Where is the world going?
The continuous conflict between Israel and Iran has serious geopolitical, military, and humanitarian consequences and has emerged as one of the Middle East’s instability and critical conflicts. In recent years, this conflict which has its roots in decades of hatred and ideological conflicts has become worse to a disastrous level. The cycle of bloodshed has been increased by Iran’s Oct 2024 launch of more than 180 ballistic missiles toward Israel, which has carried both countries and their allies into a destructive cycle.
Questions concerning the direction of this conflict and the world at large shade big as everyone watches with eagerness. We need to examine the historical background of Israel and Iran’s relationship in order to understand the present conflict between them. It may surprise you to learn that Israel and Iran were not always enemies. Both countries had friendly connections before the Iranian Revolution in 1979. Iran recognized Israel and supplied it with oil throughout the Arab-Israeli wars during Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s secular reign. However, the dynamics of their relationship had been drastically changed by the 1979 Iranian revolution.
After the revolution, Iran became an Islamic Republic and Ayatollah Khomeini came to power. As a result of this change, Iran adopted an anti-Israel and anti-Western foreign policy. Iran started backing anti-Israel militant organizations like Hezbollah and Hamas that called for the annihilation of Israel after Khomeini declared Israel to be an illegitimate state. This was the start of a long-running hostility that has had a significant impact on the region’s geopolitics. Since then, both nations have been fighting a proxy war through middlemen like Hamas and Hezbollah.
However, Israel has been focusing on stopping Iran from getting nuclear weapons, frequently using illicit methods such as the murder of Iranian nuclear scientists. Iran perceives Israel as a tool of Western hegemony in the Middle East, while Israel considers a nuclear-armed Iran as a mortal danger. These conflicts continue to grow worse over time. When Iran fired more than 180 ballistic missiles at Israel in Oct 2024, the conflict escalated to another level. Israel’s killings of important Hamas and Hezbollah leaders prompted this retribution. Although various of the missiles were stopped by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, the attacks, which targeted Israeli communities and military infrastructure, caused extensive damage and casualties.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Israel reacted quickly and harshly, directing airstrikes against Iranian forces. The war quickly spread throughout the region, attracting Hezbollah, which attacked Israeli targets in southern Lebanon. In response, Israeli troops increased their strikes in Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, and Iraq while executing ground operations along the Israel-Lebanon border. Air and naval forces are engaged in a regional struggle for supremacy along several fronts in the conflict. Despite its longstanding involvement, the United Nations Security Council’s (UNSC) attempts to mediate and settle the tensions between Israel and Iran have frequently been failed by the geopolitical interests of its permanent members.
In order to resolve tied issues, the UNSC has approved a number of resolutions. For example, Resolution 1701 in 2006 tried to end the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, while Resolution 2231 in 2015 supported the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also referred to as the Iran nuclear agreement. However, the Israel-Iran dispute has caused significant division inside the UNSC. As a strong supporter of Israel, the United States has backed resolutions that seek to limit Iran’s regional influence.
On the other hand, resolutions that are detrimental to Tehran have frequently been rejected by China and Russia, both of whom have strong relations to Iran. No real progress has been made in the Security Council’s attempts to resolve the crisis because of this split. The UNSC has demanded a cease-fire in the most recent escalation, but neither Israel nor Iran seem prepared to back down. Nepal is the only nation that has been conspicuously silent during this international confrontation. Nepal, which has been a member of the UN since 1955, has historically avoided taking sides in international disputes by pursuing a non-alignment foreign policy.
Nepal’s long standing adherence to neutrality and peace serves as the foundation for this position. Nepal’s foreign policy has always been careful to strike a balance given its strategic location between two regional giants, India and China. Nepal also has close commercial relations with the Middle East. Gulf countries like Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, with which Nepal maintains diplomatic ties, employ hundreds of thousands of Nepali workers.
Nepal’s commercial ties with the area could be difficult and the livelihoods of these workers put at risk if it takes an aggressive position on the Israel-Iran conflict. Nepal is afraid to get involved in international wars in part because of its own internal problems, such as governance and economic recovery. The region’s civilian populations have suffered greatly as a result of the Israel-Iran conflict. The most recent wave of violence has murdered almost 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza alone. Hezbollah has been attacking the area around the northern border with Lebanon, which has resulted in the displacement of thousands of Israelis.
Many people lack access to basic essentials including food, water, and medical care, making the humanitarian crisis dire. The conflict’s effects on the economy are also world. Due to the conflict’s threat to interrupt the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial chokepoint for the world’s oil trade, the price of oil has increased by five percent. Rising energy prices are worsening the effects of inflation, which are already an issue for many economies healing from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Major world powers including the US, Russia, and China have become involved in the conflict, which has raised concerns about a wider regional or possibly global conflict. The war between Iran-supported Hezbollah and Israel grew worse dramatically yesterday. Hezbollah commanders in Beirut were the target of major attacks by Israeli troops, which caused significant damage and casualties.
Israel said Iran launched a missile attack on its military bases, which prompted this escalation. Ayatollah Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, threatened dire consequences if Israel’s military actions continued in a rare public declaration. Four soldiers were killed in a drone attack on an Israeli army camp by Hezbollah in retaliation. The continuous violence has resulted in nearly 2,000 casualties in the last two weeks, according to the Lebanese authorities. Both sides are getting ready for more conflicts, and the situation is still extremely unstable.
Notwithstanding continuous international efforts to negotiate and de-escalate the conflict, a peaceful resolution is difficult due to the parties' continuing disagreements and strategic objectives. The Israel-Iran conflict acts as a harsh reminder of the world’s uncertain state of peace and security. The Middle East and the entire world are at risk as the conflict escalates. Major nations like China, Russia, and the United States are involved, which makes a peaceful outcome less probable. The situation does not appear to be de-escalating, and the United Nations is still divided despite its attempts.
Nepal has a historical foreign policy perspective on which is shown in its neutrality and non-alignment in the conflict. But the entire globe is at a turning point. There is an urgent need for diplomatic involvement and a long-term peace process to stop more deaths and heal an area that has already suffered too much. The future of global order will be shaped by how the entire world handles the current situation, and the risks are extremely high. In these unpredictable and dangerous illustrations, one thing is clear: the globe is on edge, and where it goes from here depends on leaders’ decisions and diplomacy’s ability to map a road toward peace.
Prabin Kumar Yadav
BA LLB
Kathmandu School of Law
Teachers, you are not allowed to punish!
Every day, when I see schoolkids trudging toward their school, I am filled with nostalgia. However, I am not one of those people who say, “Those days were the best days of my life.” One would definitely not utter that sentence if they had been made naked in a classroom filled with forty-odd students. A chill still runs through my body when I remember that day from around twelve years ago.
This is my candid account of the harassment I faced when I was in grade 7. Now, after all these years, I have decided to recount the event that marred my confidence and affected me psychologically. It’s not that I made a huge blunder; I, along with two classmates, didn’t submit our assignment on time, and the teacher decided to punish us by exposing our bodies to the class. Thankfully, he was sitting at the back of the classroom, and we were asked to remove our clothes there. I remember bowing my head and refusing to follow his instruction. At first, I thought it was just a reprimand, but only when I looked into his eyes did I realize that he was serious. The other boys were also reluctant to undress, and that is when it dawned on the teacher that we wouldn’t comply on our own.
Three students were called out, and at the teacher’s insistence, they began to tear our clothes, leaving only our underwear. The playfulness on the teacher’s face and his evil smile still haunt me. Tears coursed down my cheeks as I stood frozen on the cold ground, unwilling to move an inch. “Oe Bahun!” the teacher called out, pointing at me. My eyes, blurred with tears, were not ready to meet his gaze. It was my first year at that school, and as I approached him, I imagined spending three more years until my SLC examination under his dark scrutiny. When I stood near him, he made an angry face and ordered me to walk to the front of the classroom. Not believing what the teacher was saying, all the students turned to look at me, and my eyes met countless pairs of eyes. At fifteen, I was not daring enough to protest that he was in the wrong; I was not brave enough to tell him that I would not walk to the front of the classroom. My powerless legs dragged my body slowly and tentatively. To my surprise, I heard the teacher shout “stop” when I had crossed two rows of students. The naked boy standing at the end of our line had literally joined his palms submissively, pleading with the teacher to stop sending us to the front of the classroom. I don’t know what triggered the teacher, but he called us three out and made us stand in a semi-circle. “I am forgiving you all now. Repeat this next time, and I know what to do,” he said. Those words echoed in my ears not just until the end of that day but for years, and I still remember them vividly, along with the twitching of his facial muscles as he proudly forgave us.
It was the only time I was made naked during my school days. However, that does not mean the teacher stopped imposing that very punishment on others. The following year, when I was in grade 8, one of my classmates became the victim of his rage. This time, he did not choose the back of the classroom. The boy was made naked in front of the entire class. It goes without saying that it was for a petty reason. Plastic pipes and bamboo sticks were his main weapons; that’s how he dealt with students. The whole school committee endorsed his actions, and perhaps the parents were also assured that it was the best way to treat students. As for me, I never broached the topic of punishment at home. At school, I began to feel insecure and, for days, couldn’t hold anyone’s gaze. I couldn’t stand the sympathetic looks my friends offered. I started overthinking. From that incident, I now remember that I feared going to the front of the classroom and facing my fellow students.
Whenever the teachers would ask me to stand up and answer a particular question, I would feel everyone’s eyes boring into me, and I couldn’t voice a word. If something came out of my mouth, it never sounded clear because my voice was always shaky. My legs were just as shaky. Without realizing it, I shied away from participating actively in the classroom. I kept my interactions to a minimum, and I became an introvert, an overthinker, a shy boy with extremely low confidence. The person I am today is partly a result of that incident. I never knew that its repercussions would be so long-lasting. I know it’s not an excuse when I blame that incident for my inability to speak in public. The memory of my naked body, of students peering into my downcast eyes, always lingers in the back of my mind. That teacher, who punished me, also didn’t hesitate to shout “Oe Bahun” when the atmosphere was filled with non-Brahmin students and staff. I could never complain or express my discomfort to anyone. But then, it wouldn’t have mattered. The school backed him and his methods, and the students were fearful of his shadow.
I often wonder what he is like today and how that school functions now. I suppose I am not the only person who faced harassment in school. Instead of promoting fun learning, teachers are instilling fear in students’ minds.
Why do teachers think they can treat students the way they want, overlooking the laws and disregarding students’ sentiments? A mistake made by students, whether knowingly or unknowingly, should not be deemed a crime. Yes, students do not commit crimes; they don’t deserve punishment involving bamboo sticks, plastic pipes, and insulting threats. When teachers are recruited, school management should not only focus on qualifications but also monitor their temperament. Additionally, parents must closely track the teacher-student relationship to ensure that their children are being educated in a healthy environment. When I grow older and become a parent, I will not allow my children to face the harassment I endured as a child. If my kids are physically punished in school, I might just give the teacher a tight slap across the face before seeking legal recourse.
Dear guardian
Almost a year back, I was having dahi puri at New road, when a small girl, roughly around 9-10 years of age came to me and asked for money. I asked her if she would have the dahi puri with me and she nodded. She ate it with great delight, at least it seemed so. Then she asked for money again. I asked her where her parents were and she ran away.
Child beggary is a prominent problem in Nepal, especially in busy city areas. The Prime Minister has committed to ending child beggary in Nepal, but the plans and policies for this are either non- transparent or non-existent till now.
State has provided the rights of children as fundamental rights in article 39 of constitution of Nepal. Child beggary itself is prohibited by section 66(2j) of child rights act 2075. Article 19 of CRC requires states to protect children from all forms of violence and exploitation, which must be a cardinal point to focus for street children who are highly vulnerable to abuse. Despite these laws, many children still end up begging due to difficult circumstances.
Beyond the specific differences of each case concerning the reason behind the children coming to streets that has been carried out by multiple empirical researches, most of the stories have a common issue that shows the intolerant families situation and the experiences of poverty. Witnessing constant violence and abuse in the home amongst parents, not being able to have a full plate meal are unimaginable experiences for children growing up to go through. So their desire to travel in the hope of finding a better life results in facing a slew of other problems, one of them being children of streets tackling more horrible situations such as being exploited, sexually assaulted, and prone to a number of diseases like malnutrition and injuries. This harsh environment exposes them to dangers like drug addiction, with some as young as nine years old regularly using marijuana and even more harmful substances like glue and benzene, poor living conditions, lack of access to food, education, and healthcare. Research published in the Journal of Health Promotion highlights that street children face numerous hardships, including lack of shelter, hunger, and exposure to violence, drugs, and criminal activities. Most of them are living, sleeping and working under the open sky and engaging to survive as they can without family support, for example, either by presenting themselves as rag pickers, dishwashers, shoeshine boys and others.
Poverty and marginalization of children are often associated with developing countries, but they also exist in the middle of Europe. However, they have time and again brought plans and policies to tackle this problem. The European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice, and Home Affairs has emphasized the urgency of addressing this issue. In its Communication ‘Towards a Strategy on the Rights of the Child’, the Committee advocated for a decisive goal: ensuring that no child remains homeless or living on the streets in the EU.
On the other side of the world, Brazil came up with the social welfare program called Bolsa Familia, where they provided financial aid to poor families, on the condition that they send their children to schools and get them properly vaccinated.
In Nepal, various agencies like the National Child Rights Council and various NGOs are constantly working to find a quick solution to this problem, mostly by rehabilitating them with their parents.
According to the Resource and Information Centre of Child Workers in Nepal (CWIN) there are approximately 5,000 street children, with around 1,200 to 1,500 residing in Kathmandu alone in Nepal. Krishna Thapa from Voice of Children (VOC) highlighted that sexual abuse of male street children by foreigners is a severe and rampant issue, and that over 40 such foreign individuals might have been involved.
The Government of Nepal, under Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, launched a campaign in 2016 that rescued 574 street children, aiming to eventually eradicate street begging through continued efforts. Despite these initiatives, the Centre for Research on Education, Health and Social Science (CREHSS) notes that the problem remains inadequately addressed by political authorities, with Kathmandu and Birgunj experiencing growing numbers of street children. The core reason being unidentification of the in depth problem, mostly rooted with poverty and socioeconomic reasons.
Foremost plan of the government must be primary identification of the issue; it could be done by forming a separate committee for its investigation. In current practices, the agencies ‘rescue’ the children and reunite them back to the family then what? Major problem is poverty itself. Children run away from the family given their harsh socioeconomic background and they will run away once again. It is the responsibility of the state to ensure that parents are able to provide at least basic living standards to their children. One of the major steps for eradicating poverty could be by involving parents in employment generation programs. In the cases where their families are not traced, they are sent to child care homes that contribute to their education and basic services, but irregular inspection of these homes by the government causes them to be treated poorly.
One of the other major problems that is rampant currently is beggary or using a child in beggary, by parents themselve. In Pashupati and various other religious sites, women carry their children in their lap and beg for money. If children are toddler, they roam here and there in the temple. Beggary prohibition act, though remains as a dead law, has restricted using child in any form of beggary. This is one of the forms of using a child in beggary. Many of them are the women who are breastfeeding the baby and begging or taking their children with themselves and begging.
Again, pushing everyone asking for the money from the temple out might not be a solution to this. Rather, the root socio economic cause behind this, i.e poverty needs to be addressed which was never reflected in the intent of the beggar prohibition act, probably one of the reasons it remains non-functional. Such an act defined as ‘crime’ by the law has a deep sociological problem embedded within, that is poverty.
In terms of statistics, the population of street children are overlooked in census counting, one of the major reasons being their parents remaining untraced. But the constitution clearly provides that a child whose parents remain untraced and are found in the borders of our country are the citizens of Nepal. The vaccination programs to children, or various programs brought by the government for child’s welfare, never encompasses the street children. They are mostly deprived of state run programs and policies for children like health check ups or scanning of certain diseases. These vulnerable populations must be counted countrywide and on the government’s approach. Street children and their families should be included in national census data, health registries, and government welfare databases. This will ensure they are eligible for various welfare schemes, including healthcare, education, and financial support.
Every year, the budget allocated for social welfare programs is not properly utilized, while there are multiple areas for it to work on. KMC budget review of the ongoing fiscal year provides least utilization of the budget in the employment sector, after land management. If the metropolitan can integrate employment generation with coordination from social welfare programs, it could be beneficial. A robust solution for this issue must involve sustainable livelihood programs for families of street children, like creating programs regarding vocational training to the families and a linkage between child welfare programs and existing prime minister employment generation programs. Families of street children should be actively prioritized for these programs, ensuring a steady income source.
Many national and international organizations like NCRC, CWIN have been working to rescue these children from the streets, rehabilitate them or send them to their families. But rehabilitating them or uniting them with family could not be counted as a success rate. Whether or not they have again run away from the family, whether they are living in better condition and happier, promoting their physical, mental and emotional growth must be looked after.Tracking the success rate of children who are rescued, whether they remain with their families, their economic status after intervention, and their overall well-being is another essential way forward. Rescued children and their families should be regularly checked on for at least 2–5 years to prevent re-entry into street life. Partnerships with community-based organizations can help maintain this contact.
Simply rescuing and reuniting children with families or placing them in childcare homes cannot be the final goal. After initial rescue, children need continuous support, one of the crucial ones being Long-term psychological counseling to address trauma, abandonment, or addiction issues. This is another core area the government must focus on.
Article 39 (9) of the constitution provides that the child who is helpless, orphan, with disabilities, conflict victim, displaced or vulnerable shall have the right to special protection and facilities from the State. To do any legal or administrative work or to carry responsibility for children, law demands a guardian, which in the case of the helpless children, whose home has been the streets, is state. So Dear Guardian, it's high time that you actually execute the laws you have committed to implement, not just surfacially and not just for the sake of showing you did good, but actually researching deep for actual solution of this problem, mostly embedded in economic factors. Efforts must go beyond superficial measures to address the root causes of poverty and provide comprehensive, sustainable support for families. The ‘best interest’ of children is not to be limited in legal provisions. After all, we all were children once.
Monika Khatiwada
BA LLB IIIrd Year
Kathmandu School of Law
Dear Maa,
what does it mean to be a woman?
to me, being a woman is to be divine,
to be the greatest embodiment of God's prolific powers.
to be a woman is to be it all, and more.
to be a woman is to be you, maa.
most of what i’ve learned of the world
i’ve known from you, maa.
i’ve learned that knowledge is the greatest form of power one can acquire,
that to know is to be.
i’ve learned that freedom comes with boundaries, too,
that to be free is to be limited.
i’ve learned that faith should be bigger than fear,
that hope keeps us moving.
i look at you everyday and,
everyday i find myself awestruck.
i look at you, maa.
i look at the courage in your beauty.
i look at the strength in your warmth.
i look at the force in your generosity.
i look at the zeal in your care.
and i find myself everywhere.
you walk me through darkness,
while talking of light.
you push me down heights,
while talking of flight.
how do you do it, maa?
where did you learn?
how many courses did you take,
on how to be a mom.
to be a woman is to be it all, and more.
to be a woman is to be you, maa.
Sadikshya Khadka
A-Level Graduate
Rato Bangala School
