For A Fair Child, Eat This; For A Boy, Eat That Pregnancy Linked Food

To Secure GenNext: Mother's Milk And Tender Care

Why Do Boys Get All The Milk?

Kashmiri Entrepreneur Arifa Minds Her Business In The Valley

Tahrir Square Impact: Art That Breaks The Silence On AIDS In Egypt

Pop Star Deeyah's Cyber Memorial For Victims Of 'Honour' Killings

Women Survivors Of Civil War Still Fight Mental Demons

Ancient Koraput's Farming Ways Can Help

Rajasthan's Legislators Walk The Talk On Nutrition

Northeast Weaving: Everyday Enchantment From The Creative Loom

Search ARCHIVES for more features

Displayed below are summaries of features. To read the full text of recent articles you have to place a request. Click here for information on how to order. For a free read, click here.

India
For A Fair Child, Eat This; For A Boy, Eat That Pregnancy Linked Food
Aastha Kant

Dietary dos and donts during pregnancy are conditioned by a system of beliefs, which is culturally rooted and could vary from region to region. Interviews with women from a resettlement area in Delhi reveal how female members of the conjugal family 'monitor' a woman's pregnancy and take all the decisions, particularly those related to her diet. Interestingly, the pregnant woman's food patterns change with the advancement of her pregnancy. Yet, all this extra attention and pampering is not so much for the well-being of the expectant mother but for the baby she is going to give birth to in the near future.

'This time I have a craving for 'saag' (spinach(, but my husband's grandmother doesn't let me have any. She believes that if I eat it, my baby will have excessive hair...'

[Photographs Available]

India
To Secure GenNext: Mother's Milk And Tender Care
Elisa Patnaik

After the birth of her third baby in a public hospital, Soudamini Rout, a homemaker from Odisha's Puri district, is only now being counselled on the importance of exclusive breastfeeding. Improper infant feeding practices is one of the reasons why her state has the second highest infant mortality rates in India. Early and exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of an infant's life assumes critical importance in such a scenario, with research having established that this could reduce under-five child deaths by about 16 per cent. Fortunately, the state government is now trying to do more on this front: It has begun to observe a Nutrition Day for the management of severely malnourished children and is training hospital-based health workers on imparting correct advice to new mothers. Recently, in partnership with UNICEF and the Odisha Voluntary Health Association (OVHA) has also launched 'Surakhya', an initiative meant to spread awareness among mothers about breastfeeding, with the focus on seven out of the state's 30 districts where infant feeding practices are poor.

"Colostrum is vital for a newborn but it is not enough. Early initiation of breastfeeding is a must for both the newborn and the mother - it prevents the baby from developing hypoglycaemia and assists in the adequate secretion of milk."

[Photographs Available]

India
Why Do Boys Get All The Milk?
Anumeha Yadav

Sapna Berva is 14 but she could pass off for being half her age. The oldest of five siblings, Berva is less than five feet tall and underweight. Her father works as a helper in a small restaurant in Jaipur, Rajasthan's state capital, while her mother is a peon in a local private school. Their economic means are limited and that is how Berva explains her family decisions on who will get to eat what within the household - while the four sisters get the staple of roti and sabzi, their brother also gets milk - twice a day. Sarita Kumhar, 26, a construction worker in the city, too, sends her son to her mother's house, so that "at least one of my children gets fully taken care of". Her two daughters share a meagre meal with the parents on site. The question of who will get to eat what within the household remains obscure and is rarely part of the public discourse even now when the National Food Security Bill is being discussed.

"The government launched the 'Sabla' scheme for adolescent girls in 200 districts last year, but why only as a scheme, why not as a right?"

[Photographs Available]

India
Kashmiri Entrepreneur Arifa Minds Her Business In The Valley
Renu Agal

A young Kashmiri woman animatedly explains to a customer the intricate craftsmanship of the "exclusive" 'numdha' rugs she is selling in her Lalbazar shop in Srinagar. Surrounded by exquisite merino wool rugs embroidered with green paisleys, autumnal maple leaves and cherry blossoms, Arifa presents a picture of poise and confidence that belies her youth. She is the owner of Incredible Kashmir Crafts through which she hopes to revive the dying craft of 'numdha' rugs. In a society where shutdowns and strikes are common and violence is very much a part of daily life, a young woman running a business is a rare sight indeed. But while there may not be many women entrepreneurs in the Kashmir Valley, their numbers are slowly rising.

Arifa hopes to one day set up a company with artisans as shareholders so that everyone benefits from the revival of this dying craft. 'The artisans are paid so little that they are not interested in this craft. I want to change that,' she says.

[Photographs Available]

Egypt
Tahrir Square Impact: Art That Breaks The Silence On AIDS In Egypt
Rasha Dewedar

In the year following the people's revolution, a new-found freedom of expression is breaking the silence on crucial issues in Egypt that were earlier considered taboo. A recent film is a practical example of how art in Egypt can be an effective tool in shaping community awareness. 'Asmaa' is perhaps one of the first Egyptian films to sympathetically present the unique challenges faced by AIDS patients in the country. Through the true story of an ambitious and courageous rural woman, the illness, the moral stigma attached to it and the psychological trauma that patients undergo have been sensitively portrayed in order to promote a greater understanding of those who suffer from it. Of course, there have been other creative attempts as well ? like Egyptian journalist Ashraf Amin's book, 'Letters from Egypt: AIDS Testimonials of Stigma and Discrimination', which is a collection of diverse stories from AIDS patients. (By arrangement with Women's News Network.)

'I was touched when a young man in my office who had not been to university told me he was keen to get a copy of the book and we had a thorough discussion about AIDS afterwards. Conversations like these are why I wrote that book.'

[Photographs Available]