Secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Jesse Manalastas Robredo – a highly-regarded, multi-awarded public servant, and an internationally recognized expert in local governance – died after the small plane he was in crashed on August 18. For two days, vigils were held, hoping for good news for the fate of Secretary Jesse and his companions (one of whom survived). Upon confirmation of his death on August 21, tributes poured in and President Aquino accompanied his remains to his hometown of Naga City in the Bicol Region.
Secretary Jesse’s claim to fame is no mean feat. As mayor of Naga City for 18 years, he transformed this once lethargic city into a premier city in the Bicol region. He always generously thanked The Asia Foundation for nominating Naga to Asiaweek as a “most improved city” – though ironically the award itself came during the 3-year interregnum between his two long stints in office (while he was at the Harvard Kennedy School as a Mason Fellow) and it was Mayor Cho Roco (brother of Robredo ally Senator Raul Roco) who was pictured in the article.
By the end of his first stint as mayor (1988-1998), Robredo had transformed the city into a model of local governance in the country, and a laboratory of governance innovations – making it a favorite destination for other local governments worldwide in search of governance models. (more…)
In Nepal’s Chitwan District, a 40-year-old widow and mother of two was burnt alive by her family on Feb. 18, 2012. A local shaman and her family members had accused her of using witchcraft to make another family member sick.
A month later in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, another widow was brutally beaten and blinded in both eyes by her siblings for allegedly practicing witchcraft.
Sadly, these acts are not simply those of a few misguided or superstitious individuals; they are part of a troubling trend of increasing gender-based violence in Nepal. Last year, the local NGO Women’s Rehabilitation Center (WOREC) logged 103 cases of violence against women sparked by accusations of witchcraft.
Women in Nepal have long faced inequality, and widows, one of the country’s most marginalized groups, bear the brunt of discrimination. Photo: Kristin Kelly Colombano
Women in Nepal have long faced inequality and discrimination, and equal access to resources and power has been elusive. An estimated 81 percent of women face recurring domestic violence, 50 to75 percent of which goes unreported. Of the reported cases, 70 percent implicate a family member. Furthermore, 43 percent of women experience sexual harassment in the workplace, and between 7,000 and 15,000 girls aged 10-20 years of age are trafficked every year. Nepal also suffers from an extremely high child marriage rate: 51.4 percent of girls are married before 18. Nepal is ranked 112th out of 155 countries on the UNDP’s Gender-Related Development Index. (more…)
