Anticipating demographic superiority: Kazakh thinking on integration and nation building

"In order to understand and to forecast what kind of nations will take shape in the new states of the former Soviet Union it is important to focus on the express objectives and actual strategies of the nation builders.... In this article I will concentrate on the ideological aspect, that is, on official and semi-official statements outlining the idea of ?the Kazakhstani nation', as Kazakhstani nation builders would like to see it develop." Particular attention is given to the changes in the ethnic composition of the country due primarily to the different demographic characteristics of the main ethnic groups that make up the population, the ethnic Kazakhs and Russians, and to the political implications of the growth of the Kazakhs from a minority to a majority ethnic group.     

Sanctioned violence: development and the persecution of women as witches in south Bihar

In South Bihar, India, socially sanctioned witch-hunting and persecution led to the deaths of 15 women in 1994 and 24 women and children in 1994. This article presents case studies to suggest that the underlying causes of this behavior are not superstition and illiteracy but are efforts to maintain women's inferior status by enforcing female economic subjugation, sexual exploitation, and the persecution of widows and independent, vocal women. In these cases, superstitious beliefs were exploited by community members with ulterior motives who compensated village witch doctors for collaborating with any accusation made against a local woman. After an introduction and presentation of the issues, the article describes the social and economic context and presents four case studies of women accused of witchcraft. The women involved were either forced to consume human excreta and then banished; raped and left for dead when five other family members were murdered, including a year-old baby; or protected through the intervention of a nongovernmental organization or a district welfare officer. The article then discusses the implications of this phenomenon for development work through a look at the power of social sanction, the role of witch doctors, the gender dimension, the power of the village headmen and the traditional administration system, and the larger motives behind the behavior. The article ends by suggesting interventions such as focusing on eliminating atrocities towards women, forming support groups, sensitizing officials, incorporating gender sensitivity in development efforts, and increasing access to health and education.     

Eviction and homelessness: the impact on African children

More than 80 million African children lack access to healthy shelter, and 16 million of these children are living on the streets. This phenomenon of street children represents massive social failure as well as a violation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Urbanization--and the attendant processes of industrial expansion, land speculation, and "beautification"--has created a cycle of poverty, evictions, family disruption, and unwanted and abandoned children. In African cities, at least 60% of the population lives in informal, underserviced, and frequently illegal slums and squatter settlements in households generally headed by a single mother. Increasingly, eviction is being used as a strategy for driving the poor out of urban areas where they have come to seek work. Mothers who are themselves illiterate, malnourished, and constantly facing the threat of eviction are unable to meet their children's basic security needs. Moreover, violent evictions subvert children's educational and health status, cause psychological trauma and the loss of a sense of belonging, and exacerbate the household's precarious economic status. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have been successful in preventing some evictions and have established programs for the care of street children. Recommended is improved coordination between NGOs and local and national governments, as exemplified by the urban child welfare task force established by the Kenyan Government. Above all, however, NGOs need to develop strategies for dealing more effectively with mass urban poverty and providing the necessary infrastructure to improve the lives of slum residents.