Child Marriages in Modern India

Child Marriages in Modern India Case study: Rajasthan community; the Shaikh The aspect of child marriages is common among the Muslim communities especially among those living in South Asia and sub- Saharan Africa. Early marriage entails the marriage of children and young people who are below the age of 18 years. It is, however, predominant among those living traditional lifestyles especially in the rural areas.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Child Marriages in Modern India specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More There are various reasons why parents may opt to marry their children while they are still very young, for instance, poverty where parents view marriage as an opportunity for the young girl and her family at large as a source of protection against sexual assault and unwanted pregnancies among others. This paper discusses early marriages through a case study of an ethnic group in India, the Shaikh of the Rajasthan community. Extent of the Practice of Child Marriage The Shaikh of Rajasthan is a constituent of the larger Shaikh community present in South Asia. It is the largest Muslim community in Rajasthan. The Shaikh community faces adverse effects of child marriages in addition to parallel cousin and cross-cousin marriages as it is being practiced to great extent. There have been many incidents of child marriages among this community for instance a marriage occurred between a five-year-old girl and a ten-year-old boy in the community. Other child marriages have also been witnessed. These two victims are far below the adult age as they should be at least eighteen years for the girl and twenty one years of age for the boy. The laws enacted in regard to marriages especially on child marriages seem ineffective due to the contradicting customs among the Muslim communities for example the prevention of Child Marriages Act. There have been instances where people come to homesteads and demand for girls who are underage stating that they want to marry them. Most of the people get married when they are too young without the knowledge of what marriage really entails. Most communities other than the Shaikh also practice child marriages especially days that are deemed to be of religious importance for example the Dev Uthni Ekadashi. The practice of child marriage continue to take place among the communities due absence of political will as some politicians view their actions of restricting the practice as a threat to their political prosperity. They fear their stand could make them lose votes and support from the people who value and appreciate the practice and would do anything to safeguard its existence.Advertising Looking for essay on ethnicity studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The practice of child marriages among the Shaikh and the Rajasthan community at large has been exacerbated by the government’s reluctance in preventing it a nd to make the matter worst, it seems to be very supportive of the same. This can be seen from its attempt to register all marriages including the child marriages. This action raises heated debate among citizens of India and also outside the country as many people who are against early or child marriages can not comprehend the reason behind its registration. The government fights back by saying that the registration of such marriages does not mean their legalization but instead it is a positive step towards keeping a record of the number of the existing marriages of such kind for easy detection. The Child marriage Prevention Act also seem to be ineffective as it does not provide for punishment of individuals and parents who plan and advocate for child marriages. This makes it more comfortable to execute this practice as those involved do not fear the legal consequences that may befall them as a result of their actions (Mahan 1). Effects of Child Marriage in the Community The concept of child marriage in the Indian communities has been promoted by the Indian culture which places women in very low status and their roles in the family institution stipulate they should be submissive and be good wives to their husbands. They do not have many rights like men. Early marriages are a major cause of increased population in the community as the young people add to the number of people through child bearing (India planning commission 51). Child marriages also deny the victims their childhood and adolescence as they experience sexual relationships very early in life hence lacking freedom. This leads to poor performances in marriage and in general life of the victims as their social development is interfered with.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Child Marriages in Modern India specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The girls that get married during their early age also do not pursue their education and hence they become incompetent in various aspects of life like critical decision making. There is also some health issues associated with child marriages, for instance, sexually transmitted diseases and premature pregnancies that lead to high rates of maternal and infant mortality. Fight against Child Marriages Despite increased practices among the various communities in Rajasthan like the Shaikh, there are many people who are against the practice and are ready to fight it. A good example is the establishment of a group, the Mali community, which is set to completely do away with the practice of child marriages through taking necessary actions against those who are involved in promoting it, for instance, parents who let their underage children to engage in marriage and also those who coordinate them. Some people have also pledged not to take part in any action tends to support child marriages. A social boycott seem to be the only option left of ending this impunity as others like the use of th reats and educating the society of the bad effects of child marriages has previously failed. To fight this problem, there should be educational campaigns to increase the legal age of marriage and educate people of the adverse effects of child marriages and also establishment of an effective marriage registration system. Conclusion It is evident the practice of child marriages has been in existence in many parts of India and other Muslim communities. The policy makers have also been keen to the details associated with child marriages but it has proved difficult and almost impossible to enforce laws that govern the issue. Various studies show that the Indian government is usually not good when handling personal laws that affect particular communities and do not hail from grassroots movements. There is, however, efforts to solve the problem for instance, bills passed like the Marriage Bill which advocated for enactment of a uniform law in regard to marriages and compulsory registration of marriages introduced in 1994 to prevent practices of polygamy and child marriages. Unfortunately, the law did not pass. Other laws as mentioned above are also present but they are not effective since they have been implemented to end child marriages. India Planning Commission. Rajasthan Development Report. New Delhi: Academic Foundation, 2006.Advertising Looking for essay on ethnicity studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Mahan, Rajan. â€Å"Rajasthan endorsing child marriage?† NDTV News. Jan 22, 2010. 05 Feb. 2011. https://www.ndtv.com/india

Welfare Reform in the United States

Welfare Reform in the United States Welfare reform is the term used to describe the U.S. federal government’s laws and policies intended to improve the nation’s social welfare programs. In general, the goal of welfare reform is to reduce the number of individuals or families that depend on government assistance programs like food stamps and TANF and help those recipients become self-sufficient. From the Great Depression of the 1930s, until 1996, welfare in the United States consisted of little more than guaranteed cash payments to the poor. Monthly benefits uniform from state to state were paid to poor persons mainly mothers and children regardless of their ability to work, assets on hand or other personal circumstances. There were no time limits on the payments, and it was not unusual for people to remain on welfare for their entire lives. By the 1990s, public opinion had turned strongly against the old welfare system. Offering no incentive for recipients to seek employment, the welfare rolls were exploding, and the system was viewed as rewarding and actually perpetuating, rather than reducing poverty in the United States. The Welfare Reform Act The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 A.K.A. The Welfare Reform Act represents the federal governments attempt to reform the welfare system by encouraging recipients to leave welfare and go to work, and by turning over primary responsibility for administering the welfare system to the states. Under the Welfare Reform Act, the following rules apply: Most recipients are required to find jobs within two years of first receiving welfare payments.Most recipients are allowed to receive welfare payments for a total of no more than five years.The states are allowed to establish family caps that prevent mothers of babies born while the mother is already on welfare from receiving additional benefits. Since enactment of the Welfare Reform Act, the role of the federal government in public assistance has become limited to overall goal-setting and setting performance rewards and penalties. States Take Over Daily Welfare Operations It is now up to states and counties to establish and administer welfare programs they believe will best serve their poor while operating within the broad federal guidelines. Funds for welfare programs are now given to the states in the form of block grants, and the states have much more latitude in deciding how the funds will be allocated among their various welfare programs. State and county welfare caseworkers are now tasked with making difficult, often subjective decisions involving welfare recipients qualifications to receive benefits and ability to work. As a result, the basic operation of the nations welfare system can vary widely from state to state. Critics argue that this causes poor people who have no intention of ever getting off of welfare to migrate to states or counties in which the welfare system is less restrictive. Has Welfare Reform Worked? According to the independent Brookings Institute, the national welfare caseload declined about 60 percent between 1994 and 2004, and the percentage of U.S. children on welfare is now lower than it has been since at least 1970. In addition, Census Bureau data show that between 1993 and 2000, the percentage of low-income, single mothers with a job grew from 58 percent to nearly 75 percent, an increase of almost 30 percent. In summary, the Brookings Institute states, Clearly, federal social policy requiring work backed by sanctions and time limits while granting states the flexibility to design their own work programs produced better results than the previous policy of providing welfare benefits while expecting little in return.

Comparing and Contrasting Operating Systems Assignment

Comparing and Contrasting Operating Systems - Assignment Example The Novelle Netware OS, however, is older than any of these platforms and has been mainly used as a networking OS. The difference and to the disadvantage of the Windows platform is in regard to the security issues. Viruses and worms are far rarer in Linux and OSX than in Windows. Linux is universally held as a very solid OS and much preferred as server and firewall system. OSX, on the other hand, is a highly customized UNIX system, which also makes it a more security aware infrastructure. According to Thomas, Chanelle and Sicam, the total number of viruses and worms found in the wild infecting Linux systems are less likely than 1,000 while Windows must tackle, approximately 1,000 new viruses every month (185). Meanwhile, Novelle used to be the king in terms of security and reliability but that it has undergone very little upgrades since the 1990s. Another important difference between the operating systems being discussed is the cost. Linux is an open platform, hence, it is free. Windows 2000, Novelle Netware, and the OSX on the other hand, come with expensive price tags. For example, when a consumer upgraded from NT4 to Windows 2000, he had to buy Client Access License besides the software upgrade of $400 or $500 (Boswell 31). However, what made Windows 2000 more attractive for users is the availability as well as the sheer number of compatible applications. Linux users are relatively low compared to the Windows platform and the number of applications developed for it over the years is fewer as well. This is also the case in the OSX’s experience. With regards to Novelle, it has stopped being relevant in the OS market because of its poor graphical user interface and have remained as choice server system only for very few administrators. This factor is still the most significant for users. Despite all the advantages that Linux and OSX has over

Op-ed paper - The Rise of Plutocrats Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Op-ed paper - The Rise of Plutocrats - Essay Example The growth of plutocrats in the 21st century has been supported by the growing global businesses, emergence of technology and neoliberalism as captured in her publication. The rise of plutocrats has been facilitated by the era of neoliberalism, emergence of technology which enables plutocrats to control factors of production and economic globalization. The rise of global plutocrats has significant political implication in various parts of the world especially on countries that have influence on global business and trade (Gardels, 2013). In this paper, the impacts of globalization, technology and neoliberalism on plutocrats will be discussed in this paper including its implications on global politics. Freeland (2012) identifies neoliberalism, economic globalization and change in technology as some of the emerging issues in this era that influences the emergence of plutocracy. Neoliberalism is defined as the growth of ideas that thrive on a free society thus leading to the development of free trade and a decline in government interference. Neoliberalism has facilitated the emergence of plutocracy through the strengthening of the belief that despite the social position we hold in the society at birth, we are well placed to rise to the top by utilizing our talent (Gardels, 2013). With a laissez fairer economics, the market is liberated from any form of political or government interference, opening business opportunities with those with the means to acquire the factors of production. Under neoliberalism, the state should not in any way interfere with the business activities of the private sector. Instead, it should introduce the right safeguards aimed at protecting private property and ensuring that the activities of the plutocrats are not affected by policies which restrict the market (Gardels, 2013). According to

The Meaning of What Are Years? by Marianne Moore :: Poems, Poetry Analysis

In the poem â€Å"What Are Years?†, Moore clearly expresses her perception of life. Moore states that no one can truly understand the nature of their guilt or innocence. Everyone is â€Å"naked† to the dangers of existence. Moore defines courage as â€Å"resolute doubt,† having the ability, or the the "strength of spirit", to keep going even when defeated. To be strong, one must accept their own mortality. One must accept the reality of death and yet keep fighting to live. Although we are all imprisoned in a world of mortality, we must fight every day to give meaning to our life. We must live as if we were never going to die! Moore begins the last stanza with an ambiguous â€Å"So†. Although one has a heightened awareness of mortality, one â€Å"behaves,† one keeps the ego disciplined. This is the same concept as that of the caged bird who, though held captive in a cruelly small space, continues to sing with all his heart. Despite the bird's lack of â€Å"satisfaction† because of his loss of flight and freedom, he knows â€Å"joy†.

Advertising Regulations

Advertising Regulation The strength of the self-regulatory system lies in both the independence of the ASA and the support and commitment of the advertising industry, through the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP), to maintaining the high standards laid down in the Advertising Codes, which are designed to protect consumers. Today, the UK advertising regulatory system is a mixture of   * Self-regulation for non-broadcast advertising * Co-regulation for broadcast advertising. The ASA is the UK self-regulatory body for ensuring that all advertisements, wherever they appear, are legal, decent, honest and truthful. The protection of consumers is at the heart of the ASA's work. They aim to ensure that advertising does not mislead or offend. Advertising self-regulation in the UK The system is based on a contract between advertisers, agencies and the media that each will act in support of the highest standards in advertising. Compliance with the Codes and ASA adjudications is binding on all advertisers. It is not a voluntary system. The system is both self-regulatory (for non-broadcast advertising e. g. press, poster, cinema, online) and co-regulatory (for TV and radio advertising). The Codes sit within a legal framework, which means that, where appropriate, they reflect the standards required in law, e. g. the Consumer Protection for Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs) for misleading advertising. The Codes also contain additional protections that are not required under law e. g. rules related to taste and decency and social responsibility. The ASA is responsible for administering five Advertising Codes and deals with more than 26,000 complaints per year. Just one complaint can cause the ASA to launch an investigation and remove an advertisement, if the ad is found in breach of the Codes. For instance, if Bulldog’s TV ad, had a voiceover that said â€Å"With up to 8 meg broadband, more people can play, e-mail, download and talk, together, all at the same time. With Bulldog, unlimited phone calls to your network friends are included. To find out more about Bulldog Broadband packages call now on 0800 or visit bulldogbroadband. com. Bulldog Broadband and Phone. † Onscreen text said â€Å"Broadband speed is up to 8meg downstream. Subject to local availability and Bulldog phone line†. BT complained the TV ad was misleading because, due to the technical limitations of high speed broadband services, the maximum speed quoted would not be available to a significant number of people within the geographic areas in which the service was available. Figures were provided and showed that, as the length of line between a local exchange and a customer's home increased the broadband speed that could be achieved by the customer decreased. They said broadband speeds of 8 megabits per second (Mbps) or close to 8 Mbps could be achieved only by people who lived within 3 km of an exchange. Beyond that distance the achievable speed dropped rapidly because of unavoidable signal attenuation caused by line length and quality. The 35% of people who lived more than 3. 8 km from an exchange, for example, would get at best a 5 Mbps connection. They believed the prefix â€Å"up to† was not an adequate indication that a large proportion of customers could not get a service close to the headline speed. Members of the public also said the TV ad was misleading because the broadband speed quoted was not achievable for all users. One said their connection had never exceeded 5 Mbps and while others believed technical limitations would prevent users from achieving the headline speed. Bulldog however would then be given an opportunity to respond to any claims made against them therefore saying our ads were in line with previous ASA adjudications and CAP guidance, which required claims about broadband speeds to be preceded with the words â€Å"up to†, to indicate that the top speed might not be achieved by users. Assessment Complaints upheld The ASA noted Bulldog considered that the inclusion of the words â€Å"up to† was an adequate indication to consumers that they might not achieve the top speed quoted in the ads and that their ads were in line with previous ASA adjudications and CAP guidance. We considered that â€Å"up to† was an adequate qualification in ads for 1 Mbps and 2 Mbps services, where the user would not achieve the maximum speed because of factors such as the number of people on line but where the attainable speeds were close enough to those advertised so as not to affect the customers' experience in any meaningful way. We considered that the higher speed service was likely to be attractive to consumers because of the advertised headline speed and the potential capabilities that a connection of that speed could give users. We understood, however, that the speeds 8Mbps services could deliver were significantly affected by signal attenuation, which was caused by distance from the exchange, and that as a result a significant proportion of consumers could not achieve speeds close to the headline speed. We understood that users of an up to 8Mbps service could take advantage of capabilities such as video streaming, file sharing and online gaming but that there would be a noticeable degradation of quality of the service when speeds fell below 6Mbps. We therefore considered that â€Å"up to† was not an adequate qualifier in ads for higher speed services, given the impact that signal attenuation could have on speed and performance. ASA concluded that the ads were misleading and asked Bulldog to amend them. The TV ad breached CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rules 5. (Misleading advertising), 5. 2. 1 (Evidence) and 5. 2. 3 (Qualifications). Action Bulldog will then be asked by the ASA to indicate prominently in future ads (for example in the body copy of non-broadcast ads) that top speeds varied significantly, in particular because of a user's distance from their local exchange. The broadband speed must be preceded by the words ‘up to', in order to make it clear that a consumer can receive anything up to the advertised speed. The ad must contain a clear notice in the main body copy (i. e. ot in a footnote) that states that speeds vary significantly subject to a number of factors, such as distance from the exchange. The ad must also make clear where the service is available i. e. geographical limitations that might mean a headline speed is only available to those in, for instance, urban areas. The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) are the industry committees responsible for writing and maintaining the Advertising Codes. The Committee members represent the three main parts of the advertising industry, namely the advertising agencies, media owners (e. . poster site owners, newspapers, broadcasters) and the advertisers themselves. CAP and BCAP also enforce the adjudications of the ASA. Interaction with the law Across the European Union (EU) there is a unified piece of consumer pr otection legislation to prevent the use of misleading or unfair trading practices. This law, called the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, has been translated into UK law to make sure that we have the same rules as all the other countries in the EU. The ASA works within this legal framework to make sure that UK advertising is not misleading or unfair. The ASA is able to refer advertisers who refuse to work with us and persistently make The ASA is considered the ‘established means’ for gaining compliance with both these pieces of legislation. This means that the law itself is not usually enforced formally through the courts; instead the ASA is first allowed to tackle any problems under the Advertising Codes. This approach works well in the overwhelming majority of cases. Broadly this means that the system is paid for by the industry, which also writes the rules, but those rules are independently enforced by the ASA. The system is a sign of a considerable commitment by the advertising industry to uphold standards in their profession. All parts of the advertising industry – advertisers, agencies and media – have come together to commit to being legal, decent, honest and truthful in their ads. * Adverting Standards authority – http://www. asa. org. uk/Complaints-and-ASA-action/Adjudications/2006/9/Bulldog-Communications-Ltd/TF_ADJ_41768. aspx * The Advertising Codes – http://www. cap. org. uk/The-Codes. aspx * –

The Images Of The Digital Image - 1556 Words

The Digital Image is a relatively new thing in the large scheme of things, with the advancement of technology also came the evolution of this medium. The first instance of digital imaging came with the invention of the camera. Photography as we know it today is usually considered to have begun in 1839 when Louis-Jacques-Mande Daguerre released the Daguerreotype image. Photography would remain from this point a relatively expensive and crude medium that would slowly progress through the years. In 1877 Eadweard Muybridge created a fast shutter that was capable of capturing motion. This in itself was iconic and Eadweard would later be considered a pioneer for the digital image due to his work on locomotion (famously the galloping horse).†¦show more content†¦Nowadays it’s easy to forget the impact that digital imaging has had on society as we are so use to its benefits. Digital Imaging has done some amazing things, such as bring the ability to capture still and moving im ages of everyday life to iconic moments such as the moon landing. We also have the ability to create digital illustrations to provide insight, to persuade and to provoke thought. Task 7 in this module was about expressive type. This project involved a lot of creative freedom and to create whatever was wished as long as it was in some way expressive type. Expressive type is essentially a method of design where text is used to create some kind of image. As shown in the references, there is a finished piece of work for this task, the poster uses type to create the character Tyrion from the TV show Game of Thrones. The type in the poster is actually a quote from the character and is formed in a way to shape the characters stance from an iconic moment for him. The development of this poster involved using a previously created illustration of the character and mixing it with typography. The original image was placed into the Adobe Illustrator software as it provided a lot of tools for type. The text was then written out and reshaped to form the body of the character. The typeface was selected carefully as it was meant to match the minimalistic style of the previous illustration, therefore the typeface was sans serif. After