Misogyny in ‘post-war’ Afghanistan: the changing frames of sexual and gender-based violence

Abstract

Although the US and NATO invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 was ideologically justified under the banner of democracy and women’s rights, the latter issue has been completely forgotten within the public sphere since then. As the war has officially ended in Afghanistan, new forms of misogyny and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) have arisen. The ‘post-war’ Afghan context presents an institutional normalization of violence, favouring a culture of rape and impunity. The changing frames of violence against women are widely related to the political situation of the country: while public attention is focused on peace agreements, women’s issues are relegated to banalities and depicted as ‘everyday’ news. Meanwhile, new frames of SGBV appear as body part mutilation within marriage, forced prostitution, and increasing domestic violence, partly due to the growing consumption of opium but also to the perpetuation of powerful warlords in state structures. This article draws on gender studies to analyse the current misogynist culture in ‘post-war’ Afghanistan, framing the new forms of violence induced by successive armed conflicts. It relies on interviews conducted in 2013 in Afghanistan; and on secondary sources, mostly taken from the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan and Human Rights Watch reports.     

Challenges to decentralisation in Ghana: where do citizens seek assistance?

Decentralisation in Ghana, and across sub-Saharan Africa, faces a number of challenges to successful local governance provision because there are a number of formal and informal actors to choose from. Citizens may take problems they want a governance provider to solve to a member of parliament or a district assembly person, a traditional chief or a police officer, a neighbour or an NGO. In this article we report on a four-constituency survey administered to explore and understand how citizens choose between the options of local institutions available to them in order to solve a problem important to their community or themselves. We find that formal national (Parliamentarians) and informal traditional (Chiefs) institutions are where respondents turn for assistance most often instead of constitutionally described local modes of governance (District Assemblies). We consider the implications of this finding in terms of decentralisation in Ghana and the need to build institutions that are context-sensitive and reflect how citizens understand political options.     

宪法变通与地方试验

"良性违宪"的出现,是因为宪法和中央法律过多限制了地方自主权。宪法是一部保障而非限制权利的基本法。宪法的根本目的不是通过制度性规定剥夺地方尝试的自由,更不是限制人民的基本自由,而是为所有人保障一个权利底线。在这个底线之上,地方政府可以自由探索对满足当地需要而言最有效的途径。要从根本上解决"良性违宪"所带来的困惑,就必须转变有关中央与地方关系的思维,从制度上保障地方试验的顺利进行。     

地方高校学报建设的现状与发展趋势

期刊市场竟争日趋激烈,优胜劣汰形势严峻,人们越来越感受到了高校学报潜在的危机。而地方高校学报整体上的虚弱态势却日益凸显。如果说地方高校学报的出现有它历史背景的话,那么现在学报面临的困难也自有历史的原因,安于现状和一味埋怨都无济于事,我们需要的是对地方高校学报建设现状的反思,找出症结,开拓新的途径。     

地域文化课程在干部培训中的价值分析

地域文化在干部培训中具有独特的课程价值.地域文化课程不仅有助于干部形成自我意识和体验生命的意义,还能增进干部与群众之间的理解与沟通,有利于弘扬和培育民族精神.     

较大的市制定的地方性法规应当经批准

立法法第 6 3条是立法法的重要内容之一 ,其依据宪法确立的我国省、市立法权限和体制 ,是对我国地方立法实践的科学总结。认真贯彻实施这条规定的新精神 ,对进一步加强立法工作 ,提高立法质量 ,实现到 2 0 10年形成有中国特色社会主义法律体系的目标 ,必将产生积极、深远的影响。     

日本陪审制重建之探究

2009年5月,日本正式实施了于2004年通过的《陪审员法》。这是陪审制阔别日本66年后的重生,是日本司法进入新时代的标志。日本在建立陪审制的过程中,经历过失败,又因为种种原因而无法放弃陪审制。如今,陪审制重建,日本政府吸取了历史教训,从本国司法环境出发,对西方陪审制进行了本土化的改造,并利用5年的时间普及新制,为陪审制的正式实施打下了广泛的民众基础。其改革过程,有许多值得中国司法改革借鉴学习之处。     

Lesbian,Gay and Bisexual Populations: The Role of English Local Government

Abstract

The role of local government has recently come under debate, in the context of state retrenchment, public sector cuts and the marketisation of welfare. Recent discussions have centred on local authorities as leaders, on enterprise and on democracy, but there has been little discussion of local authorities in relation to equalities issues and minority groups. This article examines the role of local government in relation to one minority grouping, Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual (LGB) people, drawing on empirical material gathered from 2007 to 2010 as part of a large Economic and Social Research Council research project. It describes the importance of equalities legislation and related implementation mechanisms in driving forward the LGB equalities agenda, explores aspects of welfare delivery to LGB people and addresses democratic processes. The article suggests that a collision of different forces is currently taking place: the legislation supports the protection of the LGB communities, but this support is undermined by the recession-related and ideologically driven public sector cuts. In addition, aggregate approaches to local democracy may override the interests of minority groups such as LGB people.     

Towards a Model of Local Integrity Systems: The Experiences of Local Government in Great Britain

This article expands upon the concepts of the local integrity system (LIS) and integrity management system through a qualitative analysis of the integrity frameworks for local government in Great Britain. With an emphasis on the recent English experience, but drawing upon the comparative systems in Wales and Scotland, the article demonstrates some ways in which integrity has been developed, led, monitored, and enforced, and discusses the perceptions of leading stakeholders in relation to this. It will argue, in addition, that recent changes brought by the Localism Act 2011, has potentially weakened the English LIS.     

Public services and local government: the end of the principle of ‘funding following duties’

Recent attention to local government finance in England has focused on the substantial cuts in grant funding during the 2010–15 Parliament. However, the newly introduced Business Rates Retention Scheme, which links the distribution of central funding to business rate revenue raised in each local area, constitutes a historically significant disjuncture in the funding of English local authorities. Since the nineteenth century, with the exception of one short period, funding of English local government has followed statutory duties set by Parliament, a principle which underlay a variety of central control and audit regimes throughout the twentieth century. The new system breaks that link, implying a rejection of responsibility for local services by central government. This plays into demands for greater ‘autonomy’ currently emanating from local authorities, but this may not be a panacea for the stretched financial situation that many of them are experiencing at present.