The New Nation - Internet Edition

Tackling Niphah virus threat

BANGLADESH is once again facing Nipah virus threat that has already claimed some lives. In earlier cases of outbreak of the disease, more than one hundred people had died. It is gathered from media reports that at least eight people died after the latest outbreak. Reportedly 89 people died of the disease in 2001 and 40 in 2004. The Nipah virus induces flu-like symptoms that often lead to encephalitis. The mortality rate is as high as 70 per cent. Investigations indicated people got infected by drinking date juice that might have had been contaminated by bats, the known carrier of the virus.

The outbreak of the disease shows a pattern. The spread of the disease has been detected in the districts of Manikganj and Rajbari. In the earlier cases also Rajbari and some adjoining districts were affected. It may provide some clues to the spread of the disease. Date juice is a winter product. If the disease has been caused by intake of raw juice, the spread of the disease is supposed to be seasonal. This might also give an idea on how to fight the disease. Though casualties are still low the recurrence of the disease merits thorough investigation.

Though the disease has not assumed alarming proportions, it is expected that the authorities would be quick to deploy teams of expert physicians to the areas. Mass awareness should be raised to prevent the spread of the ailment. People should be warned against taking raw date juice that runs the risk of being contaminated by bats. Experts have advised boiling the juice before drinking. The joy of taking raw date juice can, however, be sustained only by preventing bats from contaminating the drink harvested from date trees. This can be ensured by using nets.

Arrest decline in export growth

THE growth in export earnings reportedly declined to 4.4 per cent during the July-December period of the current 2007-2008 fiscal year from a robust 26 per cent rise a year ago. Poor performance by readymade garment sector, which accounts for three-fourths of the total export earnings, is blamed for the fall in the growth rate. Export earnings during the first six months of the current fiscal year amounted to $ 6,496 million, up from $ 6,221 million in the first half of the last fiscal and trailed the target $7,083 million by 8.3 per cent. In fact, the share of readymade garment in total earnings fell to 73 per cent during the period from 76 per cent of the same period last year.

During July-December 2006, the apparel sector earned $ 4,730 million, up by 28 per cent from the incomes of the year before. Earnings from woven garment segment grew 24.11 per cent to $ 2,368 million, while that from knitwear exports surged by 32 per cent to $ 2,363 million - well exceeding their respective targets. Mainly the bad performance of the readymade garment sector, according to a government official, pulled down the export growth. But the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association attributed the slow growth to 'political uncertainty' throughout 2007 and 'intensified global competition'.

However, the BGMEA expects that the business would start recovering soon and see a turnaround in the second half of the current fiscal year. Earnings from the frozen foods, the second biggest export earner, reportedly declined by 6 per cent to $ 280 million. In the present highly competitive world, particularly in these days of volatile global economy with recession in the United States and rising fuel and food prices, stronger efforts must be made by the government and the private sector for accelerating the pace of export earnings.

Gender inequality result of socio-economic disparities

M.T.Hussain

Inequality is a reality in nature. Inequality is a sort of beauty in diversity in creation, as well. Gender inequality is nothing uncommon. In human species, inequality of gender in terms of weight, height etc is universal, and yet some among us wish to make them equal in every aspect. How much the wish realistic to achieve? Or else we may set priorities for attaining equitable goals?

Men and women are created and so born for distinctly different biological functions, never to be interchangeable between the two. Not only this. Nature has made them attitudinally different for physical difference in ability. The difference in ability is such that even the most powerful democratic British Parliament has had long ago admitted its inability to 'make a man a woman and a woman a man'. And that remains as it was then realized long ago. In fact, no parliament could do as yet anything different. The difference remained as the nature had originally made.

I guess that science, medical science, in particular, might in future do something about it. Let us wait and see.

The West in recent times has shown some examples of 'same sex marriage' that might be taken as simultaneous functions both of a female and a male, and so a sort of equality in practice. The matter, however, remains as exception rather than rule or normalcy. Others would term it as sexual perversion, if not sexual incapacity or inability.

Now coming back to the issue of gender equality having the vicious scenario of inequality accompanied by repression of the fairer sex, there are many things that need be done in almost every country for attaining equality between genders. But the fact is that all those demanding end or remedy cannot be done right away overnight, simply because, there have been accumulations from the long past since the first creation and settlement of human beings as in family ties.

First, if we take the reproductive function, it is not only almost exclusive to female partner but also involves burdensome for her both during prenatal period for nearly nine months undergoing chemical changes in painful body functions and post natal until the new born would look after himself/herself in basic health elements.

The male partner has little to do in these matters except that if he would do some baby-seating job. There is thus no scope for attaining equality in such crucial and critical issues.

Second, nature has made female body different so much so that they attain puberty at earlier age, and so emotionally susceptible to male attraction for sexual act.

This is a sort of vulnerability that is manifested in female child trafficking for sex slave markets from the poorer countries to the affluent ones. Even if the question of sex slave is not there as in the permissive society like the USA, is it not horrifying to know, as revealed in a recent survey, that nearly 40% of the teenage girls in the USA got pregnant by their boy friends?

I recall an incident back in 1975 in London, when my Tutor, a sociologist graduated from the Oxford University, Mrs. Frances Ronald pointed out to me to a poster one day published by Women's Lib activists hung in the entrance of the cafeteria of the Garnett College of Education that read, 'Why can't you make abortion if you got pregnant by a boy friend'? That was possibly rightly the demand by a young girl in Britain but also proved her vulnerability to clamor for equality.

The post natal raring of children by mother is only natural that begins from natural capability to give breast feeding that as well made her uniquely different and unequal from male partner. She thus forms core of the family and remains superior but unequal as a partner that nature is not likely to reverse as it remained in the past.

Inequality is more a socio-economic matter created and perpetrated in social system as a legacy primarily of the past. This is thus not natural but man made and so not Islamic as Islam is FITRAT or based on nature. Whatever of inequality is in practice between person to person and between genders is not Islamic but man- made in Muslim society.

The prophet is well known for realizing liberation of Muslim women in human history in the early seventh century A.D. in the formation and framework of the State of Medina compared to what then really existed in other so-called civilized city- states in other parts of the world like Rome, Greece etc.

It was the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) for the first time who made learning compulsory for all men and women that other civilizations did not at all make but just only for the few male 'citizens' of the ruling elite, meaning the PATRICIANS and not for the Plebeians meaning the slaves, much less the women folk.

As regards inequality in inheritance of property rights, the period before the prophet had nothing of any. Furthermore, if one would imagine the example of the Prophet, he left nothing, not a single farthing for his immediate inheritor after his passing away. The provision of father's property half for daughter than a son, I would take that as a token for raising status of woman in Muslim Arabia in the seventh century A.D. In addition, female member not only gets lump sum as dowry during wedding contract but also entitled to inherit husband's property that is likely to make up for the amount she would get compared to her brother as inheritance.

As is well provided in Islam and that is also normal occurrence that marriage should be between equals of socio-economic status, husbands property inheritance in such case should make up for the shortage she would have from father's property to make her equal. Islamic provision thus ensures equity, if not full equality that nature as well does not provide as normal occurrence.

For equity and for attaining maximum social justice, one has to look for other vexing areas like poverty, ignorance, unemployment etc. that made women unequal at socio-economic level. In fact, these vices more often than not have been causes for exploitation and oppression of women in backward and poorer countries.

Bangladesh being one of the poorest countries in the world, apart from unemployment of millions, we have beggars and sex slaves. Beggars are not trafficked out of the country but the young girls and women are. According to a recent report aired in the Indian NDTV 24x7, one third of thousands of the sex slaves of Chennai, Pune and Ahmedabad are Bangladeshi nationals trafficked through illegal border routes I would feel that the women's rights group of Bangladesh should set a priority to stop trafficking of the unfortunate victims and for their rehabilitation in honorable vocations towards attainment of equality of opportunity rather than at this stage to clamor for unachievable equality for all in the society that breeds inequality by its own inertia inherent in obvious legacy that needs political surgery at other level.

To join or not to join?

Ding Ying

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said in January he supported China to join the Group of Eight (G8). His words echoed those of French President Nicolas Sarkozy who suggested that the five developing countries of China, India, Brazil, South Africa and Mexico be included in the G8.

Talk of including these countries actually started several years ago. Ever since 2003 when China first participated in a G8 summit, many politicians and economists have discussed the possibility of the country becoming a full-fledged G8 member. Canada, for example, has made similar suggestions as well.

The G8's current members are Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States and Russia.

Foreign affairs analysts believe that although China will not join the G8 any time soon, its participation would benefit the country and the organization itself in terms of strategic considerations. But they also caution that China must determine how much it would be willing to comply with other requirements set by the group's Western members.

"China will join the G8 sooner or later, because its participation can bring the country more advantages than disadvantages," said Zhen Bingxi, a senior research fellow specializing in world economic studies at the Chinese Institute of International Studies (CIIS).

First, with recent changes in the world economic structure, some developing nations now account for larger portions of the global economy, Zhen said. As one of them, and also as the largest of them, China has seen tremendous economic growth in the past years. According to the latest figures from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), China has been the third biggest economy in the world since 2007, behind the United States and Japan. The report also said the per-capita gross domestic product (GDP) in China exceeded that of Japan in 2007, based on purchasing power parity (PPP).

Second, China has maintained a rapid pace of development since its opening-up policy was first implemented in the late 1970s, Zhen said. Especially in the last five years, China's annual economic growth rates all have exceeded 10 percent.

"China now is the most powerful engine that is accelerating the world's economic growth," Zhen said. The IMF report, published in late December 2007, reduced its forecast for world economic growth to 4.7 percent from 5.2 percent in October 2007. In the meantime, China's contribution to the global GDP growth rate had reached 27 percent measured according to its PPP, while that of the United States was about 10 percent. By measuring economic growth according to the current exchange rate, China's contribution to the global GDP growth rate was more than 20 percent, while that of the United States was 14 to 15 percent.

Third, joining the G8 could help China to better cooperate with the industrialized nations when dealing with global issues, such as climate change, environment protection and saving energy, Zhen said. In the meantime, China's role as the largest developing country in the world will enable other developing countries to have more chances to express their opinions while mapping out the game rules for establishing a new global economic order, he said.

Fourth, China's micro-adjustment and control policies on the economy and financing are influencing the world significantly by coordinating the global economy, Zhen said. The World Bank also has said the coordination of exchange rates would not be complete and thorough without China's involvement. Only with the country's participation, could decisions on the exchange rate adjustments make sense.

Lin Limin, a scholar at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR), said that the invitation for China to join the G8 reflects the

country's improved status in the world. But he also pointed out that the G8 was caught in a dilemma, because it could no longer represent the world economy and needed China's participation to improve its legal and representative stances.

China's involvement would be significant to settling the global problems the G8 members face, he said.

Both Zhen and Lin noted that although the advantages of joining the G8 sounded very attractive, China should be cautious in deciding whether to join or not, especially when the timing is not perfect now.

Chen Fengying, Director of the World Economics Studies Center at the CICIR, said in the monthly magazine China Development Observer that while China's economic influence continues to rising, the country also faces bigger risks in five areas. First, its foreign exchange reserves are now very high, because of its trade surplus and the amount of foreign capital that is flowing into the country.

This means that China must be careful about an external imbalance. Second, China is under much pressure from Europe and the United States to let its currency appreciate. Third, trade disputes between China and other industrialized nations occur frequently, so that China must deal with more product safety and technological barriers. Fourth, while the internationalization of global financial systems is picking up speed, China has to face risks related to internal and external financing. Fifth, China has come under increasing fire from industrialized countries over its responsibility for emitting greenhouse gases that cause global warming.

Zhen from the CIIS said in spite of the economic issues, China must also consider related political pressure before it agrees to join the G8.

"Not all G8 members hope that China joins the circle, especially Japan and the United States," he said. Under such circumstances, those who oppose China's involvement will set higher thresholds for the country on human rights, environment protection and even ideology, he said.

Previously, Bonnie Glaser at the Washington D.C.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, pointed out that the current G8 members are all "democratic countries," and that China as a socialist market economy does not fit this standard.

Glaser believes that the Western countries might push China to change some of its political policies when they invite the country to join the G8.

"If China is eager to join the G8, its political and economic interests might be hurt," Zhen said, adding that China needs to think over the following four questions before it makes a final decision: Does it possess the necessary economic conditions to become a G8 member? Is it the perfect timing? How will China coordinate its relations with the group's other members? And will it be able to shoulder all those responsibilities that G8 membership entails?

Zhen stressed that based on these considerations, it would be safer for China to join the G8 in one or two years. The current 8+5 mode, which includes the current eight members plus China, India, Brazil, South Africa and Mexico as summit participants, is more suitable for China, he said.

Zhen pointed out that there are several plans under discussion for expanding the G8. The first is the G9 mode, which consists of the existing G8 members and China. The next is the G13, which includes the current G8 members and China, Brazil, India, Mexico and South Africa. The last is the G3 mode, which involves only China, the EU and the United States.

Zhen said that if China decides to participate, the G13 mode would be the most practical. The G3, which excludes Japan and Russia, is a fairly radical plan and would not be realistic, he said.

"Under the G9 mode, China's voice will be very vague, and the G13 mode can help the developing countries to play bigger roles in the game," Zhen said.

Opinion: The suggestions not heard

M. M. Chowdhury

I was one of the biggest supporter when CTG took power after 1/11 in 2007. Since then I have been advising CTG more or less in various issues that they had faced. I have lost confidence on them after looking at their failure during 14 months in Bangladesh.

I have worked hard to defend them like many others and provided strategic policy advice from distance and defend many their activities which made sense to me. Few of the policy advice that have been submitted are listed below and CTG has failed to implement the given strategic policies:

1) I had asked CTG to initiate a reconciliation initiative called "General Amnesty 2007" in April 2007. CTG has failed to take this advice and renamed my proposal as "Truth Commission" which is too late to make any difference now.

2) I have submitted strategic proposal to be ready for the floods in 2007. They have implemented many of the points with delay but CTG was successful more or less. But I had asked them to get greater international help at least US$5 Billion, like Pakistan got during earthquake.

3) I have asked them to stop destruction policy like demolition of "Bashti" and high rise buildings in Uttara. They have stopped the demolition of Bashti but lots of people paid the price for their wrong policy. CTG should make relocation plan for those affected people before taking their houses down. Even I knew few of the houses were controlled by corrupt people.

4) I have provided a strategic policy proposal to expand Bangladesh economy beyond Garments with asking for more than US$3 Billion direct investment from Middle East countries. I have not seen anything was done on my proposal.

5) I have submitted a comprehensive proposal to develop the Pharmaceuticals sector which has great potential to grow and creating high paid jobs in Bangladesh. I have not seen much improvement yet. I will wait to judge the CTG progress in this matter.

6) I have asked to add foreign advisers to the BBB Group which will give more lay away to attract business development in Bangladesh. International experts are important than ever to grow international business and investment in Bangladesh.

7) I have asked many times to plan ahead about inflation and asked to step down Dr. Aziz, Economy Adviser and Bangladesh Bank Govt. They have failed to understand and monitor economy and inflation in Bangladesh. I am asking them to step down immediately now.

8) I have asked CTG to give a break in Rupali deal with Saudi prince since we need to have better policy and relationship with SA. This world is all for give and take. CTG should not come hard on this deal and should give a break to SA. I won't be surprised if we find lots of Bangladeshi will not go SA for tighten the rules in SA against Bangladesh. Because CTG becomes hard on SA, SA will repeat their hard stance on Bangladesh. SA has more US$1 Trillion excess investment fund, where we need that so much in this crises of economy time.

9) I have asked CTG to stop "the underground subway project" which will bring more disasters than helping general people. I believe that CTG has stopped or no progress was made on this project.

10) I have sent multiple bleak economical situation warnings to CTG in 2007.

11) I also blame few political parties who made the situation worst with pulling CTG legs from day 1.

Now I am asking CTG to give up the power and install a new take care Govt. CTG has lost all the confidence to make any better in Bangladesh where essential prices are going out of control and above people's capacity to survive. I understand price in international market also increased but inflation in Bangladesh is not line with international markets which is the failure of CTG policies.

I believe that being in power for the next 10 months during this stagnation in Bangladesh will cause bigger problem for Bangladesh in the long term. I have lost confidence in CTG and their activities. They should step down immediately to put new Take Care Govt who will have better understanding between political parties and general people. Its economy stupid.

Please keep in mind that I have made this decision based on the "stagnation" of Bangladesh economy and for the welfare of Bangladesh, there is no personal gain.