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New Delhi [India], July 24 (ANI): A <keyword id="4261957" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="general-discussion" source="Orion">general discussion</keyword> on the <keyword id="19908389" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Union-Budget" source="keywords">Union Budget</keyword> and the budget for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir for the fiscal year 2024-25 will be held in the <keyword id="19895369" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Rajya-Sabha" source="keywords">Rajya Sabha</keyword> later on Wednesday. <keyword id="19956758" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="finance-minister" source="keywords">Finance Minister</keyword> <keyword id="19916618" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nirmala-Sitharaman" source="keywords">Nirmala Sitharaman</keyword> presented both the Union Budget and the <keyword id="22525621" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jammu-and-Kashmir-Budget" source="keywords">Jammu and Kashmir Budget</keyword> in the House on July 23. The discussion is crucial as both the budgets shape the financial direction of the country and the Union Territory, respectively. The Union Budget outlines the government's revenue and expenditure plans for the upcoming fiscal year, while the budget for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is a significant event considering the developmental needs. As per the list of businesses of the Rajya Sabha, the discussion on these two budgets will be convened later in the day. The discussion over these two budgets is expected to start in the second half of the day. According to the list of business of the Rajya Sabha, the ministers that are set to lay the papers on the table are Jayant Chaudhary for the Ministry of Education; Pankaj Chaudhary for the Ministry of Finance; Nityanand Rai for the Ministry of Home Affairs; and Sukanta Majumdar for the Ministry of Education. Besides, Rajya Sabha Secretary General PC Mody will lay on the table the Public Accounts Committee reports. This includes the 124th Report on Construction of Toilets in Schools by CPSEs; the 125th Report on Rejuvenation of the Ganga (Namami Gange); the 126th Report on Avoidable Payment due to Non-Charging of Service Tax/GST from the Passengers; and the 127th Report on Action Taken by the Government on the Observations and Recommendations of the Committee contained in their 46th Report (16th Lok Sabha) on Implementation of the Public-Private Partnership Project at Chhatrpati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai, among others. The reports were presented to the Speaker on February 23 and April 29, 2024, and to the Chairman, Rajya Sabha, on February 28 and May 13, 2024, before the dissolution of the 17th Lok Sabha. The Speaker had ordered the printing, publication and circulation of the reports. As per the business list of the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju will move the motion for election to the committee on the welfare of other backward classes. Kiren Rijiju will also move the motion for nomination to the committee on the welfare of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. The motion for nomination to the committee on public accounts will also be moved by Union Minister Rijiju in the House today. Moreover, Kiren Rijiju will move the motion for nomination to the committee on public undertakings. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2024-25 on Tuesday during the Monsoon Session of <keyword id="19895397" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Parliament" source="keywords">Parliament</keyword>. Nirmala Sitharaman became the first finance minister to present seven consecutive budget speeches, surpassing former prime minister Morarji Desai's record of six consecutive budgets as finance minister between 1959 and 1964. In her seventh budget, Nirmala Sitharaman outlined key priorities aimed at fostering economic growth and creating ample opportunities. These included productivity and resilience in agriculture, employment, and skilling and services. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday hailed the Union <keyword id="15478236" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="budget-2024" source="Orion">Budget 2024</keyword> presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. "This budget strengthens every section of society. It takes the country's poor, village and farmers on the path of prosperity," the prime minister said in a video message. The Prime Minister praised the budget, emphasising its potential for job generation by incentivizing the top 500 companies to recruit more youth and also induct interns. The PM said the budget would help India achieve its objective of becoming the third largest economy, besides laying a strong foundation for Viksit Bharat. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday also said the Union Budget 2024-25 is game-changing and will go down in history for coupling Bharat's economic growth with the torque of its youth power. He also lauded the government's decision to provide training and internship programmes to youth. The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, welcomed the Union Budget 2024 laid before Parliament on Tuesday. Calling the Union Budget 2024 a 'visionary document', Sonowal said, "The Union Budget, 2024 lays the roadmap for renewed and holistic growth towards Viksit Bharat. This visionary budget is aimed at empowering the 'Garib' (poor), 'Mahilayen' (women), 'Yuva' (youth), and Annadata' (farmers) so that the process of development reaches every citizen of the country." Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Tuesday that Union Budget 2024 stands out for its unprecedented push towards employment generation and powering small businesses.

Rajya Sabha to hold general discussion on Union Budget, Jammu and Kashmir Budget today

<keyword id="19955404" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="finance" source="keywords">Finance</keyword> Minister <keyword id="19916618" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="nirmala-sitharaman" source="keywords">Nirmala Sitharaman</keyword> decided to stick to the path of fiscal consolidation path as she pushed for economic growth and inclusive development in the <keyword id="19906106" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="interim-budget" source="keywords">interim Budget</keyword> 2024-25 presented in <keyword id="19895397" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="parliament" source="keywords">Parliament</keyword> on Thursday. The Finance Minister has reduced the fiscal deficit target to 5.1 per cent of GDP for 2024-25 while increasing the government's capital expenditure on big infrastructure projects to push the economic growth rate. This has been made possible due to the robust increase in tax collections in a fast-growing economy. The allocation for big infrastructure projects to be taken up in 2024-25 has been raised to Rs 11.1 lakh crore which is an 11.1 per cent increase over the previous year. The gross market borrowing of the government has been fixed at Rs 14.13 lakh crore while the net market borrowing is proposed at RS 1.75 lakh crore which is lower than the corresponding figure for 2023-24. "Lower market borrowings by the government will leave more funds for private sector corporates to get loans for investment which will accelerate the country's economic growth further," the Finance Minister said in her Interim Budget speech. The Interim Budget has also created a corpus of Rs 1 lakh crore for a 50-year interest-free loan for the farm sector. The Finance Minister said that she was making any changes in the direct or indirect tax rates in the interim budget. <keyword id="19916494" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sitharaman" source="keywords">Sitharaman</keyword> said that the Indian economy has witnessed a transformational change and fruits have development have started reaching people at a mass scale. "The Modi government's polcy of inclusive development and growth is a deliberate departure from the past governments. Housing water electricity, bank accounts cooking gas have been provided for all. Worries of food have been eliminated with free food for 83 crore people and real incomes have increased," she said. She said the government was committed to social justice with all-round development that would improve the capability of the people and empower them. "Social justice is a necessary model and the government's saturation approach reflects secularism in action that prevents corruption and nepotism. Opportunity for all. Systemic inequality is being addressed for social transformation," she said. Top priority is being given to empower four segments that include the poor, women, youth and farmers for the support of the government, she added. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/interim-budget-2024-speech-updates-and-highlights/articleshow/107313296.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/interim-budget-2024-speech-updates-and-highlights/articleshow/107313296.cms" target="_blank">Interim Budget 2024: FY25 capex hiked 11%; no tax relief, says FM Sitharaman</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/interim-budget-sensex-nifty-open-in-the-green-as-investors-await-blueprint-of-intent/articleshow/107311960.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/interim-budget-sensex-nifty-open-in-the-green-as-investors-await-blueprint-of-intent/articleshow/107311960.cms" target="_blank">Interim Budget: Sensex, Nifty trade flat as FM’s speech concludes</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/markets/news/interim-budget-2024-reactions-by-market-experts-and-economists/articleshow/107318778.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/markets/news/interim-budget-2024-reactions-by-market-experts-and-economists/articleshow/107318778.cms" target="_blank">From research funding to positive fiscal deficit surprise – market watchers, economists praise Interim Budget 2024</a>

Interim Budget hikes outlay on big infra projects to Rs 11.1 lakh crore, cuts fiscal deficit to 5.1% of GDP

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The women's sports merch industry is worth an estimated $4 billion annually, per a new report.</li><li>But fans have complained about a lack of retailers, minimal options, and low inventory.</li></ul>As a two-time All-American, two-time World Cup winner, and National Women's Soccer League champion, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ali-krieger-timeline-each-year-uswnt-nwsl-soccer-career-2023-10">Ali Krieger</a> has had many unforgettable experiences throughout her career.One was the first time she saw a fan wearing her jersey.It was 2007, and Krieger, then 23, was playing for FFC Frankfurt, now known as Eintracht Frankfurt, in the German women's league, Frauen-Bundesliga, when she saw her name emblazoned across a fan's black-and-white jersey."It was a moment I'll never forget," Krieger told Business Insider. "Where you just see at a game and someone says, 'Hey, can you sign my jersey?' And they turn around and it's your name on the back."For her, the experience was a reminder of the passion fans have for the sport and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/paris-olympics-athletes-to-follow-tiktok-2024-6">its athletes</a>."When you invest in a jersey, that means you really appreciate that person, their character, and what they bring to the game," Krieger said. "And I think if you're worth spending money on that, then, you know, you must be doing something right."But not all professional female athletes get to experience a moment like Krieger's.<h2 id="0b95d8e9-a64a-4d06-afa0-cdb82491ef45">Female athletes are fighting to get their names on jerseys</h2><div type="image" title="Mary Earps holds her Golden Glove award after the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup final." height="3436" width="4581" msid="111467133" hostid="261"></div>At the beginning of the 2023 Women's World Cup, England Lionesses goalkeeper and eventual Golden Glove winner Mary Earps questioned <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nikes-sales-to-fall-this-year-as-turnaround-plan-continues-2024-6">Nike's</a> decision not to sell goalkeeper kits, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/24/style/nike-mary-earps-jersey.html">The New York Times</a> reported. (Other companies, including Adidas and Puma, also did not sell goalkeepers' jerseys during the competition.)What followed was social media backlash from fans and Earps, a statement from Nike, thousands of signatures on a Change.org petition, and a motion from a then-member of Parliament before the company publicly reversed its decision in August.When Earps' kit <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/nike-after-criticism-releases-mary-earps-goalkeeper-jersey-2023-10-10/">was finally released</a> in October, she said it sold out the same day.The frustration endured at the club level in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) until this April. In a <a target="_blank" href="https://washingtonspirit.com/blog/2024/04/17/washington-spirit-celebrates-first-ever-fan-goalkeeper-jerseys/">Washington Spirit</a> press release celebrating the league's decision to sell goalkeeper kits, the team's goalkeeper, Aubrey Kingsbury, said, "To have goalkeeper kits available for fans in the women's game as they have been for so long in the men's game is not only a long-awaited move in the right direction, it's just good business."After the league's announcement, Chicago Red Stars and USWNT starting goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher's jersey <a target="_blank" href="https://justwomenssports.com/reads/alyssa-naeher-nwsl-goalkeeper-jerseys-nike-sale/">sold out</a> in less than three hours.While these examples are a good indicator of demand, they also reveal one of the many problems — low inventory — plaguing women's sports merchandising.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.klarna.com/us/shopping/c/rep-her/">Klarna</a>, an AI-powered shopping and payments company, and Sports Innovation Lab, a sports data company, are spotlighting these issues in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.sportsilab.com/free-reports/thefanproject-rep-her">a new report</a>, "Rep Her: Unveiling the Unmet Demand for Women's Sports Merchandise."The report used data, including Klarna payment trends, survey responses, Google Trends, transactional data, and an inventory audit, to examine the women's sports merchandise industry, including inequities in fans' shopping experiences and the potential size of the market. It also considered a variety of merchandise across professional women's sports leagues, including the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/caitlin-clark-popularity-broad-appeal-impact-on-womens-sports-data-2024-6">WNBA</a>, NWSL, WTA, LPGA, and the PWHL.Sports Innovation Lab estimates the women's sports merchandise industry is worth $4 billion — conservatively.<h2 id="a085134a-019e-4d18-9b03-a510924b7725">Sales are hindered by 'a broken buying experience'</h2>The report identifies what it calls "a broken buying experience," which needs to be addressed before the market can be fully realized.People simply don't know where to find merchandise — 32% of fans reported having an issue finding a seller for women's sports merchandise compared to just 18% of fans looking for men's, according to Sports Innovation Lab's 2024 Women's Sports Merchandise Survey.When they do find a seller, some fans are disappointed with the available options. Over a quarter of respondents reported having difficulty finding women's sports merchandise styles they liked, and nearly four-fifths said they think men's merchandise is better quality and has a wider variety.Even when there is an item fans are interested in, there's a chance it will be out of stock — more than half of those who intended to buy an item but didn't blamed a lack of inventory.Ultimately, 79% of fans surveyed said they would purchase more women's sports merchandise if more options were available.<h2 id="61354dd6-e02d-425b-b07a-aae6d6559edb">Major brands have made strides</h2>Nike partners with both the NBA and WNBA, and has provided signature shoe deals to star WNBA players like A'ja Wilson and Caitlin Clark.In February, for the first time, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/collections/national-womens-soccer-league-nwsl-2024-kits-official-images">Nike</a> also provided all 14 NWSL teams with "new, reimagined primary and secondary kits," which fans can purchase, and has made NWSL goalkeeper jerseys from all teams available on its website.But while big brands are making strides in partnering with women's professional teams to create merchandise, the women's sports merch buying experience is still lacking. Sports Innovation Lab's inventory audit found that when comparing products available for men's and women's teams in five of the same cities, 311 pieces of women's apparel were available on the NBA team shops compared to just 38 pieces of women's apparel available on the WNBA team shops.Other brands like Adidas and Puma are more prominent in the international women's sports market, thanks to their investments in major international soccer teams, like Manchester United and Germany and AC Milan and Morocco, respectively. Adidas and Puma sell team jerseys on their company websites.In response to low inventory complaints, major brands have previously said it's hard to predict demand. In 2023, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-08-17/nike-adidas-bet-big-on-women-s-world-cup-football-shirts-and-merch">Bloomberg</a> reported that retailers like Nike, Adidas, and Puma decided "how many replica and authentic jerseys to manufacture for each of the women's teams" months before the Women's World Cup began in July.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bjorn-gulden-is-trying-to-save-adidas-after-yeezy-controversy-2024-3">Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden</a> told Bloomberg "there is no formula" for forecasting demand, while <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/puma-palermo-adidas-samba-gazelle-terrace-footwear-first-quarter-earnings-2024-5">Puma CEO Arne Freundt</a> told the outlet "demand was significantly higher" than they had anticipated.Still, the numbers suggest it's worth the investment.<h2 id="3e9804fb-9bf1-412e-bcab-b6a1c6176e2b">Merchandise boosts community and exposure</h2><div type="image" title="Fans shop for merchandise in the Indiana Fever's team store before a game." height="2666" width="3555" msid="111467125" hostid="261"></div>From the 2022 season to the 2023 season, the NWSL saw a 101% increase in ticket sales, while the WNBA saw a 92% increase, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://support.stubhub.com/articles/61000310107-2023-year-in-live-experiences">StubHub's 2023 Year in Live Experiences</a> report.Meanwhile, the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wnba.com/news/2023-season-record-breaking-success-recap">WNBA</a> reported that the 2023 season was "its most-watched regular season in 21 years." In 2024, there's also the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/caitlin-clark-popularity-broad-appeal-impact-on-womens-sports-data-2024-6">Caitlin Clark effect</a>.Merchandise is a key factor in how <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/caitlin-clark-is-a-rorschach-test-for-sports-media-2024-6">fans of women's sports</a> build community. Some 67% of respondents in Sports Innovation Lab's survey reported purchasing women's sports merchandise without ever going to live games.What brands are missing out on, then, isn't just a revenue opportunity, it's exposure."You're a walking billboard when you have a team's logo on your chest or a league's logo on your chest," Angela Ruggiero, cofounder of Sports Innovation Lab and a four-time Olympic hockey player, told Business Insider.Ruggiero cited the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lebron-james-wnba-hoodie-campaign-nba-bubble-struggle-the-shop-2022-10">WNBA's signature orange hoodie</a>, which created buzz when NBA stars wore it during the 2020 season. It generated feelings of "That represents me, that's more than sport. I want to wear it, I want to go to a game now because I see all these people in orange hoodies and famous people in orange hoodies and like, wow, this is cool," she said.<div type="image" title="The 2024 WNBA Draft Class poses at The Empire State building while wearing the league's signature orange hoodies." height="3333" width="4444" msid="111467127" hostid="261"></div>As more leagues emerge, like the Professional Women's Hockey League, Athletes Unlimited, and League One Volleyball, the fact that the conversation has shifted to merchandise is a reminder of how far the women's game has come in the last 20 years."At the very beginning," Krieger said, "it wasn't really a concern for all of us because we were just so focused on getting our own gear for training and trying to have the accessibility and the resources, and all the things that we needed in order to perform our best just from a player's perspective and then just getting paid what we deserve."Now that some women's sports, like soccer and basketball, are reaching mainstream conversation, merchandise is another step toward building profitable, sustainable leagues and fanbases."It is just such an untapped opportunity," said Megan Gokey, head of business-to-consumer marketing and brand partnerships at Klarna. "The opportunity is there, but brands, retailers, etc. are actually just not keeping up with the demand, which is insane."<h2 id="91674e49-2154-4220-b189-23d4b2c11ee3">Smaller businesses are stepping up</h2>To respond to the increasing excitement around women's sports, smaller brands are paving the way with merchandise.Media and commerce company <a target="_blank" href="https://www.togethxr.com/">Togethxr</a>, which was founded by athletes Alex Morgan, Chloe Kim, Simone Manuel, and Sue Bird, is partnering with Klarna and Krieger to release a limited-edition merchandise collection with a percentage of proceeds going to Billie Jean King's Women's Sports Foundation.Esther Kim's Playa Society is also making waves with its self-proclaimed "best women's sports merch in the game," with items geared toward fans of NCAA women's basketball, the WNBA, and the USWNT. And Athletes Unlimited sells softball, volleyball, basketball, and lacrosse merchandise.<div type="image" title="Four people lined against a wall wearing T-shirts and carrying tote bags from the TOGETHXR merchandise collection." height="3585" width="4780" msid="111467129" hostid="261"></div>Business Insider reached out to Nike, Adidas, and Puma about what each company further plans to do in women's sports merchandise. Adidas said it was "unable to identify a spokesperson" for this subject, while a Puma spokesperson was also unavailable. Nike did not respond.Beyond retailers, team sponsors and partners have a responsibility, too. CarMax, for example, is the marquee partner of the New Jersey and New York NWSL team Gotham FC, as well as a partner of WNBA team New York Liberty. In 2023, the company helped support a "first-of-its-kind" <a target="_blank" href="https://www.gothamfc.com/news_article/show/1282307">joint merchandise collaboration</a> between the teams featuring the tagline "Pass Her The Torch."Building the women's game takes an ecosystem of collaboration involving fans, athletes, leagues, team sponsors, and retailers. Whoever steps up to the plate could reap major rewards."We've been in this movement as female athletes, but everyone thinks it's now just the moment," Krieger said. "This has been the moment for a long time and we've been moving it along for decades. And so now people are just finally getting interested in it and knowing and seeing that we are valuable and that the investment is real and that it's worthwhile."

Women's sports merchandise is an estimated $4 billion industry but fans still can't find the items they're looking for

<ul><li><keyword id="10056242" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="political-shakti">Political Shakti</keyword>’s, a non-partisan collective formed to encourage more women to join the parliament, latest campaign before <keyword id="175111" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bihar-elections">Bihar Elections</keyword> reminds the audience that more women in leadership positions will make for a better democracy.</li><li>The campaign is conceptualised by FCB Ulka.</li></ul>Political Shakti, a non-partisan collective that aims to bring more women in leadership positions in politics, has launched a powerful campaign before Bihar Elections. Conceptualised by FCB, the ad film demands political power for women. Its objective is to enable more women to be elected as MLAs &amp; MPs in the parliament. It talks about how women in India lack basic rights today. Titled Half Is Ours/Aadha Humara, the short film uses two common languages spoken in Bihar i.e., Bhojpuri &amp; Maithili. It puts light on important social issues such as child marriage, lack of access to clean and seperate toilets for girls in school, alarming rate of sexual violence against women in India. <div type="Youtube" id="LOUpkvQWaY0" title="Shakti Half Is Ours/Aadha Humara" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LOUpkvQWaY0/mqdefault.jpg"></div> The ad film leaves the audience with a very important question, “When you can’t see us, how can you see your issues?” To build a safe environment for women in India, it is important to address their issues and let the leaders voice every woman’s concerns in the parliament. More women will make for a better democracy and a happier country, reminds the ad. It has also launched a ‘Selfie Campaign’ that encourages mukhiyas, sarpanches, and women leaders in politics that support Shakti’s cause to click a selfie and advocate for gender equality in politics within their party. For every 10 men in Vidhan Sabha, there is less than 1 woman. Women constitute only 11.8% (64 of 543) seats in the Lok Sabha and 11% (27 out of 245) seats in the Rajya Sabha. A 2017 report by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and UN Women said that between 2010 and 2017, the share of women representatives in the Lok Sabha rose only by 1%. To bridge this gap, Shakti has also joined hands with 120+ Bihar organizations, universities &amp; eminent personalities to demand 50% MLA tickets for women.

This campaign ahead of the Bihar elections reminds people that the country needs more women in politics to help end discrimination against women

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Sir Bernard Jenkin MP said 436 <keyword id="11918053" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="transgender" source="Orion">transgender</keyword> women committed rape between 2012 and 2018. </li><li>The CPS has told Insider that this is not a correct reading of their data, and Jenkin is incorrect. </li></ul>A Conservative MP wrongly suggested 436 <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/uk-governments-lgbtq-rights-record-plan-to-ostracise-trans-people-2022-4?r=US&amp;IR=T">transgender women </a>committed rape between 2012 and 2018, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has confirmed. <a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2022-03-10/debates/1C377E5F-9903-48CD-A036-1F1728D726B2/InternationalWomen%E2%80%99SDay?highlight=witch%20hunt#contribution-38C89591-3C89-4DD0-8175-F13B951A32D8">Speaking</a> at an International Women's Day debate in the Houses of <keyword id="11893698" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="parliament" source="Orion">Parliament</keyword> on 10 March, Sir Bernard Jenkin MP set out his concern that transgender women commit violence against cisgender women. He said:"Nearly all violence against women is committed by men, but there is a new and growing category of violence against women committed by people who call themselves women but are biologically male. We should always respond positively to people with genuine gender dysphoria, and I deliver this speech with kindness in my heart, but the Sexual Offences Act 2003 defines rape as when a person "intentionally penetrates the vagina, anus or mouth of another person…with his penis" without consent. The Crown Prosecution Service reports that between 2012 and 2018 more than 436 cases of rape were recorded as being committed by women. The penis is a male organ, so these rapes are committed by men presenting themselves as women."But the CPS told Insider: "The figures could include cases involving women found guilty of rape as a secondary party and those where women are co-defendants in a case involving a rape offence, as well as those involving transgender women."Labour MP Nadia Whittome described Jenkin's comments as "fanning the flames of hate" in an "already hostile environment for trans people," adding that "he should apologise and correct his misleading comments immediately."Cleo Madeleine, a spokesperson at trans charity Gendered Intelligence, told Insider: "It is an all-too common strategy of anti-trans groups - particularly in Parliament - to portray trans women as predators."The CPS is correct, and the claim that 436 rapes were committed by trans women between 2012 and 2018 based is a complete fiction based on a narrow and prejudiced interpretation of the legal definition of rape." Making such "false claims" can harm abuse survivors of all genders, she added."By spreading misinformation around sexual assault these claims obstruct the work of institutions like the CPS and erase the experiences of survivors."Jenkin did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. This news comes just after the Government canceled its "Safe to be Me" conference on LGBTQ+ rights, after <a href="https://www.consortium.lgbt/banconversiontherapy/">several groups withdrew support</a> for the event in response to a U-turn on banning conversion therapy for trans people. The decision on conversion therapy – which has been long awaited – received significant backlash from within the Conservative party. Tory MPs Dehenna Davison and William Wragg are among those to have gone public with their dismay.Jamie Wallis, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jamie-wallis-comes-out-as-first-transgender-mp-and-reveals-they-were-raped-2022-3?r=US&amp;IR=T">the first MP to come out as transgender,</a> said he was "bitterly disappointed" that gender identity does not come into the ban on conversion therapy. Speaking on Wednesday, Boris Johnson told UK broadcasters he was "very proud" to have banned conversion therapy on the subject of sexuality, but said there are "complexities and sensitivities when you move from the area sexualities to the question of gender." He added: "This is something that —frankly, for people like me — this isn't something that I thought I'd have to consider in great detail. These are novel concepts." Johnson also said that "biological males" should not be competing in women's sporting events, and that "women should have spaces that are dedicated to women," adding "that's as far as my thinking has developed on the issue."Health secretary Sajid Javid also defended the government's decision not to ban conversion therapy Wednesday morning, saying that children can experience gender dysphoria as a result of child sex abuse and bullying. However, the British Psychological Association <a href="https://www.bps.org.uk/news-and-policy/decision-exclude-transgender-people-conversion-therapy-ban-deeply-worrying-says-bps">said it is "deeply worrying"</a> that the government are not banning conversion therapy for trans people, saying such therapies are "unethical and potentially harmful."

MP wrongly suggested 436 transgender women committed rape between 2012 and 2018, says Crown Prosecution Service

Women in Iceland want you to know it's not a gender equality utopia, despite what the statistics say

<ul><li>Former PM Rajiv Gandhi said, “Do not design this office for me but design it for the Prime Minister of India.” </li><li>All working women are constantly challenged because we live parallel lives.</li></ul>I have been asked to speak about my journey as an entrepreneur and a design professional. Let me begin by saying that when I began work as an interior designer and furniture manufacturer in 1971, there were no words such as “entrepreneur” or “branding” or things like Instagram and various other forms of social media that exist today. I became a designer because of family influences and growing in a city like Lucknow which is imbued with tehzeeb and nazakat. I do not think I could have been a designer if I had had parents other than those I was blessed with. They were interested in reading and the acquisition of knowledge. My father believed that books would always remain the central element of civilisation. For us knowledge came from immersive reading, and we were voracious readers. We were always interested in places and peoples. We delighted in reading the atlas and dictionaries. In the last 50 years there have been so many places which were our dream destinations, and which one has now visited……… and many places like Machu Picchu that one has not! Perhaps it is still not too late. Because of our father’s immense love for travel and discovery we saw so much of India. The first heritage site that I ever visited was at the age of nine. That was Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu and the Temple of the Tooth and the Botanical Gardens in Kandy in Ceylon. All of these were early influences and have influenced my design sensibilities. I have a very contemporary mindset but one that is also deeply grounded in our own heritage. This is because one has had the good fortune of travelling through the length and breadth of India. Much as one has enjoyed the cultures of other countries, I have a deep and constant curiosity about our own country. All this informs the way I work. As far as design education is concerned, I became a designer by accident – serendipitously so! The study of literature and Hindustani classical music enriched my mindscape. I do not have formal training in design but grew up surrounded by design…….. with my father visiting many auction houses and kabadiwalas in Lucknow. It fills me with quiet pride that, as a woman without any formal training in design, I became the first designer in India, man or woman, to be conferred the <keyword id="25105" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="padma-shri" source="Orion">Padma Shri</keyword> in 1992. I was reasonably young to be bestowed this honour and I thought at that time that it would open the floodgates to many more interior designers. I have also had the distinction of being the first architect or designer from India to be invited to give an illustrated talk in 2003, at the National Building Museum in Washington DC. This museum is the most visited museum of architecture in the world. Its atrium is the venue of the first presidential ball after a new president has been sworn in. In 2014, I was appointed Chairperson of the Board School of Planning and Architecture in Bhopal, a National Institute of Excellence. That was also a first! But, if you ask me whether I was working towards breaking these glass ceilings, then the answer would be an emphatic no! These happened along the way, as a natural progression in a career in which one had put in much hard work. In my profession one is as good as one’s last project. That gets one more work and not because they like your face. No client is going to spend millions of dollars commissioning you to design their hotel if they do not believe in your talent and your ability to deliver. <div type="image" title="05 South Drawing Room, Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi" msid="98578011" hostid="261" sizebytes="111308" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;South Drawing Room, Rashtrapati Bhawan&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> From 1985 to 1989, I worked on the restoration and conservation of the Rashtrapati Bhavan and in 1988 to 1989 on Hyderabad House. That was the first time that HH was closed for nine months because it was not just the interior decoration that was attended to but also all the interior architecture and services like air conditioning. I designed both the decrepit courtyards in a Lutyensesque style and restored the gardens in Hyderabad House. As far as British buildings in New Delhi are concerned, I had the great privilege of working in the Prime Minister’s Office and Secretariat in South Block. And am happy to note that it has remained unchanged through the tenures of the last nine Prime Ministers. The primary reason for this was the brief from the former PM, Rajiv Gandhi…… “do not design this Office for me but design it for the Prime Minister of India”. I followed this brief and worked on the building as these I firmly believe belong to the nation. His second brief was that he wanted his executive chair to be the same height as his visitors’ chairs. These are all very telling traits of character. I also designed the official residence of the Prime Minister along with restoring the two buildings that comprise the Indira Gandhi Memorial Museum. In New Delhi one has also designed the interiors of the British Council Building and Library. In my career this has been a landmark project because this is the largest of their 80 institutes worldwide. It was inaugurated in 1992 by HRH the Prince of Wales. When we were presented to him, he had a very interesting conversation with me regarding the buildings on either side of the British Council. He certainly has a keen eye for architecture. <div type="image" title="03 National Assembly Building in Thimpu, Bhutan" msid="98578068" hostid="261" sizebytes="195996" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;National Assembly Building, Bhutan&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Another landmark building for me in 1989 was the <keyword id="1142396" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="parliament-building" source="Orion">Parliament Building</keyword> in Bhutan called the National Assembly Building. For me, this was a completely new area of research. In those days so little was known of the art and architecture of Bhutan and neither were any books available. Immersive travelling through Bhutan, to familiarise myself with its architecture and its arts and crafts became essential. His Majesty’s office appointed as my guide, Dasho Khandu who was a living encyclopaedia on Bhutanese art and architecture. These have been amazing projects of learning for me. I like to deeply research new places and new cultures. So maybe, at the end of the day, I think this profession chose me and one is fortunate as this process of working suits my mindset. In a long design career of 50 years, I had a break in 1998. I had simply fallen off a ladder in the house and had fractured two of my cerebral vertebrae. That is when I decided I would stop designing hotels which I had done for the past almost 30 years. At that point I thought I would just design residences in and around India and not travel out to Egypt, Bhutan, England, Timbuktu, etc. But life had other plans! I went on to design a large residence in Sri Lanka and was commissioned to design a boutique hotel in the old city of Lahore. Sadly, that project was eventually abandoned. When I was in Lahore for their Literary Festival at the end of February this year when I saw this building standing as is, it made me quite nostalgic. Lahore is a beautiful city and the people are very hospitable. Along this design journey many institutions have asked me to come to give illustrated lectures. For the ‘Millennium Book on Delhi’, I was one of the eight contributors who wrote an extended essay on ‘The Planning of New Delhi’. <keyword id="118548" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="oxford-university-press" source="Orion">Oxford University Press</keyword>, the publishers of the book have a world-wide reach. That is how the Kennedy School of Government in Harvard University heard of this unknown Indian and invited me to give an illustrated talk. Thus began a parallel career in being a speaker. Since Harvard one has given many lectures in many universities and institutions in the US, the UK and in South East Asia on design, architecture, conservation, literature, on ‘Mughal Jewellery as a Statement of Empire’, world heritage cultural sites in India and on social entrepreneurship. One has always believed that women such as oneself are privileged because we are educated. Never mind that we belong to the working classes! We must, with humility and gratitude, help those that are less fortunate. One has been deeply associated with ‘Satyagyan Foundation’ which was an affiliate of ‘World Literacy Canada’. Based in Varanasi, we have worked in about 400 slum areas and have altogether made 23,000 women literate. One has also been associated with ‘Save a Mother’ which was started by the amazing Dr Shiban Gunju. He has reduced the mortality rate of pregnant women by 93%. One was the founding member and last chairperson of ‘Umang’, an NGO that worked for the betterment of street children. These have been my interests and each has been a milestone. Another milestone was co-authoring ‘The Lucknow Cookbook’ with my mother. It is now in its tenth print run and has been declared a classic by Aleph, the publishers. More recently I produced and edited the large formatted book, ‘Kala - Essays on Contemporary Design Aesthetics’ which was launched in Dubai in 2019 by Sheikh Nahan and in October 2022. It had its first proper launches in Milan and London by Artize of the Jaquar Group. In November 2022, it was launched in New York and most recently in February 2023 at the ‘Lahore Literary Festival’. Every stage in life has its own milestones particularly if one is also a wife, a mother and a grandmother. All working women are constantly challenged because we live parallel lives. For me every project, whether large or small, has been a challenge. It has all added to my body of work and to my learning curve. I have never thought of myself as a woman doing all these things……. I think one creates one’s own benchmark and this is the way one has moved forward. I am still working and writing more books as our daughter, the award-winning architect <keyword id="8435490" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="kohelika-kohli" source="Orion">Kohelika Kohli</keyword>, has taken over the business of running K2India. She has just launched her new brand of furniture called KOKO by K2India. One feels justifiably proud that one must have done something right. One gave them the tools of a fine education and took them travelling to broaden their minds. And then left them to follow their own passions. (The writer is an award winning architect and an author)

A Padma Shri winning architect takes us through her journey from Lucknow to Lutyens

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A new UN report found that women in Ukraine experience systematic sexual violence by Russian troops.</li><li>Women as old as 83 have been raped while their families were forced to listen to the brutal attacks.</li></ul>As the Russian invasion of Ukraine drags into its 19th month, international watchdogs say they have found continued evidence of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-committed-war-crimes-ukraine-tortured-raped-children-un-investigation-2022-9">systemic sexual violence</a> against women in regions occupied by invading troops.The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-war-has-displaced-more-people-than-since-wwii-2023-3">United Nations' Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine</a> released a report Monday detailing the findings of investigators who verified reports of war crimes after multiple evidence-gathering trips to occupied Ukraine."The Commission has found that in the Kherson region, Russian soldiers raped and committed sexual violence against women of ages ranging from 19 to 83 years, often together with threats or commission of other violations," the latest UN <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/coiukraine/20230923-Oral-Update-IICIU-EN.pdf">report</a> reads. "Frequently, family members were kept in an adjacent room, thereby forced to hear the violations taking place."Representatives for Ukraine's Ministry of Defense, the Government of the Russian Federation, and the UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider.Insider previously reported on the case of a woman who recounted being <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukrainian-woman-raped-by-russian-soldiers-sexual-violence-investigation-2022-3">raped by Russian soldiers</a> who killed her husband. The woman ushered her crying 4-year-old son to the next room before the attack, but his cries so angered her attackers that they threatened, with a gun to her head, to "show him his mother's brains spread around the house," she said in an interview with <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/one-soldier-raped-me-then-the-other-as-my-son-cried-7xbqwzdqw">The Times of London</a>."We have reports of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-defector-says-ex-comrades-include-rapists-maniacs-like-killing-2022-12">women being gang-raped</a>. These women are usually the ones who are unable to get out. We are talking about senior citizens," Lesia Vasylenko, a member of Ukraine's parliament, said early last year, not long after the invasion began. "Most of these women have either been executed after the crime of rape or they have taken their own lives."<div type="image" title="A line of women wearing black plastic bags over their heads stand with their hands tied behind their backs in protest of sexual violence against women in Ukraine committed by Russian troops. One woman holds a sign which reads &quot;Putin is a rapist.&quot;" height="4044" width="5392" msid="103944694" hostid="261" sizebytes="1019314"></div>Since Vasylenko's comments last March, reports of widespread sexual violence perpetrated by Russian troops, at times <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-commanders-ordered-sexual-violence-in-ukraine-investigator-2022-11">encouraged by commanding officers</a>, have increased, prompting international investigations into the incidents. Major protests have occurred in England and Poland against the atrocities, which have targeted civilians in occupied regions, including Kherson and Bucha.Though women of all ages are the most frequent targets of sexual violence, Russians use rape as a "deliberate tactic" to dehumanize victims regardless of sex, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-soldiers-supplied-with-viagra-to-rape-ukrainians-un-official-2022-10">Insider previously reported</a>."When women are held for days and raped, when you start to rape little boys and men, when you see a series of genital mutilations, when you hear women testify about Russian soldiers equipped with Viagra, it's clearly a military strategy," Pramila Patten, the UN's special representative on sexual violence in conflict, told AFP, <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20221014-rape-used-in-ukraine-as-a-russian-military-strategy-un" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">per France 24.</a><h2>Rape as a weapon of war</h2>While the reports of the rapes are no doubt troubling, sexual violence is frequently documented during wartime. <a href="https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/RS-Eng.pdf">The Rome Statute</a> of the International Criminal Court classifies rape and sexual violence, including <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-officers-used-female-medics-as-sex-slaves-solider-says-2023-3">sexual slavery</a>, forced prostitution, and sterilization, as a type of war crime and a crime against humanity, depending on the context under which the crimes are committed."Rape committed during war is often intended to terrorize the population, break up families, destroy communities, and, in some instances, change the ethnic make-up of the next generation," reads a 2014 UN <a href="https://www.un.org/en/preventgenocide/rwanda/assets/pdf/Backgrounder%20Sexual%20Violence%202014.pdf">report</a> on sexual violence during war, which highlighted sexual violence during the Rwandan genocide. Between 100,000 and 250,000 women were raped over three months in 1994, according to the report. At least 200,000 women were raped in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 1998, and hundreds of thousands more during wars in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and the former Yugoslavia, it said."Sometimes it is also used to deliberately infect women with HIV or render women from the targeted community incapable of bearing children," the 2014 report adds.Although international law provides protections against rape and sexual violence, enforcement of the provisions is weak, according to a report by the <a href="https://www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/devastating-use-sexual-violence-weapon-war">Council on Foreign Relations</a>, a nonpartisan think tank. The International Crime Court has launched an investigation into alleged war crimes in Ukraine, though legal action is unlikely to come for many years — if it comes at all."International law is largely ineffective at preventing rape and sexual violence in conflict," according to the Council on Foreign Relations, which advocates for a pragmatic approach to helping survivors, rather than focusing on the near-impossible task of ending sexual violence during wartime. "Survivor-centered training and aid is the best way to support victims of sexual violence and to help them cope with the trauma, stigma, and the health consequences stemming from conflict-related sexual violence."

Russian troops raped women as old as 83 while their families were forced to listen

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A former member of <keyword id="11985141" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ukraine" source="Orion">Ukraine</keyword>'s Parliament spoke to Insider about the ongoing Russian assault.</li><li>Hanna Hopko urged average American and European citizens to find ways to help Ukrainians.</li></ul>Hanna Hopko cries frequently these days. The Ukrainian activist and former member of Ukraine's parliament has dedicated much of her life to serving her country — the same country that now finds itself in the throes of a brutal, unprovoked war as Russian forces continue their attacks across Ukraine.The heartbreaking images and stories coming out of Ukraine each day are impossible to stomach, Hopko told Insider. But keeping herself busy — and helpful — is crucial amid <keyword id="11894337" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="russia" source="Orion">Russia</keyword>'s ongoing assault. Hopko was in Kyiv as the tanks rolled into Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday, February 24, but has since made her way to Poland, where she is holding regular meetings with foreign delegations and <keyword id="6356001" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="international" source="Orion">international</keyword> leaders on behalf of Ukraine. Since the war began, Hopko has met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Belgium's minister of foreign affairs, members of the Estonian Parliament, and several other dignitaries in an effort to secure international assistance for her nation. "There are a lot of foreigners coming so I need to stay here and advocate for more support for Ukraine," she told Insider. "I'm more effective here than I used to be near Kyiv."Being away isn't easy, though, especially with her husband still in Ukraine, defending their home country. Their guinea pig, whom Hopko said was a cherished family member, is also back in Kyiv, staying with a friend. Hopko spoke to Insider from Poland on Friday, March 11, where she discussed the work she's been doing on behalf of Ukraine since Russia invaded three weeks ago. She also highlighted Ukraine's demands of its international allies and urged everyday citizens to get involved. This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length.You were in Kyiv three weeks ago when the Russian troops first rolled into the country, correct? What was that experience like?Yes, I was in Kyiv. It's a very painful experience because when they started the war, [I actually found out] that [I was] on an assassination list. Russia identified political figures, activists, and others.Many foreign experts and my friends told me, "Hanna, you should be leaving Kyiv, not staying there, because if [the Russians] manage to occupy Kyiv, then they will start using your phone number and new technologies to find out where you are, so it's very dangerous for you. And with all your experience you have to work for your country and not sit in fear that they could kill you."What was your response when you found out you were on a targeted list? Were you afraid?No. It made me even stronger to make Ukraine's victory happen. Because without Ukrainian victory there will never be sustainable peace. People like me and my friends from different civil society organizations and from parliament, we will be on the [Russian target lists] to be killed or to be poisoned every time. Since 2016, I've been on the sanction list of the Russian Federation [because of] my service as the head of the [Committee on Foreign Affairs for Ukraine's Parliament]. But of course, as a mother of an 11-year-old daughter — she will turn 11 this March — it's a sad moment that you don't actually know what could happen.Is it difficult to be separated from your husband who is still in Ukraine right now? It is important to be together, especially in this hellish nightmare of times. But now it's important to know what everyone in our family can do most effectively for our country. It's not about us.After the situation in Mariupol, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/zelenskyy-condemns-russia-direct-strike-at-mariupol-maternity-hospital-2022-3">when the hospital was bombed</a> — this tragic event, these war crimes — it's important to do everything possible to stop Putin and to punish Putin. So this is why, for me, we have to defend Ukraine and not allow Putin to take control of Kyiv.So of course, it's hard because my husband is not with us. Our guinea pig is at our friend's house near Kyiv. We miss Kyiv and there were many heartbroken times that I was just crying and could not stop. I even <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/katy-tur/watch/-this-is-about-humanity-ukrainian-politician-on-why-ukraine-needs-a-no-fly-zone-134886469569">cried many times during my interviews at different international TV channels</a>, because it's something that you cannot accept, this new reality, to see newborn kids in the bomb shelters. And yesterday, I saw [pictures of] the body of a little Ukrainian girl found in the debris of a Russian attack, so I was crying again.A day ago, I told myself "Stop crying. You have to be strong. Because the stronger you are, the more efficient you will be to your nation." Then I saw pictures of [Serhiy Perebyinis's] family. The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/photojournalist-who-took-new-york-times-front-page-war-crime-2022-3">Russians killed his beautiful wife and two kids</a> while they attempted to evacuate from Irpin, a small town near Kyiv. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukrainian-man-learned-of-familys-death-on-twitter-2022-3">And this poor guy learned about their deaths from Twitter.</a>I saw this and started crying again. Because this is my nation and my people. And of course, as a human being, I don't even have words to say what this is.How are your meetings with international leaders going? What are you asking of Ukraine's allies?From civilized nations, we want them to protect Ukraine because it's about humanity. Also, the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/02/01/what-budapest-memorandum-means-us-ukraine/">US is a security guarantor of Ukraine.</a>We know that<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/exclusive-americans-broadly-support-ukraine-no-fly-zone-russia-oil-ban-poll-2022-03-04/"> American people support the no-fly zone</a>, more than 70%.Editor's Note: Polling on Americans' support for a no-fly zone has been <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/10/these-no-fly-zone-polls-still-wont-fly/">inconsistent</a>. One poll conducted by <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/exclusive-americans-broadly-support-ukraine-no-fly-zone-russia-oil-ban-poll-2022-03-04/">Reuters/Ipsos</a> found nearly 74% of Americans supported the step, while a separate <a href="https://docs.cdn.yougov.com/qtaw15lnp8/econTabReport.pdf">YouGov poll</a> for The Economist, found only 45% approved of the measure. <div type="image" title="Antony Blinken sits with members of Ukrainian Civil Society. Hanna Hopko sits to the left of Blinken." height="3800" width="7600" msid="90302393" hostid="261"></div><keyword id="11893896" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="nato" source="Orion">NATO</keyword> and its member countries have said <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-ruled-out-no-fly-zone-over-ukraine-zelensky-russia-2022-3">repeatedly that they will not impose a no-fly zone</a> due to concerns that it could draw them into a war with Russia. Do you understand their reasoning? What is your response to that explanation?There is no explanation [for why] you are not acting when Russia is bombing residential areas, killing kids; there is no explanation for why you are not acting. Besides the <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2019/12/05/why-care-about-ukraine-and-the-budapest-memorandum/">security guarantees provided for us during the Clinton [era</a>], there is the question of why NATO is not afraid that if Putin attacks Ukraine and Ukraine fails, then the NATO members will be next. So Ukrainian victory is really important for the NATO members. Do you think NATO and allied countries are aware of these points? Do you understand why they're hesitant to get more involved?It seems like the US is lacking leadership and lacking strategy toward Russia. They have plans for what to do with a failed Ukraine, but they don't know what to do with a Ukraine that is defeating Russia. Russia is failing in Ukraine, so they don't have a concept of what to do with Russia, which is being defeated by the Ukrainian army and by the fighting spirit of the Ukrainian nation. So this is why the bureaucracy is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/poland-mig29-fighter-jet-offer-for-ukraine-hits-us-objections-2022-3">so slow to react with fighter jets for us</a>. But not just fighter jets, but all ammunition, all military assistance, like jets, Javelins, and drones.Editor's note: On Wednesday, March 16, five days after this interview, US President Joe Biden announced an additional $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine, bringing the total to $1 billion this week. Biden said <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-us-to-send-most-cutting-edge-systems-to-help-ukraine-2022-3">the US will send its "most cutting-edge" systems to the country</a>, including 800 anti-aircraft systems, 9,000 anti-armor systems, 7,000 small arms, and 20 million rounds of ammunition. Congress also passed <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/10/world/europe/congress-approves-13-6-billion-in-emergency-aid-for-ukraine.html">a spending bill that includes $13.6 billion</a> in aid to Ukraine.Beyond the no-fly zone, what are your most pressing demands of NATO and allied countries right now?Provide maximum military assistance to Ukraine, like anti-aircraft and air-defense missiles, protective gear, and security communications. Within the 16 days of Russia's full-scale war, we have proved that we are very strong on ground battle. We are not allowing Russians to occupy new cities or Kyiv. But our weak side is anti-air protection and anti-missiles. We need air defense missiles and anti-aircraft. This is of crucial importance.Second, what we demand is to press Putin through different international organizations and to allow the Red Cross to save lives with green corridors and help with evacuation and food supply. The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/besieged-ukraine-mariupol-mass-graves-killings-civilians-continue-russian-invasion-2022-3">hellish nightmare situation in Mariupol</a> means 400,000 citizens are hostages and they are drinking water from boiling snow because <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraines-mariupol-says-citys-last-reserves-food-water-are-running-out-2022-03-13/">there is no gas or electricity</a>. <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/ukraine-president-says-child-died-dehydration-besieged-mariupol-2022-03-08/">One kid died of dehydration.</a> Green corridors are about saving lives. We are also demanding — and we are working on this — we've started collecting evidence to establish an international tribunal to prosecute Putin for war crimes and crimes against humanity. And not just Putin, but Putin's people, too. Also, sanctions against Putin's oligarchs and their families, deportations from Western countries, and an embargo on oil.Editor's note: The Biden administration said its assistance <a href="https://twitter.com/talschneider/status/1504148072389033989?s=20&amp;t=c58C7YSgVlGTqVqf7HqW4w">package</a> announced Wednesday will include Javelin anti-tank missiles and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, shoulder-fired AT-4 weapons to be used against armored vehicles, mortar rounds, body armor, helmets, and an unspecified make of "tactical" drones.Do you have hope that more assistance will be coming?I do hope there will be more, but look, time matters here. We cannot just sit and hear explanations that this is because of bureaucracy. No. We can save people. Children will die. So, my question is: Does morality end at the NATO border?What do you want Americans or Europeans to know about the situation in Ukraine?The victory of Ukraine defends you and the world from tyranny, from genocide, from nuclear threats. Please stop Putin and you will avoid a new war. It's in your interest also. What I said before: Does morality end at the NATO border? No. And that's why I'm asking President Biden to demonstrate leadership in standing up to Putin's expansionism campaign.<div type="image" title="Ukrainian refugees in Poland" height="1000" width="2000" msid="90302395" hostid="261"></div>What can the average American or European citizen who is watching this war unfold do to help Ukraine right now?They can write and sign petitions to the American president like we did. Seventy women in Ukraine, activists, and politicians, <a href="https://www.eurointegration.com.ua/eng/articles/2022/03/8/7135552/">signed a letter to Biden</a> with all of our demands. So, follow the demands in our letter and you could initiate something similar.On a political level — work with Congress and the White House. Second: collect money and donate to the Ukrainian army or <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-international-legion-foreigners-join-fight-2022-2">join the [International Legion]</a> to stop Russians or <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-help-ukrainians-after-russia-launched-invasion-2022-2">help Ukrainian refugees</a> because they are smart people and they could contribute to different nations and also contribute to your country. They have experience in local municipalities, in business. We are a very educated nation, so this is why it's very important we contribute to the development of the world. Editor's note: The US State Department on Friday, March 11, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-state-dept-warns-americans-not-travel-ukraine-2022-03-12/">warned US citizens from going to Ukraine to participate in the fight</a> amid <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-3000-americans-have-volunteered-to-fight-russian-invaders-2022-3">reports of Americans traveling to the besieged country</a> to assist Ukraine in its war efforts. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said those who go risk "capture or death," and emphasized that the US is unable to provide assistance to Americans who choose to go. Do you have any other messages you'd like to share?I invite Americans to visit Ukraine because there is no doubt that Ukraine will win and prevail. We have more than 1,000 years of history. We have survived, even during the last century, during two World Wars. In America, you build your nation saying, "In God We Trust." We in Ukraine, trust in God, but we would also like to see and trust in NATO and the US because it's also now about the credibility of international organizations.It's not just about us. Putin is already attacking American society via cyber attacks. So this is why it's about your protection. We are one of the oldest nations on the European continent so it's in God's plan to save us. So, either you join us and help us defeat this tyranny or you will, for many years, be shameful for not stopping Putin.

Former Ukrainian Parliament member tells Insider the US and allied countries must do more: 'Does morality end at the NATO border?'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>President <keyword id="11985142" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="volodymyr-zelensky" source="Orion">Volodymyr Zelensky</keyword> criticized NATO countries on Monday for refusing to enforce a no-fly zone over <keyword id="11985141" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ukraine" source="Orion">Ukraine</keyword>.</li><li>Vladimir Putin has also warned the West against declaring a no-fly zone.</li></ul>Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized NATO countries on Monday for refusing to enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine, pushing the West to do more to repel <keyword id="11894337" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="russia" source="Orion">Russia</keyword>'s invasion while also vowing that Ukraine would not yield to the Russians just like the British people stood up to the Nazis in World War II."We did feel that, unfortunately, the alliance does not work properly," <a href="https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/1501245146024886272">Zelensky said during a video address</a> to the House of Commons, according to a simultaneous translation of his remarks. Zelensky has expressed outrage over the West's refusal to do more to repel the Russian invasion, pointing out that women and children continue to be killed in the interim.Ukraine is not a NATO member and while countries in the alliance are shipping lethal aid like anti-aircraft missiles and sniper rifles, they've stopped short of their forces entering the war zone.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-ruled-out-no-fly-zone-over-ukraine-zelensky-russia-2022-3">President Joe Biden</a>, Prime Minister <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/01/calls-grow-no-fly-zone-over-ukraine-heres-what-it-would-mean/">Boris Johnson</a>, and other top NATO leaders have repeatedly ruled out declaring a no-fly zone, a move that <a href="https://www.rferl.org/a/putin-nofly-zone-war/31737799.html">Putin warned</a> would be tantamount to becoming a participant in the war. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=Jens+Stoltenberg+no+fly+zone+insider&amp;oq=Jens+Stoltenberg+no+fly+zone+insider&amp;aqs=chrome..69i57j33i160.3721j0j4&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8">has also declined to support</a> such an action since it would almost certainly require Western nations to enforce such a declaration by shooting down Russian aircraft. In the US' case, this <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-gop-critics-on-ukraine-ignore-the-danger-of-us-war-with-russia-2022-2">risks an active shooting war between the world's two largest nuclear powers. </a>Johnson, who was in attendance for Zelensky's speech, joined members of Parliament and even Speaker Lindsay Hoyle in giving Zelensky a rousing standing ovation. Normally, it is a breach of Parliament's rules for members to openly applaud. MPs wearing headphones for simultaneous translation filled the floor of the House of Commons for the speech, with members of the House of Lords and other MPs spilling into the galleries. They were joined by the Ukrainian ambassador to the UK, Vadym Prystaiko, who was welcomed by the Speaker. Some MPs were dressed in blue and yellow, while others wore lapel pins of the Union Jack with the Ukrainian flag, or blue and yellow ribbons and ties. One Conservative MP, Pauline Latham, wore a ribbon next to the medal given to her when she was awarded with the Ukrainian Order of Merit in January 2020.Zelensky ended his address by invoking William Shakespeare's famous question of "To be or Not to be?," vowing that the Ukrainian people's answer can be found in the modern equivalent to Prime Minister Winston Churchill's own words.Churchill famously declared the nation "would never surrender" to Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich. Churchill's speech before the House of Commons in 1940, often referred to as the "<a href="https://winstonchurchill.org/resources/speeches/1940-the-finest-hour/we-shall-fight-on-the-beaches/">We shall fight on the beaches</a>," is among the most famous addresses in history. His speech came as Hitler's Blitzkrieg stormed across Europe, taking France and other nations as the US remained on the sidelines. British troops barely evacuated Dunkirk before Germany began its relentless bombing campaign of London. "And I would like to remind you the words that the United Kingdom have already heard, which are important again," Zelensky said. "We will not give up and we will not lose. We will fight till the end at sea and in the air, we will continue fighting for our land whatever the costs. We will fight in the forests, in the fields, on the shores, in the streets."Johnson told MPs that Zelensky "is standing firm for democracy and freedom" from the "great European capital" of Kyiv, "now within range of Russian guns"." I think today, one of the proudest boasts in the free world is: Ya Ukrainets' – 'I am a Ukrainian'," he said.

Zelensky criticizes NATO and invokes Churchill in defiant speech to UK's Parliament

<ul><li>The number of members of Parliament under the age of 40 has risen for the first time.</li><li>The number of women members has steadily increased since 2004.</li><li>Politics remains dominated by career politicians, agriculturists, and businessmen.</li></ul>India is the world's fastest growing economy. However, there are varied opinions on whether it is a fast evolving society. Some digging into the profile of the recently elected representatives for the Lok Sabha, the lower house of India's Parliament, would suggest that India is moving forward although at a slow pace. The seventeenth Lok Sabha is a lot younger, it has more women but not enough, and it is more educated than any time in the past. Age is not a number 12% of the members are below the age 40 years compared to 8% in the last five years, according to data analysed by research organisation PRS Legislative. This is the first time since independence that the number of Parliamentarians under 40 has increased compared to the year earlier. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 "The proportion of MPs below 40 years of age had steadily declined from 26% in the first Lok Sabha," the PRS note said. While the representation has slightly increased this time, it is nowhere close to reflecting India's demography where 65% of the population is under the age of 35. By 2020, India is poised to become <a href="https://yourstory.com/2019/05/elections-2019-young-india-voters" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">the youngest country in the world</a> with an average age of 29 years. Education matters 394 of the 543 members of Parliament this time have are graduates, that's a good 72%. Nearly 30% either have a post graduate degree or a Ph.D. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 A sliver of hope for women Women continue to under represented in the Lok Sabha. The number of women members has increased from 11.6% in 2014 to 14.6% in 2019. In absolute terms, the number has increased from 63 to 79. But the 85% males continue to dominate India's law making exercise. The silver lining is that the proportion of women lawmakers has consistently increased in the last 15 years, although very slowly, according to data from PRS. 
 
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
 
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 Rwanda (61%), South Africa (43%), UK (32%), USA (24%), and Bangladesh (21%) have more women representing the electorate than India. Professionals in politics In India, politics is not for everyone. The break-up of the professions declared by the elected members shows that nearly 40% of them are dedicated to politics or social service. Over 60% are into either agriculture or business. A measly 13% come from other professions like law, teaching, 0r the arts. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/pm-narendra-modi-second-oath-taking-ceremony-updates/articleshow/69574162.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Narendra Modi and his ministers will take oath at 7 pm-- hogging all the prime time attention</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/pm-narendra-modi-second-oath-taking-ceremony-updates/articleshow/69574162.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&amp;utm_medium=text&amp;utm_campaign=cppst" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Modi's swearing in ceremony is set to be the biggest event ever with 8,000 guests</a>

You Searched For "more women in parliament" and got 11 results

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Former Ukrainian Parliament member tells Insider the US and allied countries must do more: 'Does morality end at the NATO border?'

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