Mayaa SH speaks on Matrimonial Law in India, Mental Health During Childhood, Bloom’s Taxonomy, Role of NGOS’s in Socio- Economic Development, Few Key Points From The Justice Verma Committee Report and Women Empowerment in ISRO
What is your underlying understanding of the Matrimonial Law in our country ?
Mayaa SH – Family Laws encompass the broad set of rules that are in practice regarding family matters, such as marriage, divorce, inheritance etc. There are some legally enforceable rights and duties that arise when one gives legal validation to the status of interpersonal relationships. Personal law, also known as family law or matrimonial law, refers to the set of legal rules and regulations that govern personal relationships and matters related to the family. Personal law deals with issues such as marriage, divorce, child custody, adoption, inheritance, and property rights. The lack of understanding of the dynamics of matrimonial conflict by few , is much deeper and broader than what is superficially visible. Most of the pendency in the matters of prolonged proceeedings can be evaded . For civil matters arbitration, mediation, negotiated rulemaking, neutral factfinding, and minitrials must be considreed more rigorously. With the exception of binding arbitration, the goal of Alternate Dispute Resolution is to provide a forum for the parties to work toward a voluntary, consensual agreement, as opposed to having a judge or other authority decide the case. Wide margins of personal discretions and biases to look at a civil matter with a criminal outlook can end up setting unstable precedents; all of which has deep implications on those who fight legal battles within the ambit of family law. Women at large need to be respected as a separate, equal person and body. More insights are required for criminalizing marital rape based on moral and legal arguments for informative but also commendable insights need to to looked at for unbiased judgements. It was only in 2013 that section 354 of the IPC (outraging a woman’s modesty) was amended to widen the definition of rape and sexual assault. Similarly it was only in 1976 that marriage laws were amended to include cruelty and desertion as a ground for divorce. These instances show how challenging it has been for those struggling against patriarchy in India to ensure amendment and implementation of laws for ensuring women’s rights in a male dominated society. Family Law is a very sensitive section and often termed as the soft-law ,the psychology of both the parties involved in litigation must also be studied while maintaining dignity and grace and mental well being of the couple as well.
Why do you think taking care of mental health at the early childhood days so important ?
Mayaa SH – Mental health in childhood means reaching developmental and emotional milestones, and learning healthy social skills and how to cope with any issue. Education should not be limited to what is least necessary, but independent lessons should also be mixed with essential education, only then the growth of the mind of the children will be possible. As a parent, you play a huge role in supporting your child’s mental well-being. Nurturing and loving care lay the cornerstone of a strong foundation. When we do not pay attention to the mental health and upbringing of children and adolescents, we limit their ability to form meaningful relationships, learn and grow. From the moment children are born, infants look to caregivers in the hope that they will help them learn, grow, and thrive. Be it a parent, grandparent or any other caregiver, caregivers play the most important role in a child’s physical, emotional, and cognitive development. But parenting is no easy job, and as any caregiver knows, it doesn’t come from an instruction manual either.
Some important steps to establish Effective Communication with your child are :
- Listen , Encourage, and make sure it’s okay and safe to share your thoughts and feelings. When listening and encouraging your child as they share something, keep nodding your head or giving short affirmative verbal responses. Don’t be the judge. Trust them and Be patient.
- Pay attention to your child, do not divert your attention to listening to music, watching TV, reading newspapers, or talking on the phone, doing household chores, or office work. Maintain eye contact with them and don’t turn your attention away while listening to them or talking with them.
- Be honest and make them feel valued with your words and body language that you are there to support them. And talk about their interests – talk about the music or TV show they love. Enjoy their company and let this beautiful relationship grow. You can do all this while you are taking a walk with your child or watching a movie or telling a story to them. Develop a shared interest such as cooking or yoga or art.
What does Bloom Taxonomy highlight on the various aspects of the cognitive behaviour ?
Mayaa SH – Bloom’s taxonomy differentiates between cognitive skill levels and calls attention to learning objectives that require higher levels of cognitive skills and, therefore, lead to deeper learning and transfer of knowledge and skills to a greater variety of tasks and contexts. Bloom’s taxonomy specifically targets these by seeking to increase knowledge (cognitive domain), develop skills (psychomotor domain), or develop emotional aptitude or balance (affective domain). Learning outcomes might be identified by someone outside the teacher, such as state-wide or departmental standards. The cognitive domain is focused on intellectual skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, and creating a knowledge base. It was the first domain created by the original group of Bloom’s researchers. The cognitive hierarchy extends from simple memorization designed to build the knowledge of learners, to creating something new based on previously-learned information. Bloom’s taxonomy primarily provides instructors with a focus for developing their course learning outcomes. There are a number of reasons why a teacher would want to use Bloom’s taxonomy. Initially, it can be used to increase one’s understanding of the educational process. Teachers can see and understand complex cognitive development and how lower-level skills build into higher-order thinking.
What is the Role of NGOS’s in Socio- Economic Development of country ?
Mayaa SH – An NGO is a private organization that carries out activities to relieve people’s suffering, promote the interests of the poor, protect the environment, provide basic social services or community development.To fulfill their responsibilities towards these weaker sections, the state provides them financial grants so that they can achieve their socio-economic upliftment to the best of their ability in accordance with the government policies. There are some voluntary organizations and NGOs which do remarkable work for the safety and welfare of the weaker sections of the society with their own resources without taking financial assistance from the government.NGOs act as social mediators at various different levels of society so as to bring the required change in social and behavioral attitudes prevailing within the social environment. They create awareness among people and become the voice of the poor and needy person or group.They work to improve access to quality education, especially in rural areas, by building schools, providing scholarships, and training teachers. Provide vocational training and skill development programs to equip you with the skills required to reduce poverty.Non-governmental organizations exist at national and international levels. Where government policies cannot reach, members of NGOs reach there and work in the interest of the public. Government organizations should consult non-government organizations on such issues on which these non-government organizations have special experience. They can send their observers to conferences where economic issues are being discussed. Every NGO has its own specific objectives and goals, based on which they carry out their assigned tasks to bring about appropriate changes in a particular community, area or situation. It is an independent, democratic and non-communal organization of individuals which works to empower and enable the economically and generally lower level group of people. NGO’s aim to help society find the root causes of its problems and improve the quality of life, especially of the poor, the oppressed, the socially inferior, whether in urban or rural areas. Are committed to. Finally, NGOs are formed by the public, with little or no government interference. These are not only charitable organizations but they also organize social, economic and cultural activities.
What did the Justice Verma Committee suggest ?
Mayaa SH – Justice Verma Committee was constituted to recommend amendments to the Criminal Law so as to provide for quicker trial and enhanced punishment for criminals accused of committing sexual assault against women. The Committee submitted its report on January 23, 2013. Justice Verma Committee was formed in the aftermath of the 2012 Delhi gang rape, to suggest amendments to criminal laws dealing with crime against women in India. The committee has suggested a range of reforms dealing with all kinds of sexual crimes against women. The Committee criticizes the discourse of shame and honour attached to the crimes of sexual violence against women that prevent reporting of the crime. It was of the view that rape and sexual assault are not merely crimes of passion but an expression of power. Few recoomendations by the panel have been punishment for Rape, voyeurism be punished with upto seven years in jail; stalking or attempts to contact a person repeatedly through any means by up to three years. Acid attacks would be punished by up to seven years if imprisonment; trafficking will be punished with RI for seven to ten years. Every complaint of rape must be registered by the police and civil society should perform its duty to report any case of rape coming to its knowledge. s a primary recommendation, all marriages in India (irrespective of the personal laws under which such marriages are solemnised) should mandatorily be registered in the presence of a magistrate. The manner in which the rights of women can be recognised can only be manifested when they have full access to justice and when the rule of law can be upheld in their favour. A separate Bill of Rights for women that entitles a woman a life of dignity and security and will ensure that a woman shall have the right to have complete sexual autonomy including with respect to her relationships. The judiciary has the primary responsibility of enforcing fundamental rights, through constitutional remedies. The judiciary can take suo motu cognizance of such issues being deeply concerned with them both in the Supreme Court and the High Court.
What is your understanding of Chandrayaan mission and Women Empowerment in ISRO ?
Mayaa SH – A look at great participative management of India with the approval of the Indian Space Policy 2023 is symbolic of providing an impetus to the Indian space-tech ecosystem in 2023. With an interstellar look at various Initiatives like the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) have set India at a higher ascension in space activities. In one of the most historic wins for India garnering international acclaim, India’s space agency, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), successfully landed the Lander Module (LM) of Chandrayaan-3 on the heretofore unexplored south polar region of the Moon. Take any project from the Mars Orbiter Mission to the simultaneous launch of 104 Satellites, the contribution of Indian women scientists in their success is being hailed and celebrated not only by India but also across the globe. Scientists like Dr. Tessy Thomas, N. Valarmathi, Minal Sampath, Anuradha TK, Ritu Karidhal, Moumita Dutta, Nandini Harinath have made every Indian feel extremely proud. Such women have become a symbol of empowerment for other women and have helped create a better India. The historic touchdown occurred at approximately 6:04 pm on August 23rd 2023, marking India as the first country in the world to achieve this remarkable feat. Women today have the freedom to express their intellect in the most altrusitic career paths they can choose for themselves. They can spread their wings and metamorphose into a butterfly in the sky. There is no field that women can’t pedicure their feet to walk confidently as Directors and Deputy Directors, including in those projects sending probes to the moon and Mars. Around 54 women scientists and engineers were involved in the “Chandrayaan 3” project. Apart from Sunitha Wiliams and Kalpana Chawla, many women contribute silently to India’s space program. Women scientists are as good as every one else and have made good contributions and they have good opportunities to progress and contribute significantly as better time managers and team workers . These women are fondly described as the “Rocket Women of India”. Director-level women have put in 30-plus years participating in multiple missions. Gender Equality has been one of its defining values at ISRO looking at the way women have come up in ISRO since the 1980s. The success stories of women scientists like Dr. Tessy Thomas, often referred to as the “Missile Woman of India,” and Ritu Karidhal, the Deputy Operations Director of the Mars Orbiter Mission, serve as inspirations to many aspiring women in space research.
About The Author
Mayaa SH is best known for her efforts to fight for women empowerment and promote transparency in the system for equitable distribution of resources through fair means, full socialism and gender equality . She has earned global recognition through her awards for her dedication and commitment to the fight for gender neutrality , equality and women rights. Born in Kolkata to a Kashmiri Pandit family, she had an diverse upbringing across various cities in the country . Her parents have had a major impact on her life; her father instilled a strong social conscience, while her mother taught her to be independent minded. Being a daughter of an army officer , she started understanding the problems faced by the underprivileged and felt the need to serve them. Best known as Lady Gandhi and Female Karl Marx ,she has not only served her ideology with full conviction through her powerful writings in contemporary literature , but has also made whole-hearted contribution to many social causes. This has majorly influenced her writings with saving many lives of girls and women from suicide by deploying talk as a medium of combat damage in mental health of countless souls in the country . A former national level debater , the multi-talented Kashmiri Pandit is credited for bringing down the number of blackmail cases and crime against women by alignments with numerous female advocates in the country for encouragement for taking up pro bon cases . Mayaa SH’s unwavering commitment to justice and societal well-being has been commendable.She has championed the virtues of openness, diversity and tolerance of differences. Given such a context, awareness, mindset change along with social and behavioral change towards creating an enabling environment for women and girls to achieve equality, becomes a constant necessity. It also becomes a necessity to engage with men and boys who are equal stakeholders in the process. It is imperative that men and boys show the mirror to our society and become equal partners in the war against sexism, inequality and gender discriminations. Though trained as a post graduate in reading chronicles on the application of micro economic theory to the analysis of firms, markets and industries and further advanced yet another post graduate degree that provides theoretical and practical training in business principles and leadership skills from the top institutes in the country , Mayaa had little interest (after working substantially )in the conventional path followed by working only for top corporate houses ; she dreamt instead of a writing career and looking at the numerous challenges plaguing the country with women related issues , made her get aligned to the sector that was totally contemporary in nature . She is known as a maverick crusader who fights against sensitive issues such as house and control, sexual violence , domestic violence and numerous crimes against girls and women including acid attacks etc. Mayaa believes in the power of ideas and conversations to create change. She has been writing since she was ten. In parallel life, she used to be a corporate professional. She has long since walked away from the glitter of corporate stardom and entered the hapless world of sick, beaten and homeless women hoping to make a difference in their lives. Mayaa SH is also a strong campaigner against body shaming , promoting all girls to reflect on their inner beauty rather than exterior appearance. Mayaa saw an opportunity to expand her reach even further and work for more transformative changes for social reforms for women in the country . She is a suicide prevention expert and through her several self help books have helped instilled the doctrine of self belief in life in the minds of many people across the country.
-©Mayaa SH
