1. For many women and girls the white, Western liberal ideal of girlhood is neither possible nor desired
Shenila Khoja-Moolji
Structural changes to political and financial institutions are required to improve the wellbeing of women and girls, argues Shenila Khoja-Moolji. Drawing on her research in Pakistan, Khoja-Moolji writes that we should be careful not to assume that there is a single ‘ideal’ of girlhood that everyone should aspire to, nor should we allow feminism to be reduced to window dressing that can be used to transform girls into flexible, low-paid and underemployed workers.
2. Railways and Indian economic development
Latika Chaudhary and Dan Bogart
In 2013, Indian Railways celebrated its 160th anniversary. The first passenger train set off on 16 April 1853 from Mumbai to Thane, 34 kilometres away. Here, Latika Chaudhary and Dan Bogart analyse the economic role of railways in British India.
3. The revised Afghanistan criminal code: an end for Bacha Bazi?
Sayed Jalal Shajjan
The war in Afghanistan has led to a resurgence in the practice of bacha bazi (or ‘boy play’) in Afghanistan. Sayed Jalal Shajjan discusses the inefficacy of allied and local forces in stamping out this abusive practice, as well as their complicity in its existence today.
4. Examining poverty trends in South Asian countries: where is Sri Lanka among its South Asian counterparts?
N.R Ravindra Deyshappriya
South Asia has long accommodated a significantly large share of global income, but high levels of multidimensional poverty compared to other regions. In this blog, N.R Ravindra Deyshappriya argues that the region should look to Sri Lanka to combat poverty.
5. India must remember that Balochistan is not Bangladesh
Ashok Swain
Following Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comments about Balochistan in his Independence Day speech in 2016, Ashok Swain warns that open support for Baloch separatists will not solve the Kashmir conflict.