinidad & Tobago’s Highway Re-Route Movement · Global Voices
Cari-Bois News

Activist Dr. Wayne Kublalsingh at the Drummit2Summit event, St. James, Trinidad, April 18, 2009. Photo by Georgia Popplewell on Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. Image edited with permission.
Editor's note: In 2012 and 2014, Global Voices followed the story of activist and academic Dr. Wayne Kublalsingh, who undertook two separate hunger strikes to protest the construction of the Debe to Mon Desir section of a highway intended to link San Fernando to Point Fortin, two major hubs in southern Trinidad, which would displace many homes and damage the environment. Along with the Highway Re-Route Movement, Kublalsingh took legal action against the state, on the grounds that it continued the road works without consulting stakeholders. On October 26, 2020, the High Court upheld their claim.
The following interview by Nicole Vallie was originally published on Cari-Bois News. An edited version is republished here as part of a content-sharing agreement with Global Voices.
Wayne Kublalsingh's passion for the environment can be traced back to his childhood in Trinidad's sugarcane belt, but it was only during his tenure at the University of the West Indies, when a student whose father was an employee of the soon-to-be-closed Caroni Limited approached him for help, that activism also became a part of his life. He advocated for the defunct company's 77,000 acres of flat land to be part of a new economic platform designed to regenerate the economic possibilities for the displaced and voiceless farmers.
The fact that the government of the day shelved his report did not deter him, nor did the trend of “development” that greenlighted mega highways and colossal energy initiatives with little or no consideration for the country's social or ecological assets. Instead, he was fuelled by the needs of the people and communities for which he was advocating.
In 2004, residents of four villages between Debe and Mon Desir became aware of plans to build a major highway through the area. Certain sections of the roadway were to be built near to environmentally sensitive wetlands, and through communities that had been built up from the mid-19th century when East Indian indentureship began.
The residents, well aware of the hydrology of the surrounding lagoon system and the area's propensity for flooding, had been quietly lobbying against the highway until 2010. Although a Certificate of Environmental Clearance (CEC) for the proposed highway had been issued, a new government had taken office, and the incoming administration promised that plans for the highway's construction would not proceed. As a result, the affected communities did not challenge the issuance of the CEC in court.
By 2011, however, when it became clear that the promise would not be kept, the residents approached Kublalsingh to be their spokesperson, and the Highway Re-Route Movement (HRM) was formalised. It was a deliberate choice of name: they were not against the construction of a highway, but felt that it could be done without destruction to their homes and surrounding wetlands. Their cause was heavily publicised, aided by several large demonstrations and Kublalsingh's two controversial hunger strikes.
The first time, the government agreed to an independent review of the highway project, which reportedly cost over 700,000 Trinidad and Tobago dollars (just over 100,000 United States dollars). The government never even considered the report, triggering Kublalsingh's second hunger strike, which saw numerous trips to the hospital and a nasty reaction from state officials, politicians and the general public.
After eight long years before the courts, High Court Justice James Aboud ruled that the then government's behaviour breached every rule of natural justice, defied the HRM’s legitimate expectation as part of the Judicial Review Act, and breached their constitutional rights:
Having spent over $700,000 for the HRC Report, it is unconscionable that the Government should have decided to entirely disregard its recommendations.
Aboud ordered the state to pay damages in the sum of TT $500,000 (about US $75,000), as well as to cover the HRM's legal costs, but Kublalsingh says, “it would have been a better outcome” if the court had ordered the government to abide by the findings of the independently commissioned report.
As it stands, the Government is not bound by the decision to stop the highway or reconsider the project in any way. The HRM, therefore, plans to pursue its remaining matters before the court (in one of which Kublalsingh accused the state of “bullying citizens to get its way”) in the hope that victories there would have a positive influence on the other cases.
Kublalsingh describes the hunger strikes as “the most terrible and wicked thing” he has ever done to himself. To this day, he suffers with his heart, lungs and kidneys as a result of the ordeal. In addition to the impact on his health, he was arrested on multiple occasions and fired from his university post. Still, he has no regrets:
For 200 days I sat at the front of the prime minister’s office. People [would] smile at me, bring me water, stop and talk to me, and others would ridicule me when they see me, up to today. They see me as a joke, and they do this because their leaders have told them that I am a joke. [Few] people understand the importance of this revolution, of this struggle; it has not been explained to them. They only begin to see you with validity and respect when the court approves you.
Asked whether he feels vindicated by the legal victory, Kublalsingh said that vindication would only come “when the stories of the people are told […] the people who were the first to stand up against irresponsible development and say no.”
He traces the struggle back to that student whose father worked for Caroni Limited, discarded by “large global corporations invited by governments and coming in here to absorb our ecological social and financial assets. They make the profit,” Kublalsingh says, “give us the crumbs and go back home.”
Instead, he wants people-led development, where communities “have the capacity to generate their own produce, create their markets, sell globally, work locally and bring prosperity and peace to Trinidad and Tobago.”


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A closer look into the Chinese political discussion on Clubhouse · Global Voices
The Stand News

Image from Stand News. Used with permission.
The following post is the first part of a Chinese feature report on the Chinese political discussions on Clubhouse in early February 2021 published on Stand News on February 12. The English version is translated by Neris Jonathan and published on Global Voices under a content partnership agreement.
One day, an ethnic Han Chinese man clicked on a Clubhouse room called “Are there any concentration camps in Xinjiang?” and heard Uyghur speakers sharing their stories about the concentration camps in Xinjiang. After awhile, the man turned on his microphone and told others in the room that he had to stop his car at the curb as he could not contain his feelings and cry his eyes out.
The Xinjiang discussion room was created on February 6 by Charles (alias), who is originally from Mainland China and has settled the United States for over ten years.
Charles told the Stand News that his friends from Mainland China had registered their accounts on the Clubhouse on that day and he decided to open a chatroom through the app. He likes bringing up controversial topics for discussion in his social circle as some of his friends have government affiliations. He wanted to talk about Xinjiang as a number of foreign media outlets reported claims made by survivors of the concentration camps that women were subjected to systemic rapes in the concentration camps in Xinjiang.
After a round of private chats among his friends, they decided to open up the room. Within less than an hour, thousands of people joined in.  At first, many Han Chinese said they were shocked to hear the news. Soon after, an ethnic Uyghur who works outside Mainland China entered the room and began sharing his story.  After that, Uyghur people from different parts of the world flock into the room.
The discussion had lasted for 12 hours. Charles commented that “the room made people feel safe and people are more at ease to share their vulnerable feelings.”
Rayhan Asat, a Uyghur who had shared her family story in “Are there any concentration camps in Xinjiang” told the Stand News,
I always wanted to have this kind of opportunity (referring to having the chance of speaking before a Chinese audience).  Maybe someone will be willing to talk to me and listen to me if I choose speak the truth.
Rayhan Asat is the first Uyghur to ever obtain a graduate degree from Harvard.  She moved to the United States in 2009 and became a permanent resident. Last year, Rayhan Asat decided to publicly speak up for her younger brother Ekpar Asat who has disappeared for five years since he returned to Mainland China from the United States in 2016. She only found out in last winter that her brother was sentenced to fifteen years in jail for allegedly inciting racial hatred.
Rayhan Asat said she had more confidence to share her stories in the Clubhouse as everyone are equal in the room. Before she spoke, a “tiny pink” (Chinese online patriot) kept repeating the Chinese official discourse that the policy in Xinjiang is to counter terrorism. Others intervened and rebuked his claim.
Rayhan Asat shared the story of her younger brother’s disappearance in the room. She told others in the room,
I am extremely worried that they might be torturing my little brother as we speak.
Rayhan Asat's parents are members of the Chinese communist party: her father is a government official working in water service department and her mom is an emeritus professor of chemistry, while her younger brother was an entrepreneur with good relation with the local government. She stressed,
Even though (they) are a “model” family, (authorities) still sent him (Rayhan Asat’s younger brother) to a concentration camp.
Rayhan Asat’s spoke for more than two minutes without being interrupted. Some  were crying, while others began to apologize to her by the time she finished talking.
Rayhan Asat still remembers that during the discussion, one Han Chinese said:
I am really grateful for this Uyghur for speaking up, I understand your pain.
Then another Han Chinese said,
Don’t say that you understand her pain, you will never understand their pain.
Rayhan Assat was touched,
People began (to) show the most sincere side of themselves…they started to become our allies.
As others shared the discussion in the Xinjiang room on Facebook and Twitter, more flocked in the Clubhouse room to bear witness to this cross-ethnic and multi-regional public discussion.
Charles believed that the successful dialogue was made possible by the “storytelling” approach:
Like movies, the genre is not to give you a lesson but to tell you a story. In the end, you learn something or get some inspirations from the story.
While the discussion about Xinjiang concentration camps continued to heat up, many Clubhouse users from Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong began hosting political topics.
Zoula, a citizen reporter and civic right activist, hosted the “Politically Incorrect Reporters”  room which discussed cross border political topics including Taiwanese independence, Hong Kong protests, and COVID-19 prevention measures in different parts of the world. He said that in order to create a non-polarized community, he had implemented a set of rule in the room – each speaker cannot talk for more than two minutes and verb attack are not allowed. Zoula stressed that the purpose of the discussion is for sharing experience and facts rather than convincing others.
Raphael (alias) was assigned as a moderator in the room “Guangzhouese asks HongKongese” soon after he joined the discussion. Eventually, the discussion had lasted for three days and two nights.  He said in the past he had the experience of attending classes on politics along with students from Mainland China, but he never had such extensive discussions with mainland Chinese people.   Other than when he was asleep, Raphael listened nonstop to the dialogues in the room,
I was able to hear the tone of their voices, their usage of words, their cultural and social habits. I could not have learned all these through written text.
The most heated topic in the room was the political relation between Hong Kong and China. Raphael was shocked to hear that some mainland Chinese actually support Hong Kong protests,
user from Hong Kong like myself tried very hard to explain the political struggle in Hong Kong, we hope that we could resolve the antagonism between people from Hong Kong and China… what we are doing today is just tiny steps, but if we gave up the chance, we will also be the
[political] minority.
Lokman Tsui, an assistant professor of the School of Journalism and Communications of Chinese University of Hong Kong, has been conducting research on new media and hence spent quite a large amount of time observing the discussion on Clubhouse. He realized that the the spaces that people have created on Clubhouse are similar to the public spheres as described by [philosopher] Jürgen Habermas,
The participants in the room have different opinions. When someone says something offensive to others, someone will immediately step in to ask him to calmly explain their points of view.  Habermas said that we cannot let emotions drive the conversation.  Such principle has been achieved during the discussions on sensitive topics related to Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.  This is really impressive.  Secondly, everyone gets a turn to talk, everyone is equal.  For example, some moderators even set up a time limit and have male and female speakers take turns alternately.
Just like the salons and the cafés where people would sit down and talk while they sipped on their cups of coffee in Paris during the 18th century, public spheres are fundamental for democratic societies.  The main point isn’t to win a debate but to connect members of a society and that they share a community of fate. And to a certain extent, Clubhouse has achieved this. For example, many people in Hong Kong hold prejudice against people from Mainland China, but after they experienced the discussion on Clubhouse,  many told me that people from Mainland China are also human. The dialogue [makes the imagined enemy] more humane or civilized.
Clubhouse was blocked in Mainland China on February 8, one day after the Xinjiang room was closed. Lokman Tsui wrote on Facebook,
What the Chinese Communist Party wants to block is our ability to express humanity at our best and our ability to resolve conflict through dialogue.


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Myanmar’s bloody Sunday sees highest death toll so far at hands of security forces · Global Voices
The Irrawaddy

Riot police in downtown Yangon on February 28/The Irrawaddy
This article was originally published in The Irrawaddy, an independent news website in Myanmar, and is edited and republished on Global Voices as part of a content-sharing agreement.
“#How_Many_Dead_Bodies_UN_Need_To_Take_Action?” is the hashtag Nyi Nyi Aung Htet Naing posted on his Facebook account on Saturday night, February 27.
His call on the popular social media site, for UN intervention to stop Myanmar’s military dictatorship, turned out to be his last post.
On Sunday morning, the 23-year-old network engineer reinforced the call—with his life.
He was shot dead by Myanmar security forces while joining a protest against the country’s military regime in Yangon’s Hledan. A live bullet pierced his chest.
With the deaths of more than a dozen people, including Nyi Nyi Aung Htet Naing, Myanmar’s anti-military-regime protests turned bloodier on Sunday as security forces fired live rounds on marching civilians across the country.
The escalating state violence was an apparent attempt by the junta to terrorize the people of Myanmar who have been protesting against the regime since early last month. If that was the goal, it failed.
There were more protesters on the streets throughout Sunday despite the presence of trigger-happy security forces. The heavy-handed strategy only served to make people across the country more united in their opposition to the men in uniform, increasing the tension between the regime and the people of Myanmar for the coming days.
Sunday saw the highest protest-related fatalities in a single day since the anti-regime rallies broke out three weeks ago. Fatal shootings were reported in several places across the country—from Dawei in the country’s deep south to Myanmar's largest city, Yangon, to up-country Mandalay and other areas.
Anti-regime mass rallies have erupted daily in Myanmar following a military takeover early last month. While denouncing the military dictatorship, protesters have also demanded the release of their democratically elected leaders, President U Win Myint, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and others detained by the regime. Prior to this weekend, the protests had already seen bloodshed in other parts of the country, including the capital Naypyitaw and Mandalay, where five people, including a 16-year-old boy, were shot dead by riot police and soldiers last week.
On Sunday, people took to the streets in response to the protesters’ call to join Myanmar’s second general strike against the regime. It also coincided with the pro-democracy activists’ request for solidarity from the Milk Tea Alliance, a loose, online coalition of activists largely based in Thailand, Hong Kong and Taiwan using the hashtag #MilkTeaAlliance. The coalition’s name refers to the variety of types of milk tea consumed across the region. It opposes the increasing influence of China.
In Yangon, riot police and soldiers hunted down protesters beginning in the morning, killing at least four people. According to the head of the emergency department of a government general hospital in Yangon, three died after being shot in the head and abdomen.
Out of 19 wounded people we have treated today, 15 were hit with live bullets. Two are in critical condition as they were hit in the throat and abdomen.
Riot police and soldiers charge in Mandalay on February 28/The Irrawaddy
A protest column made up of doctors, nurses, and students from medical, pharmaceutical and paramedical universities in Yangon was attacked by soldiers and riot police in the city’s Yankin Township. Out of thousands of protesters, 211 were arrested and several others sustained shoulder dislocations or skull injuries after being hit with batons. Those arrested had been released in the afternoon, but only after being forced to sign a paper stating they would not join the protests again.
A 30-year-old doctor, who was among those detained, shared their story
They just directly charged on us. Not even bothering to warn us to disperse.
A second-year medical student who gave her name as Wendy was hit in the head with a baton. All she remembered was that her white duty coat suddenly turned red with her blood.
I was too scared to feel the pain at the time.
In the country’s Deep South Dawei in Tanintharyi Region, the deaths and injuries came in the morning.
At least four people were shot dead and around 40 injured in a violent assault by riot police on anti-coup protesters.
At midday, a bystander on a motorcycle died after being shot in the head by police during a crackdown on a protest in Mandalay. Several people, including a youth volunteer helping protesters, were shot and injured. A woman who was just walking down the street was shot into the head and died on the spot in the evening.
Like their counterparts in Yangon, protesters in Mandalay took more defensive approaches when confronted by security forces. Equipping themselves with hard hats, goggles and gas masks, they erected roadblocks with everything they could find to keep the charging riot police and soldiers away. Some brave souls armed themselves with rackets to hit the flying teargas canisters back to security forces while others simply used wet blankets to cover up smoky canisters when they landed.
Protest-related deaths, injuries and arrests were also reported in Bago and Magwe Regions.
Despite using live bullets, stun grenades and tear gas, police failed to disperse demonstrators taking part in a nationwide general strike against the military regime on Sunday.
Undeterred by the deadly shootings, protesters across the country reorganized and continued their marches and sit-ins in the afternoon. Apparently disturbed and angered by the deaths of their fellow protesters, they shouted anti-regime slogans louder than on the other days.
Anti-regime striker Sithu Aung, a 22-year-old Technological University student who joined the protest simply because he opposed dictatorship, said he also feared the loss of his future if Myanmar was again isolated from the international community under the regime due to sanctions.
If we don’t resist out of fear, we would be enslaved by them. I believe others will move the protest ahead even if I am taken down.
Anti-military regime protesters in Yangon on February 28/The Irrawaddy

author: The Irrawaddy


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Nepal’s progressive COVID-19 vaccine campaign plagued by ‘infodemic’ · Global Voices
Nepali Times

Image by RF ._. STUDIO via Pexels, used under a Pexel License.
This article by Sonia Awale was originally published in Nepali Times and an edited version is republished on Global Voices as part of a content-sharing agreement.
So far, 450,000 Nepalis have received the first dose of Covishield, reaching 85 per cent of the target group in the first phase of the country’s COVID-19 vaccination drive.
Starting March 7, 3.7 million Nepalis over 55, 12 per cent of the total population, will get their shots against SARS-CoV-2 in the second phase. Teachers, students and bus drivers will be included in this phase.
On paper, Nepal looks like it is in a healthy position regarding vaccination, especially since more than 100 countries have yet to receive a single dose.
However, the vaccine campaign has been plagued by hesitancy and denial. Even doctors and nurses were reluctant to inoculate themselves. Failure to communicate, allay concerns about side effects, and ensure access in remote areas were the main blocks to better coverage.
“The fact is that the vaccines arrived in Nepal much earlier than we anticipated and once they did, we had to use them on the fly with the pandemic still going on, leaving us without a proper communication strategy,” admits Buddha Basnyat of the Patan Academy of Health Sciences.
Covishield, developed by AstraZeneca Oxford University and manufactured by the Serum Institute of India is being used in the U.K., the European Union and India, with Australia starting their vaccination programme soon. With the efficacy ranging from 70–80 per cent, 0.5 ml of 2 doses 4–12 weeks apart, the jab has been deemed safe with no severe reactions nor any deaths.
Previously, local governments used to deploy Tole Health Promoters (female community health volunteers under a government program) in neighbourhoods prior to a vaccination drive for measles, polio and other infections, to address the public’s safety concerns.
Another effective communication tool would have been the use of social media platforms and mass media to increase awareness about the vaccine as well as promote its use. Elsewhere in the world, prime ministers and presidents were televised live being inoculated. Celebrities took to the Internet to share their experiences of vaccination.
Sher Bahadur Pun, a virologist at the Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital, comments that “someone like Nirmal Purja (Nepalese celebrity mountaineer) would have been best to promote the campaign and increase the acceptance of the vaccine by the masses with his legions of followers.” Basnyat agrees that Purja with his international mountaineering fame and Gurkha commando background would have also bolstered Nepal’s vaccine diplomacy.
The government has approved the second dose to be given anywhere between 8–12 weeks of the first one, and before that, prioritising the vaccination of as many vulnerable individuals as possible.
But the availability of the vaccine will be the main concern as Nepal moves on to the next stage of the campaign. With the 1 million doses Covishield grant from India in January, another 2 million that Nepal purchased this week from the Serum Institute of India, 2.25 million (with the first 300,000 arriving first) under the COVAX initiative, and 500,000 doses of Sinopharm from China, the government has a stock of close to six million doses. This means 3 million people can be vaccinated soon.
“The second phase is as challenging as it is important. But this is also the group likely to have a higher chance of a reaction, so we need to be prepared locally to manage them,” says Shyam Raj Uprety, head of the government’s COVID-19 vaccine strategy. “It is crucial to communicate different types of side effects and explain that they signify that the vaccine is working.”
Around the world, the total number of new coronavirus cases and fatalities is dropping. Although India has reported spikes in some states and Nepal will have to keep a close watch on New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, Nepalis have most likely developed localised immunity.
A Nepal Health Research Council study has revealed that over 45 per cent of hospital staff had developed antibodies by December, adding to the view that we are nearing herd immunity.
“Once we have vaccinated a larger risk population, even if there is a second wave, it is unlikely to impact much because the group who were getting seriously sick will be protected,” adds Dixit.
But even with the vaccine, Nepalis will still have to continue precautions. There is still uncertainty about the duration of immunity, and whether vaccinated people can spread the virus.
Says Basnyat: “This has been a pandemic of misinformation, we have to negate that with public engagement. Good thing is that Nepal can draw inspiration from past successful vaccination drives and can become a model for others.”
Recently Nepali Times spoke with three experts about questions from readers regarding the COVID-19 vaccination drive in Nepal.
Image via Nepali Times. Used with permission.
Excerpts of interviews with virologist Sher Bahadur Pun at the Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital, Shyam Raj Uprety, head of the Government Covid Vaccine Strategy and Sameer Mani Dixit of the Centre for Molecular Dynamic Nepal:
Nepali Times (NT): What are the precautions one should take before and after the vaccine?
Sameer Mani Dixit (SMD): Covishield, the Covid vaccine we are using, is an intramuscular injection, 0.5ml in two doses 4–12 weeks apart. It is administered by a professional and after the jab, one will feel mild pain in the region.
NT: What’s the efficacy rate of the vaccine and how long does it work?
SMD: Covishield has been used in the U.K., E.U., India and many other countries, Australia is getting ready to use it. It has passed phase 3 clinical trials with over 12,000 volunteers without any severe reactions or any death. The efficacy ranges from 70–80 per cent.
Once a person is vaccinated, there are antibodies that the body produces and then there are memory T and B cells. The lifespan of antibodies is about 3–6 months but we don’t know about the duration of the memory cells since the vaccine has just been developed. The assumption is that it will work from anywhere between 9–12 months but we will know for sure once people who have been vaccinated pass that stage.
NT: Do we have to get the same vaccine for the second dose?
SMD: Ideally, the manufacturers of the vaccine suggest we take the same for both doses. But there are instances you may be able to take a second dose from a different company.
NT: Do people who have recovered from COVID-19 need to vaccinate?
Sher Bahadur Pun (SBP): We don’t know exactly how long does the natural infection protect the body. The rough estimation is between 3–6 months. But it varies from one individual to another so it is recommended that people take the shot. Also, two doses provide longer protection.
NT: Can breastfeeding mothers take the vaccine?
SBP: Manufacturers of Covishield have suggested pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers against taking this vaccine. But Nepal government recently said that those breastfeeding for six months or more could take it, but we don’t have concrete data yet so we don’t recommend it.
NT: How can people with vulnerable family members get them vaccinated?
Shyam Raj Uprety (SRU): We identified health workers as the most vulnerable. We vaccinated them at their nearest convenient place. We will do the same for the next vulnerable group, take the vaccine to the communities.
NT: If someone is not on the priority list but still wants to get vaccinated, how can they get it? Can it be bought?
SRU: It is unlikely for people who are not listed as the priority to get the shot. It is being administered for free for the priority group individuals and cannot be bought in the market. But after the most vulnerable are covered, the vaccine could be made available by the private sector.

author: Nepali Times