01-15 March 2020 The Asian Independent

6 01-03-2020 to 15-03-2020 ASIA
www.theasianindependent.co.uk
'Financial inclusion of women can boost Pak's GDP by 33%'
Islamabad : Pakistan can boost its
gross domestic product (GDP) by 33 per
cent by ensuring the financial inclusion
of women and girls, according to speakers
at a youth dialogue here. The dialogue
on "Generation equality:
Realising women's rights for an equal
future" was organised by UN Women
Pakistan and the National University of
Sciences and Technology (Nust) here on
Friday, reports Dawn news. Speaking at
the event, Nust Research, Innovation
and Commercialisation Pro-Rector
Nassar Ikram, while highlighting the
varsity's initiatives to urge more women
to enter technical fields, said:
"Education is the most important means
to empower women and girls and will
enable them to take forward the gender
equality agenda."
According to UNDP Pakistan,
women comprise almost half of the
country's population, yet only 22.7 per
cent were part of the labour force.
Even those who are part of the labour
force are largely in the informal sector,
receiving low pay and with few legal
protections.
UN Women Asia Regional Director
Mohammad Naciri said: "It is unfortunate
that we have been fighting for
women's rights for so long... Patriarchy
is essentially a social norm. We need to
disassociate patriarchy from men. "It is
important to change the mindset, speak
with new generations without discriminating
against men and women so that
we can effectively deal with preconceived
notions built on gender discrimination."
Punjab Assembly Standing
Committee on Gender Mainstreaming
Chairperson Uzma Kardar maintained
that to "make sure we leave no one
behind, we must sensitise communities".
"Gender equality should come
naturally to the youth. When women
earn more medals in universities, why
do they get less opportunities in practical
lives?" Kardar queried, while adding
that she was confident that the coming
generation will witness gender equality
in their lifetime.
JNU admin, JNUSU at loggerheads
over shelter for riot victims
New Delhi : After the
Jawaharlal Nehru University's
Students' Union (JNUSU) called
for providing shelter to the Delhi
riot victims inside the campus,
the varsity administration has
issued a warning to the union
against any such step.
The move has now invited yet
another turn to ongoing tussle
between the administration and
JNUSU. "You have no legal
right to make the JNU campus a
shelter, the notice issued by varsity
Registrar Pramod Kumar,"
read.
The university administration
has also warned the students of
disciplinary actions if the students
are found doing so.
"You are strictly advised
against any such activity, failing
which appropriate disciplinary
action will be taken against you.
You are also advised to uphold
the need to keep an educational
institution like JNU a congenial
space for study and research," it
said. It was on Wednesday that
the JNUSU had put posters on
social media announcing "JNU
open for Shelter" and called victims
of Delhi riots to get shelter
in the campus.
However, the notice by the
administration has left JNUSU
red faced, who in return claimed
that the JNU will remain open
for riot victims.
After receiving the letter, the
Vice-President of JNUSU, Saket
Moon tweeted, "While the JNU
Admin's masters in the government
burned Delhi, the JNU
Admin threatens us to turn survivors
of the violence from our
campus."
"JNU was open for shelter in
1984, it shall remain open
today!," Moon added in the
tweet, attaching photographs of
the notice by the administration
and the poster issued by the
JNUSU.
SL govt decides not to sign
$480mn MCC agreement
UK man jailed for
hiding migrants in
'AIRTIGHT' box
London : A UK man has been jailed for three years for cramming
three Vietnamese migrants into a tiny "airtight" roof box on
his car and attempting to smuggle them into Britain, it was reported.
Robert Rooney, 35, stuffed the two men and a teenage girl, into
the box on top of his Ford Focus in France on October 5, 2019 but
was stopped by officers at the UK-controlled zone at the Channel
Tunnel in Coquelles, the Metro newspaper said in a report on
Friday.
Pictures show the three in the space, which is not much bigger
than a suitcase. When he was pulled over, Rooney told the officers
that he "just had camping stuff in there", claiming he did not know
where the keys to open it.
During the sentencing on Friday, Prosecutor Bridget Todd said
the box was "an airtight concealment", adding that there was "no
attempt to put any ventilation in the box. Should the box have
become detached on the motorway, the result would have been catastrophic'".
She added that Rooney had "clearly intended to gain financially",
with people smugglers often charging thousands per person to
bring them into the UK.
It remains unknown if the migrants, who were served with
deportation documents, were being brought into the UK to live or
be exploited for work.
Last year, 39 Vietnamese migrants were found dead in a refrigerated
lorry in Essex county. The migrants, including two 15-yearolds,
were found in the lorry on an industrial estate in Essex on
October 23, 2019 and were mostly from poor and rural areas of
Vietnam's north-central provinces, reports Efe news.
Colombo : The Sri Lankan government
has decided not to sign the $480 million
Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC)
agreement with the US, taking into consideration
the recommendations of a Committee
that found some of its features threaten
national security and welfare of the island
nation, it was reported. The four-member
Committee headed by Professor Lalithasiri
Gunaruwan, which submitted its interim
report to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa last
week, said there were clauses and conditions
in the agreement that would negatively affect
national goals and objectives, sovereignty,
and national security, and were inconsistent
with the legal framework and Constitution,
the Daily Financial Times quoted Minister
Bandula Gunawardena as saying on Friday.
The report was presented to the Cabinet
by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on
Thursday following which the decision was
taken not to sign the agreement, he said.
"This agreement was drawn up by the UNP
(United National Party) according to its
whims, without taking the interests of the
country into consideration. We warned about
this during the elections..." Gunawardena
said.
"We are open to discussing this agreement
with the US government, but it will be done
with full transparency. If any agreement is
signed it will be with Cabinet approval as
well as with the consent of Parliament and
the public," he added.
The two components of the MCC programme
are transportation infrastructure
development and land administration, with
$350 million for the transport project, which
was to focus on modernising bus transport
and improving traffic management systems,
while the smaller component of around $60
million was for a plan to improve the land
administration policy in Sri Lanka, said the
Daily Financial Times in the report. Asked if
the Government would reconsider two other
agreements signed with the US government -
- the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA)
and Acquisition and Cross Services
Agreement (ACSA) -- Gunawardena said the
government would not overturn any agreements
that have already been signed.