Quixotic rescuers of women

By SANGITA RAYAMAJHI

If there is one novel you should read before you die, it is Don Quixote," Nigerian author Ben Okri said at the Norwegian Nobel Institute as he announced the results of history’s most expansive authors’ poll organised by editors at the Norwegian Book Clubs in Oslo. "Don Quixote has the most wonderful and elaborated story, yet it is simple." This assertion was published in The Guardian in May, 2002. So when about hundred well known authors including Dorris Lessing, Salman Rushdie, Nadine Gordimer, Wole Soinka, Seamus Heaney, Carlos Fuentes and others from altogether fifty-four countries voted for the ‘the most meaningful book of all time’, they chose to opt for Don Quixote. When I read the above lines from The Guardian once again the other day it set me recalling those days when I used to enjoy reading the escapades of Don Quixote, Don Quixote and his knightly errands where he went about rescuing those in trouble and most of the time they happened to be damsels in distress as he, we know, was a Knight errant who considered it his mission to rescue people in trouble.

The chivalric errands of Don Quixote captivated the hearts of many and still do today for they hold the wisdom of all times even as the episodes elaborate more upon the rescue errands of the ‘fairer sex’ a term which was very very politically correct in Quixote’s time. That was Don Quixote the chivalrous Spanish Knight, driven almost mad by reading too many chivalric romances so that he began to live those chivalries in broad daylight. I remember one Quixote episode very clearly. Quixote meets a man beating his servant by the roadside, most probably for not carrying out his orders. Quixote the typical Spanish Knight, comes riding on his steed and brings it to a stand still next to the man, gets down and taking out his lancelet begins to strike the man. Little does Quixote understand the relationship between the master and the servant. The man pleads guilty, vows never to repeat his mistake and leaves the place shaken. The chivalrous Knight turns to the servant and says in a high theatrical note, "Thou art rescued, go thy way!" Then he mounts his steed and gallops off to the distance to rescue a similar one in a similar distress. But did Quixote stop to think where that servant would go?

This episode speaks volumes about the so called rescue operations and offers administered by many philanthropic agencies that claim to be saviours of hapless women of Nepal. For many NGOs, their model for the salvage of women is based upon a kind of very sentimental intervention into the plights of women like domestic violence, trafficked children and women, women in their own communities barred from working or from living a meaningful existence. There are two types of such rescuers. One category comprises of those who come to the women, especially the rural women, see their plight and readily administer whatever help and support they can, in the form of training, literacy programmes, income generating activities etc. Then once they believe, believe in themselves that their philanthropic interventions have been satisfactory they ‘phase out’ of the place like Quixote never returning to see what had become of the servant. The second category of rescuers is the more real one, those more concerned about the fate of the servant boy, more apprehensive about the impact their actions and operations could have had upon the boy, rather than being only concerned about their own methods of intervention. So the feedback about the programmes should come more from the often distant and unknown recipients of the assistance rather than from Don Quixote’s mouth. But nevertheless the history of philanthropy will be transmitted as a heroic tale about the conquest of the underprivileged, a narrative of progress and the betterment of humanity in general.

But why is it that the women become the subjects of rescue and are either so much romanticized about or tend to create a series of ripples of apprehension among the social workers, concerned agencies and others. After the woman in Kalaiya or Janakpur or Lahan is stigmatized as a witch and abused by the locals, she receives justice later on through the intervention of social workers and activists. What happens later on? Does the intervention bring about a change in the minds, hearts and beliefs of the local people, is her self-respect salvaged. I always wonder what happens to them? When a girl was gang-raped in Pakistan and while the case was under consideration in court she received death threats. The President of the country intervened in a Quixotic manner. He rescued her, but the question comes did he return to see what the master, symbolically the society, has meted out to the hapless girl. What is going to happen to her? The daughter who is the honour of her family has lost her dignity, she has been defiled in the eyes of her community. After the case is dismissed where does she stand? Similar other cases are seen and heard especially in this part of the world. Or to take a more wider context what happened to the Kamaiyas, the bonded labourers of Bardia, Nepal after they were rescued from bondage? Or what happened to the sex workers of Nepalgunj after they were displaced from their original locale in the name of rescue operation?

The concept of rescue in itself is very altruistic, benevolent and very humanitarian whether it is Quixotic or not, and is undeniably an essential aspect of development. But when it comes to women and their deliverance from the present state of affairs what is still more important is to create a consciousness among the men as much as in the women about the socio-cultural construct of the country which is predominantly patriarchal. A woman is gang raped, or a woman becomes a victim of domestic violence, but the question is why should she be ostracized by the society for a crime that she did not commit? Why should she commit suicide, why should she hide from the society for a fault she has not committed? Don Quixotes should be made sure that they turn around to see what has been happening to the rescued creatures after they leave. The majority of our women do not speak or if they do, they are not heard; they wait silently for some rescuers to come and free them from bondage of the mind, transform the social psyche which to them is more important than the physical transformation which is brought about by material gains.

Somebody comes to a rescue and somebody is rescued. This is the favourite pattern of social service as far as women are concerned. But those who are rescued not necessarily women but others too who need it, are invisible. One can only guess that they must be feeling the fear of freedom like the boy rescued by the Knight errant somewhere.

Rescuers are celebrated as saviours and the rescued as martyrs in human history. But the pattern of giving and being given generates a sense of dependency. Reading some discourses related to women’s capacity building recently, I have come to the conclusion that we should learn lessons from the past Quixotic rescue operations which were only doled out to the women, and come up with the agenda to help them realise their potentials. Returning to assess women’s predicament is not to monitor nor to act as watchdogs. It is to build up a solid and reliable basis for women to realise themselves that they are capable of political leadership and are not as hapless as the roadside victims waiting for some Knight errant with a head full of bizarre dreams to rescue them. The discourse should change from being rescued to being a partner in power sharing and a party in the political discourse.

Entrepreneurs sans nationalities

By SUBAS RISAL

A Hindi song was blaring  from the loud speakersinstilled in Paanpasal (Paan shop) adjacent to Kumari Temple in Kopundole. Posters of Bollywood stars could be clearly seen pasted on its walls. Paanwala, popularly know as Panditji, was relishing the moment making paans. Half a dozen impatient customers were yelling at him to make their paans quickly.

 "Cool down, if you want a paan to be tasty, have some patience," nibbling a beetle nut said Panditji, an Indian and an avowed admirer of Bihari culture. He was just trying to calm down customers. Paan-fans were compelled to keep quite as they want their pans to be tasty. Singing along with the song that blared from speakers, Panditji was displaying his skill in making paans.

 Each time I pass through Panditji’s shop, which was, established some couple of years back, I see lots of people waiting for their paans. There are other paanspasals nearby but they have not been able to steal his customers. It seems that his super-paanwala image will remain intact for some years to come.

 I was so eager to try the paan in the panditji’s pasal since it was considered the No. One paanpasal in town. I don’t remember when I last made my lips red by eating paan. May be it has been one year or even more. I was standing in a queue to try paan at his shop. It was quite amazing to see it being made in a jiffy. It took him merely 30 seconds to make it. But it tasted good. Perhaps, that is the reason why his paan is so popular.

 Panditji, coming all the way from India, has been able to establish paan-business successfully within such a short span of time.

 "How much do you save in a month?" I asked Panditji. I couldn’t stop myself from asking him the question, seeing his crowded pasal. "It ranges from Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000," he replied pithily. Ooh mama! It is like the income of a software engineer. I was dumbfounded for a moment. His reply made me ask him more. "Being an Indian, are you comfortable doing business here?" "Why not, I am satisfied with what I am doing and everybody loves my job," was his reply.

 What are Nepali people waiting for? Is it that Nepali people are not good enough to compete with Panditjis across the country? Or, is it the class-conscious society we are living in that is not allowing us to establish such small business? Isn’t it better to make paan than to remain unemployed?

 People coming all the way from India are doing business successfully. So what if it’s a paan business? At least, they are doing something. But Nepali people who fear being socially ostracized shy away from undertaking such a business.

One of my friends, who has remained unemployed for two years, always thinks big. He once tried to set up a Non Governmental Organization (NGO). However to his utter disappointment, it was a big failure. Since then he has been frustrated like anything. I have a word of advice for him. Why not start with a small one like establishing a Hajam Pasal (Barber’s shop). Why not deal a blow to a long-standing tenet that haircutting or making paan is an Indian’s job?

Can democracy be sustained ?

By DR GANGA THAPA

The central issue that the Maoist insurgency can be characterized as an ‘internal ideological war’ in which the armed forces of the parties battle to change or maintain the rule of the state. In ideological wars, the state itself is not threatened because conflicting parties have no ambition to change the borders of the state or change the population of the state. This type of conflict will have fewer atrocities against civilians than in other forms of conflicts. This does not, however, mean they are less bloody. The fighting between the guerrillas as well as the regime may be fierce enough. But the rebels as well as the regime will avoid killing innocent civilians as it may lead to backfiring, and might lose the loyalty of their followers. Instead, the best strategy to gain support is to offer lucrative future economical, political and social programmes that can attract loyalty from potential or existing supporters. Obviously, the rebel forces have to control a small piece of land to be able to train their forces but the conflict is really fought out in the minds of the people.

Conflict is not just the breakdown of society; it is the reordering of society in some ways. One conclusion is that democratization is a solution to this type of conflict in both a procedural and substantive sense. This is to say, democracy is both an alternative procedure for managing conflicts and a more inclusive political demand to counter pose the demands of the conflicting parties.

Clearly, neither democracy can be preserved nor can the republic be established through the mobilization of the military and encouraging the trend for monarchization. The Maoist decision to enter dialogue seems to come from a realization that even while they cannot be defeated militarily, neither can they win at present on the battlefield. Creating trust where distrust prevails is a central difficult problem both in theory and in practice, but it nevertheless is not impossible.

Retelling an old story: Once upon a time, two neighbors were fighting, with a little help from a friend; they learned how to get along. All in all, Nepal needs a mediation that ranges from facilitative to evaluative. Well, third party role is limited to bringing the two parties together, facilitative mediation that helps bring disputants to the negotiating table. In this context, India as the regional hegemony may not be an acceptable mediator for some, given the partisan interests in the conflict; for others there are influential elements within the present Indian government who are sympathetic to the Maoist plight in Nepal. Norway is well-known for playing a role in brokering peace, for instance, Oslo accord for Israel-Palestine, and recently for Guatemala, Sudan, Cyprus, Kosovo, Columbia, Sri Lanka and so on. Norway’s role as a mediator can be considered.

Globally, a growing crisis of legitimacy characterizes the relationship between citizens and institutions that affect their lives. Nepal is grappling with twin crises—one of poverty and the other, which is more profound and delicate, is the Maoist insurgency.

Lipset in Political Man decades ago theorized that democracy is related to the level of economy—the more advanced a national economy is, the greater will be its chances of sustaining it. Rejecting Lipset’s list of socioeconomic prerequisites for democratization, Rustow offers that only one condition matters: that the consensus about national identity is a precondition for democracy. Supporters of this proposition say, if this condition is not met, democracy faces the difficulty of resolving issues, perhaps leading to a potentially deadly conflict. Others argue that neither social nor political conditions in Nepal at the moment are strong enough to carry democracy in the long run, but it can survive with a population that is largely apathetic to its people, because of the commitment of the political elite. However, it is unlikely that it can survive when a population or a significant segment of it believes that it has found an alternative political solution to its experience of hardship and injustice. Such an alternative may be in the form of military regime or terrorism or extreme nationalism, or something else. To survive, democracy has to keep winning the arguments in the ideological market place, proving that it is of instrumental value in delivering liberties and wealth and of normative value.

Consolidation is a process by which democracies become so broadly and profoundly legitimate among their citizens that their breakdown is very unlikely. It implies a widespread expectation that all the major political groups are going to participate in the democratic game for the near future. Ultimately, consolidation refers to a situation where democrats relax. Here people are not comfortable with change, and that is what has to be overcome. It is essential that the government recognises the aspiration of the people, addresses the issues and comes to the normal conclusion that will empower these people as full citizens of the country. In the absence of a democratic culture that upholds values such as tolerance, inclusiveness, equitable sharing of power and responsibilities and distributive justice, it is impossible to sustain democratic institutions or to develop a democratic society.

As everyone knows, government is not like a T-Short, if you do not change it from time to time, it begins to shrink. Political parties should not join the royal government because a partner in a bad government cannot be an alternative to that government.

In order to enable full participation, monarchy may be helpful but is of no use unless it becomes less intervening. We have seen clearly the pattern of uncivil democracy and mode of authoritarian governance along with widespread political violence, corruption, vigilantism, and ineffective civil rights. Unfortunately, we have one set of rules for one set of people; another set of rules for another set of people. It is unfortunate. Not everyone has given up on democracy, but at the same time, I think all democratic minded people will reject this type of situation. Finally, freedom is at the heart of a Nepali dream. Anyone who fails to understand that is not fit to lead the country. Let me repeat what we already know, people are fed up with the corrosive rhetoric.

(Concluded)

Power and politics

PURAN P BISTA

Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala after a week- long visit to Delhi said: "The monarchy cannot go against the people’s wishes". The way Koirala spoke to the media after his arrival shows that he had gone to Delhi more to meet Indian political leaders and get their feedback about the political development in Nepal than to meet his relatives.

Koirala has, however, stuck to the reinstatement of parliament. Koirala does not think of any alternative to restoration at this point in time. Neither can handpicked Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand really intend to restore peace and revive the country’s economy. Koirala knows that under the current situation, the handpicked Chand government cannot hold elections. Nor can political leaders decide on when to hold elections. On the contrary, the Chand government will delay the elections, citing Maoist problem, in order to deny the rights of the people. Koirala’s political assessment appears that ‘the NC cannot tolerate any sort of move that King Gyanendra thinks is right’. This is also an indication that the King cannot become politically active because a king’s active role in politics means to minus the rights of the people.

Koirala says that since the October 4 move which removed caretaker Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, citing him as "incompetent" prime minister, monarchy is in crisis. The current political situation looks apparently both fragile and uncertain. It is fragile because the 1990 constitution is at stake. It is uncertain because the Maoist problem continues to dilute the political equation of this country. Thus the political mismatch that has brought the king to the fore is democratically a contradicting force.

That the country is facing a serious crisis in all fronts cannot be brushed aside, stating it a natural phenomenon of under developing countries. Within a year the economy has reduced to rubble. Democratic forces have been pushed towards a point from where they are finding now hard to regain power. Is this more as a result of corruption, nepotism, favouritism and cronyism practised by the so-called democratic leaders than anything else? Or, is it the Praja Pani practised for centuries that continues to weaken people’s rights?

The Maoists have been fighting to eliminate both the monarchy and the democratic forces. The government has directed the development budget to purchase arms and ammunitions. Consequently, the country has virtually been turned into a killing field. More than 3500 people have lost their lives in the past one and half years. Over one million people have been displaced by the People’s War and thousands of them have fled the country in search of a safer place.

Ironically, not a single political leader has accepted the truth. Neither has King Gyanendra realised significance of the 1990 constitution. Had the King done so he would have definitely undertaken measures to reform bureaucracy, judiciary and military. Nor has the current puppet government made any progress in restoring peace.

In fact, Koirala, who was in power most of the years in the last 12 years, ruined the country, turning it into a killing field. Sher Bahadur Deuba added the woe by deploying the ill-equipped Royal Nepal Army. Deuba bred insurgency. Koirala sold state-run corporations. Now both preach democracy and its practices which both have failed to abide by. The grand design Koirala talked of once, and that the "undemocratic" move he time and again points at the October 4 royal take-over, may not take him to the road he thinks is democratic. Above all, democracy is not the conclusion, but an inclusive value that accommodates every citizen and treats every individual equally– be he monarch or ordinary citizen.

It seems the ailing Koirala is fighting a losing battle. What I think is Koirala still needs lessons of democracy though he has equated the NC with democracy in the past. UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal also had dreams of becoming prime minister. Unfortunately, his dreams are shattered now. And he too like Koirala talks of rooting out the monarchy. But will such verbal salvoes, which appear more a power struggle between the monarch and political leaders than a democratic exercise, help the country to restore peace? Is this a mere idling or wait and watch policy? But such verbal salvoes will only weaken and defeat the 1990 constitution.

The country really needs a compromised stance that ultimately will lead the people to peace and prosperity. But how is it possible remains an intriguing question. The few royal cronies, who advise the king to reverse the present system, will ultimately lead the monarchy to a point of defeat. Any political defeat may cost the future of monarchy more than democracy as Koirala and Madhav Kumar have said. The time and the current Maoist insurgency are a pointer that monarchy in Nepal must remain politically a passive figure, and that history has taught "passive" lessons on monarchy is every Nepalese reading. This aside, the so-called democratic forces must also recognise that the country needs radical measures to reform bureaucracy, judiciary, military, media, etc., and not the power to amass wealth as the tattered and blotted democratic 12 years’ political history of Nepal unravelled.

A lesson from Enron
Accounting manipulations

Atma shrestha

A very senior Nepalese banker in a seminar cracked a joke trying to give a succinct picture of accounting practices of Nepalese business organizations. He was referring to a certain business organization approaching him for credit facility. The joke went on like this: the profit figure shown in the financials of the said company was negative that prompted him to tell his customer outrightly that he could not extend loan to the loss making entity as his bank’s credit policy did not allow him to do so. In turn, the customer came out with a smart and spontaneous reply that it was not that his company was making a loss; it was only his financial statements that were showing loss! Really a smart reply that might have perhaps led the banker to consider the case positively! While this revelation may shock and surprise those few who still believe in the notion of responsible corporate behavior and ethics but it does not surprise however the majority of people who are well adapted to the present-day imperfect world.

Another example worth-citing here is the recent study jointly conducted by Nepal Rastra Bank and Nepal Banker’s Association (NBA) to find out the actual status of Non-performing assets (NPA) of Nepalese commercial banks. What interests me more than the findings, is the way some banks reacted to the findings immediately after the reporting. They hurriedly issued press releases refuting the finding and gave their own version of the NPA. They tried to give an impression that the finding of the study was flawed and misleading that could potentially jeopardize their strategic interests and tarnish market image. However, I find this interesting and surprising too given the fact that the NBA that represents the bankers’ community was itself involved in the study. This NPA imbroglio has given rise to the serious question on the authenticity and accuracy of the NPA position of the commercial banks. Hence, it calls for a deeper investigation so as to ascertain their actual NPA position. As NPA position provides a strong basis for the performance measurement of a bank, one cannot rule out the possibility of NPA manipulation in this case for the short-term market gain.

Presenting fake and tampered financials to the bank can cause serious consequences on the performance of the lending institutions as it adversely affects their quality of credit decision. Though it is not only factor that is considered while making a credit decision, it is still a vital information that heavily influences the quality of a credit decision of the lending authorities in the bank. And to this end, a strong and empowered watchdog body comprising of competent professionals with high integrity should be formed. However, the effectiveness and success of this body mostly depends on the type of government, as most of the ethical problems including the accounting misrepresentation have so far stemmed from the involvement of the government ministers and bureaucrats.

The consequences of NPA manipulation can be even more serious. Almost all the banks – big and small are now competing to showcase their profitability growth every quarter to impress their stakeholders. NPA manipulation can invite an Enron-like corporate disaster. Who could have imagined the collapse of the company once considered one of the best and biggest in the world? It was ranked high in Fortune 500 list not so long before it was declared bankrupt. The series of investigations unearthed the fact that it was the corporate fraud committed by the corporate crooks of the company with the help of its auditor Anderson auditors that caused its pre-mature collapse. Arthur and Anderson, one of the five best known auditing and consulting companies in the world also had to make a humiliating exit due to the lack of professional integrity. It was accused to have obstructed justice by shredding important documents. Lesson should be learned from this event that even highly successful and big corporate giants can be dinosaurs in a wink in the absence of corporate ethics and good corporate governance.

Above examples and explanations point at an important issue of corporate ethics and professional integrity, which are now in short supply everywhere including Nepalese corporate world. The driving force for stretching the limit of corporate ethical boundary is apparently the thrust and impatience for a quick fix: making profit by evading tax, bribing the corrupt politicians and bureaucrats for landing lucrative contracts. What about the professional integrity of the Nepalese professionals? It is mostly doubtful. Auditors help the business organization prepare distorted financials for their personal benefits; bankers tend to tamper their financials to inflate their profitability to ensure their professional caliber and competence; union leaders betray their colleagues to climb the professional ladder and what’s more; university teachers take study leave to sell insurance policy as an agent!

In light of the fact that corporate sector is assuming greater role in the economic development of the country, it is essential that the people involved in the corporate sector – both promoters and professionals improve their ethical standard for success and longevity. In the face of onslaught of global competition, it’s essential to have high standard of corporate ethics and professional integrity to lead Nepalese corporate world to the path of a lasting success. This is a responsibility of the new generation corporate leaders who are supposedly better exposed, educated and achievement-driven to end the ethical deficiency in the Nepalese corporate world. Equally important point to add here is the need of an effective punitive measure that should be in place to curb the tendency of corporate fraud, mainly emanating from accounting manipulations.

Atop the Great Wall

SATYENDRA TIMILSINA

The weather was with us that day – a bright sunny day with temperature not as low as we were informed of. None of us, except Rajendra Nakarmi, our team leader and Mi Han, a Chinese, working in China National Tourist Office at Kathmandu, had any hints on how cold it would be in The Great Wall. All were dressed warm – jackets and overcoats on top of a full sweater, trousers inside pants, a woollen cap and woollen gloves along with mufflers. Everyone looked ready to smash the cold and experience the beauty of The Great Wall, one of the seven wonders of the world.

After driving almost 60 kilometres north from Beijing, we were at the Badaling section of the Great Wall, the first entrance to the magnificent construction of the sixteenth century that runs across 6,000 kilometres the rolling mountains north to Beijing. Our tour guide, Yue Miao, was busy explaining the history, "The Great Wall was not constructed all at once and has a history dating back to the seventh century BC". The vassal-states under the Zhou Dynasty in the northern part of China began building defensive walls in their borders during 7th century BC, which later was constructed in other parts also.

The walls were then joined in 221 BC when Qin Dynasty begun to rule unified China. However, the Great Wall that we see now took its shape only in 1568, after the Ming Dynasty did major renovations. It extends to the Jiayu Pass in Gansu Province in the west and to the mouth of the Yalu River in Liaoning Province in the east. What lies north of Beijing is just a small section of it. The Great Wall has eight major entry points, of which two near to Beijing are popular to tourists.

When we reached the Great Wall, a large number of hawkers with woollen caps, gloves and other winter outfits followed us. It was a real tourist experience when we were forced to use dumb language for communication. We were not able to understand the local language, or make them understand what we were trying to say. Despite all difficulties, business deals were easily carried out and no particular problems arose. Yue brought the entrance tickets worth Y 40 (Equivalent to NRs 380) each and guided us to the entrance of the Great Wall where we were asked to be back within an hour and a half. It was an experience of a lifetime to be in the wall over the hilltop, for those ninety minutes.

The well-preserved construction with heights of 7.5 metres and 4 metres has a number of watchtowers, which was supposed to be used for military message transmission in the early days. It was exciting to be in the wonderful place that I used to see in books and magazines. The wall-top, paved with square bricks, wide enough for six horses and ten shoulders to march side by side was crowded with domestic and international visitors – Japanese, English, Europeans, Malaysians and several other from across the world.

Climbing the steep wall for some 500 metres, we were at the tower. And it was quite amazing to see a crowd of hawkers. Some, with a camel were requesting the unknowns to take a photo, and others were trying to sell their curios. An instant photo in the Great wall was a worthwhile attraction for the visitors.

The Badaling section of the Great Wall, one of the two earth-bodies that can be seen from the Moon with bare eyes, was designated a World Cultural Heritage by the United Nations in 1987. By October 2002, more than 80 million people are said to have visited the site, including 300 Head of States and celebrities from foreign countries.

AIDS in Africa has a woman’s face

KOFI A ANNAN

A combination of famine and AIDS is threatening the backbone of Africa - the women who keep African societies going and whose work makes up the economic foundation of rural communities.

For decades we have known that the best way for Africa to thrive is to ensure that its women have the freedom, power and knowledge to make decisions affecting their own lives and those of their families and communities. At the United Nations we have always understood that our work for development depends on building a successful partnership with the African farmer and her husband. Study after study has shown that there is no effective development strategy in which women do not play a central role. When they are fully involved, families are healthier. They are better fed. Income, savings and reinvestment go up. And what is true of families is true of communities and eventually of whole countries.

But today millions of African women are threatened by simultaneous catastrophes: famine and AIDS. More than 30 million people are at risk of starvation in southern Africa and the Horn of Africa. All of these predominantly agricultural societies are also battling serious AIDS epidemics. This is no coincidence: AIDS and famine are directly linked.

Because of AIDS, farming skills are being lost, agricultural development efforts are declining, rural livelihoods are disintegrating and household earnings are shrinking - all while the cost of caring for the ill is rising exponentially.

At the same time, HIV infection is spreading dramatically and disproportionately among women. A UN report released last month shows that women now make up half of those infected with HIV worldwide - and in Africa that figure is now 58 percent. Today AIDS has a woman’s face. AIDS has killed almost 2.5 million Africans this year alone. It has left 11 million African children orphaned since the epidemic began. Now it is attacking the capacity of these countries to resist famine by eroding those mechanisms that enable populations to fight back - the coping abilities provided by women.

In famines before the AIDS crisis, women proved more resilient than men. Their survival rate was higher and their coping skills were stronger. Women were the ones who found alternative foods that could sustain their children in times of drought. Because drought happened once a decade or so, women who had experienced previous droughts were able to pass on survival techniques to younger women. Women are the ones who nurture social networks that can help spread the burden in times of famine.

But today, as AIDS is eroding the health of Africa’s women, it is eroding the skills, experience and networks that keep families and communities going.

Even before falling ill, a woman will often have to care for a sick husband, thereby reducing the time she can devote to planting, harvesting and marketing crops. When her husband dies she is often deprived of credit, distribution networks or land rights. When she dies, the household risks collapsing completely, leaving children to fend for themselves. The older ones, especially girls, will be taken out of school to work in the home or on the farm. These girls, deprived of education and opportunities, will be even less able to protect themselves against AIDS. .This crisis is different from past famines, so we must look beyond relief measures of the past. Merely shipping in food is not enough. Our effort will have to combine food assistance and new approaches to farming with treatment and prevention of AIDS.

It will require early-warning and analysis systems that monitor HIV infection rates and famine indicators. It will require new agricultural techniques, appropriate to a depleted work force. It will require a renewed effort to wipe out HIV-related stigma and silence. It will require innovative, large-scale ways to care for orphans, with specific measures that enable children in AIDS-affected communities to stay in school. Education and prevention are still the most powerful weapons against the spread of HIV.

Above all, this new international effort must put women at the center of our strategy to fight AIDS.

Experience suggests that there is reason to hope. The recent UN report shows that HIV infection rates in Uganda continue to decline. In South Africa infection rates for women under 20 have started to decrease. In Zambia HIV rates show signs of dropping among women in urban areas and younger women in rural areas. In Ethiopia infection levels have fallen among young women in the center of Addis Ababa.

We can and must build on those successes and replicate them elsewhere. For that we need leadership, partnership and imagination from the international community and African governments. If we want to save Africa from two catastrophes, we would do well to focus on saving Africa’s women.

(The writer is secretary-general of the United Nations. He contributed this comment to The New York Times)

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