Kalinga Seneviratne
MANILA, Aug 1 2008 (IPS) – A growing and heated debate in this predominantly Catholic country revolves around the church s uncompromising stance against the use of contraceptive devices that is said to be contributing to poverty and affecting the quality of life for many Filipinos.
A group of 15 bishops led some 12,000 protestors at a rally here on Jul. 25 against a proposed House of Representatives bill aimed at devising a national reproductive health policy.
Pulling the other way opinion pieces in the national press have been critical of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo s pro-Catholic church stand on population issues. They urged her to make a bold anti-poverty statement in the State of the Nation Address (SONA) that was delivered on Monday.
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Women disabled in Taliban attacks on a campaign in Peshawar to seek rights for themselves and action against the Taliban. Credit: Ashfaq Yusufzai/IPS.
PESHAWAR, Mar 18 2013 (IPS) – People disabled through bomb and suicide attacks by the Taliban in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and the nearby Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province are seeking support for themselves, and demanding strict action against the Taliban.
“There’s an urgent need of a campaign against Taliban militants to stem the tide of militancy and safeguard people,” Muhammad Imran, a resident of Bajuar Agency within the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) told IPS. Imran, 34, was a successful fa…