• “I will build the organization’s strength by systematically succeeding with what can be accomplished first”

By Lee Sang-ki

SEOUL: The Asia Journalists Association (AJA) recently held an extraordinary board meeting and elected Lee Ki-woo, former Vice Minister of Education, as its 7th Chairman. He succeeds Chairman Koo Bon-hong.

At the extraordinary board meeting held at the Seoul Press Center on May 4, the election of the new Chairman took place alongside extensive discussions on the association’s organizational restructuring, the concept for the Asia Press Center (APC), and measures to strengthen the Asian network.

In his farewell address, former Chairman Koo Bon-hong said, “I hope the Board of Directors becomes a structure that actually moves and executes, rather than a mere gathering,” adding, “New passion and execution power are needed for the Association to pass on to the next generation.”

Former Vice-Minister Lee Ki-woo, elected as the new Chairman, said, “Rather than the title of Chairman, I want to play the role of a ‘sales representative’ who ensures the organization operates properly.”

“I will create a Board where all members share the Association’s direction and tasks and participate responsibly,” he added.

Chairman Lee presented the restoration of the Association’s status as a designated donation organization as a core task.

He said, “I will expedite the reorganization of the system and conditions to receive re-designation as a designated donation organization.”

“I will ensure that the Asia Journalists Association establishes itself as an organization with public interest and capabilities to carry out international cooperation and the tasks of the times.”

Rather than undertaking difficult and grandiose tasks, I will build the organization’s strength by systematically succeeding with what can be accomplished first, he added.

Regarding the supplementation of the existing operational system, it was announced that “former chairpersons will be appointed as advisors, and existing directors as honorary directors. The operational structure will be reorganized to center on directors capable of actual activities.

New Chairman Lee Ki-woo currently serves as the Director of the Institute of Korean Studies and has previously served as Vice Minister of Education, President of Incheon JaeNeung University, Chairman of the Korea Teachers Mutual Aid Association, and CEO of Gyeongin Broadcasting.

He is regarded as an expert in educational administration with extensive experience in public service, education, and the media sectors.

Discussions regarding the vision for the Asia Press Center (APC) also continued at the meeting. Attendees, including Directors Bae Ki-seon, Oh Ji-cheol, Kim Geun-sang, and Ko Myeong-jin, shared the view that the APC should not be merely a building, but a platform connecting Asia.

Director Bae Ki-seon said, “Based on the experience and network built by the Asia Journalists Association, it can serve as a new focal point for Asia.”

Director Oh Ji-cheol emphasized, “Now that South Korea’s international standing has risen, the role of the Asia Journalists Association is more important than ever.”

Director Kim Geun-sang said, “It is crucial to connect and represent the small voices of Asia and marginalized neighbors,” adding, “I hope the establishment of the Asia Press Center will serve as a space for fulfilling such a role.”

Director Ko Myeong-jin introduced a local photography project currently underway in Yeongwol, Gangwon Province, and proposed the creation of a memorial space for journalists who died in the line of duty at the Asia Journalists Association level.

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By Lee Sang-ki is a senior journalist, Former President of Asia Journalist Association, and Publisher of The AsiaN

Courtesy: The AsiaN, Seoul, South Korea

The post Connecting Asia Through APC first appeared on Sindh Courier.

• The United States, has been secured by an angry misogynistic, racist, iconoclastic, divisive, narcissistic, nationalistic, vindictive, authoritarian, mercurial, dishonest, lying, corrupt convicted felon.

By Tom Arms

The world’s liberal democracies suffered a major defeat this week. Its autocracies have chalked up a major win.

Illiberal populist demagogues have for the past few years scored a series of outright victories, or, at least significant advances in the world’s democracies—Hungary, Israel, Georgia, Slovakia, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Sweden…. They have all swung their political barometers towards the far right.

And now, the biggest prize, the United States, has been secured by an angry misogynistic, racist, iconoclastic, divisive, narcissistic, nationalistic, vindictive, authoritarian, mercurial, dishonest, lying, corrupt convicted felon.

The impact of the re-election of Donald J. Trump will have a resounding impact on the world. It has already left a deep and damaging impression on America’s moral standing in the world.

Read: Five reasons why Kamala Harris lose to Donald Trump – BBC

In 1630, as the ship Arabella crossed the Atlantic towards the struggling Massachusetts Bay Colony, future colonial leader John Winthrop gave a sermon in which he expressed the hope that the colony would become a “Shining City on the Hill”—i.e. a moral example to the rest of the world.

That is how America has projected itself since before independence in 1776. In reality manna has too often triumphed over morality. But through the centuries Americans have fervently clung to their shining self-image and many others around the world have bought into it—until now.

Americans are angry. On the domestic front they are angry at an amorphous “deep state” which has failed to deliver the perpetual prosperity they have come to expect. They are angry at the rest of the world for what they see as exploiting their better nature.

In his four years out of office he has promised—if re-elected—to withdraw from the Paris Climate Change Accord, deport 11 million illegal immigrants; finish his wall on the southern border; attack Mexican cartels with missiles; withdraw from NATO; impose tariffs; stop aid to Ukraine

Americans are also scared. They are scared of losing their jobs to low-paid illegal immigrants. They are even more scared of losing their cultural identity. And on the international front, they are scared of being knocked off their plinth by the Chinese.

So Americans have elected an angry man who has successfully tapped into a rich political vein of fear. He will do well out of it. For a start, Donald J. Trump has avoided prison and will now undoubtedly use the presidency to augment his several billions.

Read: Is America Still the ‘Shining City on a Hill’?

But the rest of America not so well. In their Faustian Pact, Americans have discarded their moral compass and opted instead for an America First policy backed by transactional diplomacy. Donald Trump has made it clear that the days of American altruism are over. What you will see shining on the hill will be reflections off golden domes. In the future America will help only those that help America—usually with hard cash.

The dangers of a Trump second term should have been clear from his first term when he withdrew from the Paris Climate Change Accord, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Open Skies Treaty, the INF Treaty, the Iran-Nuclear Accord and two international migration agreements. He also threatened NATO, virtually destroyed the World Trade Organization and heaped praise on the world’s autocratic rulers.

In his four years out of office he has promised—if re-elected—to withdraw from the Paris Climate Change Accord (again); deport 11 million (or is it 20 million?) illegal immigrants; finish his wall on the southern border; attack Mexican cartels with missiles; withdraw from NATO; impose tariffs; stop aid to Ukraine and put “America First” in any future dealings with the rest of the world.

He will also replace a highly skilled civil service with Trump loyalists; weaponise the Department of Justice, FBI and CIA to attack his political opponents; remove the independence of the Federal Reserve; mobilize the military to round up illegal immigrants and put them in detention camps before deporting them; take away the licenses of broadcasters who attack him; jail journalists and pardon “patriots” involved in the January 6 riots.

For most Americans the two big issues were immigration and Inflation in the first part of the Biden Administrations. Those who voted Trump earnestly believe that the president-elect will substantially stop the flood of illegal immigrants across the southern border and usher in a new era of economic prosperity.

On the first point, they are almost certainly right. But it will be at a cost in both financial and moral terms. As for the economic measures, independent economists believe that Trump’s policies will led to inflation that will be higher and last longer than anything experienced under the Democrats.

But of greater importance is that to introduce his policies, Trump will have to ride roughshod over the US constitution and the rule of law. Support verging on reverence for the law has until now been the cornerstone on which rested Winthrop’s “Shining City on the Hill.” The law, the shine and America’s positive role in the world are set to become a thing of the past.

World Review

Trump is bad news for NATO. He damaged it in his first term and again during his campaign when he repeatedly threatened to either withdraw from the alliance or refuse to defend members that failed to meet the target of defense spending of at least two percent of GDP.

“We have been treated badly,” he told a Wisconsin election rally in September, “so badly, mostly by our allies. Our allies treat us actually worse than our so-called enemies. In the military, we protect them, and then they screw us on trade. We’re not going to let it happen anymore.”

Trump has threatened tariffs of up to 20 percent on EU and British goods. The clear implication is that if they want those tariffs reduced or eliminated then Europe’s NATO members will have to accept to spend more on defense which will allow the US to reduce its commitment. It is called transactional diplomacy.

Read: What will Trump’s return to the White House mean for NATO?

Of course, Trump’s policy does not take into account that by beggaring his allies he also reduces their ability to spend more on defense.

Trump’s policy towards NATO is unpopular with the wider American public. More than 70 percent say they are enthusiastic supporters of the Alliance. This position was mirrored in July 2023 when—in a rare moment bipartisanship—Congress passed legislation which required US withdrawal from NATO to be approved by a two-thirds majority of the Senate, or through legislation which gives Congress a bigger say in overseeing alliances. The legislation was co-sponsored by Marco Rubio who has been tipped for the job of Trump’s Secretary of State.

The legislation, however, does not prevent Trump from closing bases, withdrawing troops or stopping investment or expenditure. Under the constitution, the president has wide powers to make and break treaties and order troops to occupy or withdraw from every part of the world. Trump, if he wanted, could hollow-out America’s commitment to defend Europe and leave America a semi-detached member of the alliance.

So European members of NATO remain NATO. But they sit easy compared to Ukraine.

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Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky is terrified. The election of Donald Trump raises the real possibility that his country’s lifeline of American military aid will come to a shuddering halt and push Ukraine under the heel of the Russian boot.

Trump has repeatedly opposed the economic drain of aid to Ukraine. He has added that if elected he would end the Ukraine war “in a day.”

The president-elect refuses to go into specifics, but there was a possible hint in a paper written in May by two of Trump’s former security advisers, General Keith Kellogg and Fred Fleitz.

They suggested that a Trump administration could propose immediate peace talks and a ceasefire based on current military positions. Ukraine would maintain its claim to territories currently occupied by Russia, leaving open the possibility of reunification at a later date. NATO membership—and possibly EU membership as well—would be taken off the table and pushed into an unknown future.

Read: Trump’s election deepens Ukraine’s pessimism as Russia war rages

If Ukraine refused the American proposal then the Trump Administration would decrease American military aid. If Russia refused then the US would increase military aid to Ukraine.

Trump’s election could not have come at a worse time for Zelensky. The German government of Olof Scholz is on the verge of collapse. Europeans cannot continue the necessary support on their own and everyone is worried about the new international dimension created by the insertion of 10,000 North Korean troops.

At the same time the war on the ground is not going well. The Russians advance slowly but surely. They recently took the mining town of Selydove.

President Zelensky has ordered the call-up of 160,000 young men over the next three months, which has sent thousands into hiding. Without American support, Ukraine cannot withstand the Russian military steamroller.

Read: Observations of an Expat – Ukraine: Shrewdness or Mistake?

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is cock-a-hoop. His man is back in the White House. BUT the Trump-Netanyahu bromance is unlikely to be quite as warm the second time around.

But let’s first look at the upside for the Israeli leader. An American president who has himself ridden roughshod over the law to return to the White House will almost certainly turn a blind eye to Netanyahu’s illiberal politics.

So, a Trump Administration is unlikely to complain about Netanyahu’s efforts to rein in the Israeli Supreme Court by packing it with his backers. Netanyahu can also rest easy about the multiple indictments he is facing knowing that the man in the White House is himself a convicted felon who is thumbing his nose at the law by organizing the dismissal of other charges against him.

Trump is likely to pressure Netanyahu to wrap up Gaza, end the fighting with Hezbollah and back off threats against Iran

As for the West Bank and Gaza. In January 2020 Trump unveiled his “Peace to Prosperity” plan which called for Israeli annexation of 30 percent of the West Bank. The plan was back-burnered when Biden won the presidency. Trump will probably also back any plans for future Israeli control of Gaza and he has been dismissive of the two-state solution.

Now the downside for Netanyahu. For a start, there is the personal level. Trump places a high premium on loyalty and was angered when Netanyahu congratulated Biden when he was challenging the election result.

Next, Trump boasts that he kept America out of foreign wars and, in fact he reduced troop levels in the Middle East and negotiated the withdrawal from Afghanistan. Trump, however—like President Biden—is worried that what started in Gaza on October 7 is spinning out of control.

Trump is likely therefore to pressure Netanyahu to wrap up Gaza, end the fighting with Hezbollah and back off threats against Iran. He accepts that this may mean more Gazan deaths in the short-term, but a few more dead bodies would—in Trump’s play book– be worth avoiding American entanglement and threatens to pull America into the vortex.

Netanyahu’s ultimate hope is a US-Israeli alliance to attack Iran. That is unlikely under Trump. But gaining a big chunk of the West Bank is a not too bad consolation prize.

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Taiwanese President William Lai is worried. As far as Taiwan is concerned, Donald Trump, is a mountain of conflicting messages and the Chinese, whether in Beijing or Taipei, hate uncertainty.

Back in 2016, President-elect Trump caused delight in Taipei and worry in Beijing and everywhere else when one of Trump’s first moves was to phone Lai’s predecessor Tsai Ing-wen.

Since then he has paid homage to the traditional policy of US support for Taiwan. But at the same time, Trump’s America First policy combined with his penchant for transactional diplomacy and his unpredictability has raised the possibility that Taiwan could become a bargaining chip between Washington and Beijing.

A specific cause for concern is Trump’s call that Taipei increase defense spending to ten percent of its GDP with the bulk of the money going to America for its continuing support. This would be $79 billion a year and would mean that Taiwanese defense spending on a per capita basis would be the highest in the world at $3,400 per person per annum.

Meanwhile, China’s Xi Jinping continues to increase the pressure on what he called the “Taiwan Province of the People’s Republic of China.” During the August 2022 visit to Taiwan by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the Chinese leader ordered the biggest ever military exercises ever around the disputed island. The blatant warning has been repeated several times along with the statement that “reunification” is “inevitable” and the military solution is very much on the cards.

Read: Observations of an Expat: Creator of the Great Replacement Theory

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Tom Arms is foreign editor of Liberal Democrat Voice, editor of “The Encyclopedia of the Cold War” and “America Made in Britain.”

Read: Observations of an Expat: How Did We Get Here?

The post Observations of an Expat: Moral Compass Discarded first appeared on Sindh Courier.

By Bhargavi Kulkarni

Over 90000 South Asian women joined a Zoom call yesterday (July 24) to mobilize support for Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president. The event, billed as “South Asian Women for Harris,” raised more than $250,000 for the Harris campaign.

It was a historic showing of solidarity for Harris from the Indian American community which makes up just over 1% of the U.S. population. In terms of the proportion of Indian American women in the U.S. population, this showing is miles ahead of 44,000 Black women who joined the ‘Win With Black Women’ virtual meeting held on Sunday to support Harris. Blacks constitute a little over 12% of the U.S. population.

Elected lawmakers, representatives from various South Asian American groups, community organizers, celebrities, and politically engaged women came together to discuss ways to elect Harris the first woman and the first Indian American president. The energy throughout the virtual meeting was unprecedented. Panelists discussed ways and means to help get Harris through the finish line.

There was tremendous interest among participants to work in their communities to ramp up get-out-the-vote efforts. The chat window of Zoom was off the hook with women supporting and encouraging each other, and sharing resources and and ways in which attendees could get involved in the campaign.

The July 24 Zoom call was organized by Palak Sheth, founder of Post March Salon (PMS); attorney Mansi H. Shah, former president of the South Asian Bar Association (SABA); and civil rights lawyer Arunima Bhargava, with help from Harini Krishnan and Neha Dewan, co-national directors of South Asians for Harris. Organizers said the call aimed to show the power of South Asian women, get them energized, build momentum, build hope, and raise money. It also aimed to raise the profile of South Asian women who have been “doing most of the heavy lifting “ in the community, Krishnan told American Kahani. “Most of the political organizing in the South Asian American communities is led by women, young women,” she added.

There was tremendous interest among participants to work in their communities to ramp up get-out-the-vote efforts.

Krishnan has been standing with Harris for a long time, as a lead volunteer and organizer, and as a friend. She described Harris as “tough, brilliant and thoughtful,” and the first woman in so many roles. “The Kamala Harris I know is a champion for marginalized communities; someone who has increased her standing on the global stage at the time when our fundamental rights are on the assault;” and the person who is “bringing all of us together.”

Krishnan also noted another reason that sets the Harris campaign apart from any previous ones. “The Harris campaign has been seeing levels of engagement even more than Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign,” she said. Obama was the nation’s first African American president, and his 2008 run for the presidency led to record Black voter turnout in many places.

Several celebrities and activists joined the call. Dressed in the “brat” green, actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer Mindy Kaling urged attended to fundraise for Harris, and also pledged her support to the campaign, promising to “work hard, quickly and effectively.” Actress Poorna Jagannathan spoke about her hopes that Harris would take a firm stance on Gaza, calling for a more permanent solution to the conflict.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), talked about her mother, who is sending nonstop WhatsApp messages about Harris’ historic candidacy. It’s an incredible thing to think about where we are today,” she said, adding that it’s “such a great moment for the community.” Jayapal got re-elected to Congress at the same time Harris got elected to the Senate, and Trump was elected to the White House. She has worked with Harris on several bills and measures including a bill to ban Trump’s Muslim Ban, the domestic worker bill, and the Universal Child Care and Early Learning Act.

Other panelists included associate attorney general Vanita Gupta; Mini Timmaraju, president and CEO of Reproductive Freedom For All; Reshma Saujani, CEO and founder of Moms First (formerly Marshall Plan for Moms), and founder of Girls Who Code; Rohini Kosoglu, a longtime Harris policy adviser who worked in her Senate and vice-presidential office; actress, author, producer, and activist Sheetal Sheth; Los Angeles City Councilwoman Nithya Raman; and Neeru Khosla, founder of the CK12 Foundation, and wife of billionaire venture capitalist Vinod Khosla.

Philadelphia City Council member Nina Ahmed; Georgia State Sen. Nabilah Islam Parkes; Bianca Shah, and Ananya Kachru, youth directors of South Asians for Harris; and Nadia Belkin, National AANHPI Engagement Director at Harris for President, also spoke.

Other prominent attendees included Washington State Sen. Manka Dhingra, Washington State Rep. Vandana Slatter, former New Jersey Assemblywoman Sadaf Jaffer, and Judge Juli A. Mathew ion Forth Bend County in Texas, among others.

Read: Observations of an Expat: Kamala v. Donald

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Courtesy: American Kahani (Posted on July 25, 2024)

The post Desi ‘Aunties’ Make History: Thousands of South Asian American Women Join Zoom Call to Support Kamala Harris for President first appeared on Sindh Courier.

Aamir Latif 

Karachi, Sindh

As Pakistan gears up for a crucial national vote next week, the one thing dominating local headlines is the fate of Imran Khan.

The incarcerated former prime minister was convicted in two separate cases within the span of 24 hours, getting a 10-year jail sentence in the first and 14 years in the second.

Given Khan’s political standing, experts reckon the developments will damage the credibility of the Feb. 8 elections, while the Pakistani caretaker government contends that the issue is simply a legal one that has nothing to with the vote.

On Tuesday, Khan and former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi were sentenced to 10 years in jail by a special court in what local media has dubbed the “cipher case,” which is related to diplomatic communications between the US and Pakistan that Khan was part of a Washington-backed conspiracy to topple his government in mid-2022.

The next day, Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were given 14 years in prison in a case related to illegally buying and selling state gifts.

Both trials were held in a jail in the northeastern garrison city of Rawalpindi, where the former prime minister has been kept for the past several months.

Khan’s supporters and leaders of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party have criticized the “unfair” sentences, terming them a “destruction of justice.”

The prosecution, nonetheless, said the ex-prime minister was given “due process of law,” accusing him of resorting to “delaying tactics by repeatedly changing his lawyers.”

In the cipher case, the court said Khan and Qureshi violated their oaths as prime minister and foreign minister, damaging Pakistan-US relations.

It said the negligence in handling the matter adversely affected relations with other countries, ultimately benefiting hostile nations.

Murtaza Solangi, the caretaker information minister, told Anadolu that the sentences handed down have nothing to do with the current government or the looming elections.

“Neither were these cases initiated by the caretaker government nor do we have control over the courts,” he said.

“Any aggrieved party has superior courts and free media available for redressal of their grievances,” he maintained.

‘Nothing has changed’

Sajjad Mir, a political commentator in Lahore, fears the “unwelcome” developments will “have a deep impact on Pakistan’s already polarized politics.”

“Not only in the context of the upcoming elections, but onwards as well,” he told Anadolu.

He said questions over the credibility of elections in Pakistan are “nothing new.”

“Imran Khan’s opponents didn’t accept his victory in the 2018 elections on the same grounds that the PTI is facing today,” he said.

Wusatullah Khan, a Karachi-based political analyst, said Khan’s legal problems will “further damage” the credibility of next week’s elections, adding that the national vote is already under a dark cloud of allegations.

The PTI alleges it is being treated unfairly and its candidates, who are contesting as independents, are being harassed and facing arrests.

The party has also lost its electoral symbol, a cricket bat, an ode to Khan’s past achievements as the World Cup-winning captain of the national side.

Hundreds of party workers and leaders are in jail following violent protests and attacks on military installations after Khan’s brief arrest in a corruption case in the capital Islamabad last May.

“This shows nothing has changed. This is almost a repeat telecast of 2018 elections, and only the characters have changed,” Wusatullah told Anadolu.

He was referring to the conviction and disqualification of three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif just before the 2018 elections.

“In 2018, Imran Khan was the favorite and Sharif was a persona non grata. In 2024, it’s totally the opposite,” he added.

Latest surveys show Sharif and Khan are in a neck-and-neck race, with the latter holding a slight edge.

However, in bellwether Punjab, the country’s most populous and richest province, Sharif has a slender lead over his arch-rival.

In Mir’s view, the jail terms given to Khan will have “both negative and positive” impacts on the PTI.

“Positive in a way that it will increase public sympathy for Khan, especially among his die-hard supporters,” he elaborated.

“However, it could also demoralize his voters who, considering the fact that their leader cannot become prime minister this time, may either sit at home or vote for the second party or candidate.”

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Aamir Latif is a senior journalist based in Karachi. He represents Anadolu, a Turkish news agency

Courtesy: Anadolu Agency (Posted on 01.02.2024)  

The post How will Imran Khan’s legal woes impact Pakistan’s elections? first appeared on Sindh Courier.

From Correspondent

Larkana, Sindh

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said on Tuesday that the Supreme Court’s own judges are not accepting the decision in suo moto case, how will the public accept it.

Murad Shah, who reached Garhi Khuda Bakhsh Bhutto in connection with the 44th death anniversary of former Prime Minister Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Shaheed, was talking to the media.

Earlier, he visited the shrines of late Amir Begum and late Begum Nusrat Bhutto, offered Fateha and laid floral wreath.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said that every year we organize a big rally to pay tribute to martyr Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto on April 4, but this year, this program is held at every district head quarter.

He said that Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was a great leader who served the country and the nation and gave the country the unanimous constitution of 1973 under which this country is running and also gave the nuclear program and made the country prosperous.

He further said that Shaheed Bhutto was hanged under the controversial decision and then some of these judges said that there was a lot of pressure on them under which Shaheed Bhutto was hanged.

“Today again the Supreme Court’s decision has also been imposed on us,” he said and added that the criteria should be clarified and a comprehensive solution should be found because these elections are not according to the constitution, so there should be a process for consensus.

He said that we have constitutional rights and the constitution exists to hold elections. “If elections are held earlier in two provinces and later in two provinces, it will cause problems.”

To a question, he said that the 90-day period of the election will end on April 15 or 16 and the Supreme Court has given the date of May 14. “Would the caretaker government will come again for a month.”

He said that we have the right to give opinion on the decision given by the judges because we will go according to the constitution and conducting the election is the job of the Election Commission and nothing will happen with the interference of anyone else.

Murad Shah further said that all the member parties of PDM and the parties that are in government in the provinces want the elections to be held at the same time so that political stability and democracy can be developed in the country, especially in the province of Sindh.

He said that in Sindh there is a government of PPP and its opinion is that the next election should be held at its scheduled time.

Provincial Minister Excise and Taxation Mukesh Kumar Chawla, Commissioner Larkana Ghanwar Ali Leghari, DIG Larkana Mazhar Nawaz Shaikh, Deputy Commissioner Larkana, SSP Larkana and party leaders and activists were present in large numbers.

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The post Supreme Court has imposed its verdict on us: Murad Shah first appeared on Sindh Courier.

Dhaka

Nazrul Islam Ritu, an independent candidate, was elected as the first transgender Union Parishad (Union Council) chairman at Trilochonpur union of Jhenaidah’s Kaliganj upazila during the 3rd phase UP elections on Sunday.

Ritu, 43, was elected as a chairman of the union bagging 9,557 votes with pineapple symbol while Awami League-backed candidate Nazrul Islam Sana, got 4,529 votes, said Md Abdus Salek, district election officer.

Ritu had to leave her village and move to Dhaka’s Demra at the age of five. However, she frequently visits Jhenaidah to stay connected with Trilochanpur people.

Locals said Ritu has been providing financial assistance to the helpless people of different villages of Trilochanpur Union for the 15 years and thus she became popular among local people.

Talking to UNB, Ritu said, “I have won the election as a transgender person. Now, I want to serve the people of my union for the rest of my life.”

She said the government has given the right to vote and various opportunities to the transgender community members. “I have no regret for being a transgender person.”

“The AL-backed candidate and his supporters obstructed me in many ways. However, there has been a fair election because of the administration,” she added.

Earlier, another transgender, Pinki Khatun, was elected vice chairman of Kotchandpur upazila in Jhenaidah.

On November 13, Shahida Begum became the first transgender person to get elected as member of Maguraghona Union Parishad-6 in Khulna district.

A guideline was approved in 2013 at cabinet committee for granting Hijra or transgender state recognition. Following that, in January, 2014, government issued a gazette granting state recognition to the transgender community.

In 2019, the Election Commission decided to enlist third gender as a gender identity in the voter list along with male and female.

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Courtesy: Daily Sun Dhaka

The post First transgender elected as Union Council chairperson in Bangladesh first appeared on Sindh Courier.