Honesty Thy Name Is Woman

By PNK

THE world over is seeing remarkable transformations in every sphere. Talk of violence, terrorism, conflicts and so on there have been escalations. But, one thing is for certain that the women have also joined hands in hand in every activity of their male counterparts.

"Empowerment of women. Equal rights to be guaranteed to be granted to them. No discrimination against women of any sort." These are some of the areas that have become hot topics. The males alone don't have the sole monopoly in every activity as in the past.

Come to criminal activities, there also the role played by women is evident. There are some who even become what we usually refer to as 'dons'. After all women are equal to men in almost every respect. Whether it be any profession or career, the presence of women is there. Talk of boxing or wrestling, the women can do it and make name and fame for themselves.

To talk of women as the 'fair sex' or the 'weaker sex' has become a crime. The situation in our country may be somewhat different but when it comes to asserting their rights, there is no fitter place than Kathmandu to take out protest programmes or demonstration demanding their right be recognised or some grievance be addressed to. It's the same tactics as done by political parties or other organisations.

However, it's sad that no political party has a woman as its chief. Isn't this a paradox. At the village level, there had been women VDC chairmen but it represented only a smalll percentage or rather negligible.

Doctors there are plenty. So are engineers and in other professions. Herein, I would not like to come to the human trafficking or prostitution scenario.

But in the field of crime, the number of women involved is very few here as compared to some other parts of the world. Is that a minus for us? Of course not. The sense of abiding by the law is very high among the women here. This is mentioned in light of a recent newspaper report that a senior female member of a certain mafia group was arrested and is awaiting trial in Vietnam. Does it make any difference to us. It makes no difference, but the main fact is that here in our beloved country, toiling all day long in monotonous affairs seems to be the lot of the women folk. To think of indulging in illegal activities just doesn't cross their mind. So, it's a clean affair.

This just shows that it's the men who get the idea of making quick money through unfair means or illegal activities. To prove this point, has any woman who has held public posts been ever accused of minting money through the abuse of their authority. All the cases that are filed with CIAA name only the 'gentlemen'.

We're lucky that women have held the morale high of their group. That this should prove a role model for the men to emulate. However, an underlying truth or what is often call the open truth is that the family demands make men go for activities that are prohibited by the law of the land. It's all for the sake of money and more money. Such people's excuse (of course, not expressed in the public): I'm doing it for you, my dear wife, my children, my family.

The case is clear for everyone to comprehend. It's no puzzle at all!

Administrative Reform Need Of The Hour

By Uttam Maharjan

IT is a matter of great despondence that almost 50 years since some attempts were made at administrative reforms in the country in 2008-09 with Indian cooperation the administrative machinery of the country has not shown any positive results. It may be noted that the Administrative Restructuring Planning Commission was established under the chairmanship of the then Prime Minister Tanka Prasad Acharya in 2013 BS. Likewise, the Administrative Reform Commission was set up in 2013 BS. Likewise, the Administrative Reform Commission was set up in 2048 BS under the chairmanship of the then Premier Girija Prasad Koirala.

Measure

The administrative machinery of a country is concerned with managing all the affairs of the country. It should, therefore, be in proper order. It is also a measure of public confidence in the state. It is the administrative machinery that ensures delivery of goods and service to the public. If it cannot function well, public welfare will get badly affected and the image of the state will be tarnished. So, to ensure deliver of goods and services to the public without any hitch, the administrative machinery must be in proper order.

The administrative machinery in the country is going through a bad patch. It is incontrovertible that the experience, efficiency and prudence of political leaders and top-flight bureaucrats oil the wheels of the administrative machinery. On the other hand, lack of experience, efficiency and prudence and political interference in the affairs of administration knock the administrative machinery into a cooked hat. It is this 'cooked hat' the present administrative machinery of the country is in at present.

There is a practice of forming commissions even for minor purposes. The sad part of the story is that the findings or suggestions of such commissions are hardly implemented. What is the use of forming a commission, if its suggestions or recommendations are thrown on the scrap-heap? This is nothing but a waste of time and money.

The administrative machinery is very sensitive. It is directly concerned with public welfare. It can play a pivotal role in making a political system a success or a failure. That is why, it is imperative that it should be free from major or minor interference from any quarters, political or otherwise.

It is but natural that the administrative machinery may sometimes develop 'cracks.' It will be judicious to remove such cracks in time and allow the administrative machinery to run its own course as usual. Failure to remedy administrative malfunctions may zap the whole administrative system of a country.
It is a universal postulate that administration should be impartial. The responsibility of creating of a clean administration falls on the shoulders of politicians and bureaucrats. It follows, therefore, that bureaucrats and politicians must be honest and upright so as to let administration proceed without any hindrance. Where politicians and bureaucrats are corrupt and unscrupulous, conceiving of a clean administration is like looking for water in a desert.

The administrative machinery of the country is under the influence of both politicians and top-notch bureaucrats. Politicians unnecessarily meddle in the operations of administration, whereas top-notch bureaucrats do not pay any heed to making it impartial and clean. What is making our administration hollow is the prevalence of rampant corruption.

There is corruption everywhere. This fact is recognised even by the top brass in the government sector. As a result, bureaucracy has failed to imprint a clean image on the public's mind. It is the common wisdom prevalent among the public that appointments, promotions, transfers and the like in the civil service may take place with a price-the price of corruption. And, public services may also have a price tagged to them. The on-going investigations by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) and the Judicial Commission for the Investigation of Property (JCIP) also point to the rampancy of corruption in the country.

Politics and administration should be good bedfellows. One should be supportive of the other. So, administration must exist in a situation of no interference from politicians. Political interference in administration gives rise to unhealthy practices, thus defeating the very goal of pubic welfare of the state. The state can fulfil its duty towards its citizens by keeping its administrative machinery above politics and operating it to the benefit of the public.

Laid-back attitude

It may be noted that successive governments in the country have launched various programmes of reforming administration. Such programmes, if implemented successfully, could change the administrative scenario of the country. But it is found that the government has taken a laid-back attitude towards the implementation of such programmes.

The administrative machinery, or for that matter any other state machinery, cannot remain static: it is dynamic and therefore should change over time. So it is judicious to make reforms in administration from time to time as per the requirements of the changing times. But regrettably, the report of the Koirala Commission, which was submitted to the government towards the end of 2048 BS, has not been fully implemented. So, what is required at this juncture is a strong political commitment to reform the administrative machinery.

Ethics Of Modern Journalism

By Laxman Datt Pant

JOURNALISM is a profession related with the dissemination of news and views and as such journalists should work out of motivation and idealism for the truth, and journalism ethics should be about aspirations and goals rather than minimum standards. The difficulty is that ethical journalists first need to be moral journalists; and to be moral journalists they must first believe in some kind of overriding of conduct and belief. Professional ethics should make all aware of the need for aspirations and principles rather than rules. By emphasising the importance of personal integrity and collective concern for serving the public's right to know the result will be a cohort of journalists who will actively seek the best possible journalism. A clear and unequivocal emphasis on duty, responsibility and the vital role played by the media in a democratic society should make it abundantly clear to all journalists what sort of behaviour is expected from them.

Position

There is a greater pressure to conform: the possible loss of job; harassment by the government, or threats of prosecution for subversion of so-called state secrets. There are other pressures on journalists: from family, peers and from the hierarchy of authority within their own organisations. The climate of self-censorship is often set not by governments but by senior editors, publishers and proprietors. Their position on these matters becomes the tacitly accepted benchmark by which to judge, what stories to be covered and how they are covered. Journalists and editors can often find themselves being wooed by authority and businessmen by being offered favours and benefits, with some editors and reporters favoured by politicians.

Basic ethical principles transcend media forms and issues. The end result is that every journalist will be able to make a responsible decision alone. The primary objective of every professional journalist is to find and report the truth. Journalism ethics always demand honesty, fairness and courage in gathering, reporting, and interpreting accurate information. American Society of Professional Journalists (ASPJ) points out, "Journalist should conscientiously gather as much information as possible so they in turn can inform, engage, and educate the public in clear and compelling ways on significant issues. This goal includes giving voice to the voiceless and holding the powerful accountable."

Acting independently, the second goal of the ethical professional journalist requires that all journalists try to vigorously guard the essential stewardship role that a free press plays in an open society. It also requires journalists to remain free of associations and activities that might compromise journalists integrity or damage credibility. The basic philosophy of ethics should be concerned with truth, freedom of expression, objectivity, honesty of reporting, belief in fairness and the rule of privacy. Even democracy is an ethical, moral term, since it is concerned with the right or the best form of social and political organisation. Ethics is inseparable from journalism, the problem with ethics as a governor of the procession is that it can be used for control. All governments try to censor and control media. Owners use press as a means of satisfying their own lust for power and wealth. Even consumers often try to censor the watchdogs of democracy and freedom by their complaints or pressures. The discussions about journalism ethics are centred on serious matters: propaganda, sexism, racism, homophobia, personal unjustified attacks, deception, and betrayal of confidences and invasions of privacies. These are all matters of reprehensible unethical and unacceptable conduct. They all detract from the primary purpose of newsgathering and news reporting the truth.

Journalists should always remember that freedom is about choice, and choice is about making 'right' or 'wrong' decision. In other word, the freedom of the press is precisely about the freedom to make a mistake. The best way to show the importance of ethics in the profession is to adhere to a set of guidelines or code of conduct. Take privacy, for example. A journalist might have the highest regard for the right to privacy, but claim that some information about a politician doesn't qualify for his protection. The question then arises: does the end justify the means? A code of conduct, with regulations and guidelines by the journalists themselves is probably the solution.

Proprietors invariably seem to safeguard their position through the appointment of an editor who shares or accepts their opinions on general policy. The same applies in the relationship between newspapers and the state. The task of a good editor is to allow journalists to write without any conflict with their own principles or knowledge of the facts. This is editorial independence, and it sometimes means independence of complaint. There is never a good reason for not reporting a story simply because of reader or viewer complaint. However, as the battle for circulation increases and money gets tighter pressures on editors increase to erode journalistic standards on matters of truth, accuracy and ethical acceptability. Commercial decisions of marketing and the publisher's responsibility easily overlap with editorial requirements.

Sensitive

Thus, all professional Journalists should be honest, accurate and disclose all essential facts. They should never suppress facts or distort them and never allow personal believes or commitments to change the story. They must be sensitive and discreet at times of grief and trauma. They should not use their position for personal gain. The ethics of the modern journalists can be summed up in one word: truth.