In Asia: Weekly Insight and Features from Asia

Since the London conference on Afghanistan last month, there has been a growing buzz among women’s rights activists about the continued perception that women are absent from policy decisions in Afghanistan, most recently at the negotiating table with the Taliban. To better understand these concerns, it is perhaps prudent to take a step back and decipher the complexities surrounding women’s access to justice and political participation in Afghanistan.

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With just over three and half months left for Nepal’s Constituent Assembly to finalize the new constitution, a new question has emerged in Nepal’s political scene that could further delay the process: Should the ex-Maoist combatants who still remain inside cantonments be integrated into the Nepal Army before or after a new constitution is established?

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The transformation of Indonesia’s political system in the past decade has included a radical overhaul of the country’s governance structure. What some have dubbed the “Big Bang,” responsible for decentralizing a range of public services to the country’s 500 plus regions, has made Indonesia one of the most decentralized countries in the world. Nine years after the decentralization law took effect; however, it is debatable whether efforts to strengthen local governance have indeed improved access to services, particularly for women and the poor.

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As we head into a new decade, what do you see changing in Asia? The Asia Foundation is looking for compelling photos from readers that exemplify change – large or small – in Asia: whether on your travels, in your country, neighborhood, or on your street; socially, economically, culturally, or in global affairs. In two weeks, The Asia Foundation will select five photos, which will then be turned over to our Facebook fans for a final vote. The selected photo will be featured on the homepage of The Asia Foundation’s global website and in our 2010 Flickr Photography Contest album. Visit our Flickr page to learn how to participate.

Photo by Karl Grobl.

Now that the Philippines is gearing up for the May 2010 general elections, and Mindanao looms large as a policy issue, it is worthwhile to look back over the year and examine discussions that took place in 2009 in light of what subsequently transpired. A year ago, ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) gathered newsmakers concerned with Mindanao together for a forum in Davao. ANC broadcast “Mindanao: The Way Forward,” with support from The Asia Foundation and the Embassy of Canada, as a 3-hour special in two segments on February 6 and 7, 2009.

Viewing the show a year later, one is immediately struck by the cruel irony in a comment that Congressman Pax Mangudadatu made at the beginning of the forum that peace and order is not a problem in his province of Sultan Kudarat in Mindanao. On Nov. 23, 2009, it was his family that was the primary victim of the massacre in the neighboring province of Maguindanao when his nephew Esmael Mangudadatu attempted to file papers for his candidacy for governor. Fearing trouble, he sent female relatives, including his wife and journalists, to actually deliver the papers; they were waylaid and more than 50 slain.

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Defence Secretary Robert Gates’ three-day visit to New Delhi last month not only bolstered India’s role in promoting security and stability in Afghanistan and the region, but also boosted bilateral defence cooperation and trade. His visit helps pave the way for President Barack Obama, who is expected to visit India this summer, and helps answer an important question the two countries have asked each other since India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Washington last year: Do we take a “strategic pause” to heal some rising negativity brewing in the relationship, or do we look for the “next big idea” to keep up the momentum?

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News stories have told the stories of thousands of Timorese people who suffered greatly during the 24-year fight for independence from Indonesia. However, perhaps a less told story is that many Timorese were also arbitrarily detained during that period, a violation of the principle of rule of law as stated in the constitution.

On Aug. 30, 1999, 78 percent of Timorese people voted for independence in a United Nations-sponsored referendum. In the beginning of 2002, 88 members of the Constituent Assembly drafted and approved a new constitution that states that Timor-Leste is to be a “sovereign, independent and unitary State based on the rule of law, the will of the people, and the respect for the dignity of the human person.” The new constitution helped to boost the confidence and hope of Timorese citizens in a secure democracy that respects the rule of law.

An officer stationed at the Tabesi Market records a complaint made by a local woman. Through the USAID-funded project Conflict Mitigation through Community-Oriented Policing, The Asia Foundation helps strengthen cooperation between police and communities in Timor-Leste. Photo by Conor Ashleigh.

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As we head into a new decade, what do you see changing in Asia? The Asia Foundation is looking for compelling photos from readers that exemplify change – large or small – in Asia: whether on your travels, in your country, neighborhood, or on your street; socially, economically, culturally, or in global affairs. In three weeks, The Asia Foundation will select five photos, which will then be turned over to our Facebook fans for a final vote. The selected photo will be featured on the homepage of The Asia Foundation’s global website and in our 2010 Flickr Photography Contest album. Visit our Flickr page to learn how to participate.

Photo by Bart Verweij 2009