Gallery: The only female eagle hunter in Kazakhstan

Gallery: The only female eagle hunter in Kazakhstan

Makpal Abrazakova, 25, who is professionally trained as a lawyer, is the only female eagle hunter in Kazakhstan. She started learning falconry from her father at the age of 13.

In Afghanistan, Canada's female soldiers earned the right to fight, and die, as equals

In the early hours of May 17, 2006, Capt. Nich Goddard and another junior officer led more than 200 Canadian and Afghan army soldiers into Afghanistan's Panjwaii district.

By midday, Goddard became the first Canadian soldier since the Korean War to execute a fire mission in support of Canadian troop manoeuvres against a known enemy.

A few hours later, Goddard was killed in a firefight.

The 17th Canadian soldier death in Afghanistan sent shock waves across Canada. It was not Goddard's historical mission that generated headlines, though, but her gender: the 26-year-old officer's given names were Nichola Kathleen Sarah.

Canada's first battlefield death of a combat-certified female soldier represented a watershed moment for a generation, says Krystel Carrier-Sabourin, a doctoral student at the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ont. "It woke people up to the fact that there were female warriors in our country's military."

Before Goddard's death, says Carrier-Sabourin, who is conducting a study into the growing role of Canadian women in combat, not much attention was paid to female combat soldiers in Afghanistan.

Six years later, in fact, there is more interest abroad than at home in what she calls the "very significant contribution" Canadian military women, both combat and non-combat, played in the decade-long Afghan mission.

"There are several American researchers studying our female soldiers, what they have labelled the 'Canadian experience,'" she says. "Americans are definitely much more interested than we are."

The attention south of the border is due largely to the fact more than 100 American women made the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan and Iraq: this spring, a Congress-appointed commission is expected to deliver a report to U.S. President Barack Obama recommending the American ban on women in on-the-ground combat units be lifted.

It also stands to reason that such interest, at least back in 2006, would have evaded most segments of Canadian society: that year, despite then-chief of defence staff Rick Hillier's pronouncement that "Our job is to be able to kill people," a majority of Canadians polled said they believed that our military role in Afghanistan was peacekeeping.

For more than a century, Canadian women have served important roles in the country's military. During the First World War, 43 Canadian women, attached to the military in non-combat roles, were killed.

In 1989, four years after the "equality rights" section of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms came into effect, Canada's Human Rights Tribunal ruled that women should be allowed into all military jobs, including combat units.

The only exception was submarine service, which became open to women in 2001.

The move made Canada a pioneer in the developed world. Out of the more than 13,000 women in Canada's armed forces, about 15 per cent of the total, only about two per cent are in combat roles. About nine per cent of Canadian Forces personnel sent to Afghanistan were women.

Carrier-Sabourin's research shows that 310 women were deployed in combat positions during the Afghan mission, more than triple the number seen in the previous decade of peacekeeping missions.

For those female combat soldiers, the Afghan mission proved, once and for all, that women can tackle any job as well as their male counterparts.

"I like to think we opened the eyes of not only Canadians but of other nations," says Capt. Jaime Phillips, 29, who served in Afghanistan in 2007 as an artillery troop commander with the 2RCR battle group. "I think Canadians, at least those in the military, were accustomed to women in these roles, not to mention quite supportive."

For young soldiers like Phillips, the Afghan mission has been a confidence boost. "There is nothing stopping us anymore from gaining ground professionally," says Phillips, currently a gunnery instructor at the Royal Canadian Artillery School at CFB Gagetown, N.B.

Brig.-Gen. (retired) Sheila Hellstrom remembers a time when such support was unthinkable. "I remember going to one meeting when a guy said to me, 'Sheila, can you imagine women actually shooting people?'

"I think attitudes have been changing over a number of years," she says. The fact Canadian women represented themselves well in Afghanistan proves "it's stupid to deny them whatever they want to do, if they can pass the standards," she says.

With that equality has also come equal exposure to the hazards of war. New studies from the Canadian Forces show that 13 per cent of those posted to Afghanistan report suffering from mental health issues within five years of returning; that number rose to 23.1 per cent for soldiers who experienced high levels of combat, the lion's share showing signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The military-wide study also found that female soldiers fared a little worse, with 15 per cent being diagnosed with PTSD, depression and substance abuse problems.

Also, a recent study by researchers at the University of Manitoba found that women in the Canadian Forces were more likely than their male counterparts to suffer from PTSD and depression. The study, published last fall in The Journal of Psychiatric Research, theorized that military women could feel additional pressure due to their minority status and stereotyping.

Another issue that came to the fore during the Afghan mission was sexual harassment and assault.

In Afghanistan, five reports of sexual assault against female soldiers have been investigated since 2004, with only one investigation resulting in a guilty verdict.

But in one of Capt. Goddard's own letters home to her husband, Jason Beam, she mentioned six rapes she says occurred at Kandahar Airfield base in one week in early 2006.

Phillips concedes that life at the multinational base at Kandahar was "definitely not peachy keen." But she says for the most part she felt safe, especially among her male peers, with whom she felt "no hostility or discord." She also feels the military "has a good framework for investigating and prosecuting individuals who break the law."

Lt.-Col. (retired) Shirley Robinson has been paying close attention to the discussion about female combat soldiers, and says she has heard such stories before.

"This isn't about gender, it's about individual human rights," says Robinson, co-founder of the Association for Women's Equity in the Canadian Forces. "We put too much emphasis on gender in this silly society — there are some men who would run like hell in combat and there are women who would say, 'Bring it on.'"

Robinson says one legacy of the Afghan mission will be the realization that women can be warriors, that male and female soldiers can fight side by side as equals.

"Someone once asked me if I could shoot somebody, and my answer was, 'In a split second,'" says Robinson, who lives in Ottawa. "We're not a humanitarian force, we exist to protect Canada."

The combat experience of Afghanistan will also ring in a new era for women who aspire to greater heights in the military, she says. "Many of the high level jobs have been given to officers who have been in combat and in the field," says Robinson, adding there is now a new generation of combat-experienced women eligible for advancement.

"Someday we'll have a chief of defence staff who is a woman, and I will have a couple of martinis to celebrate."

Clearly, many younger Canadian women agree with Robinson. "A lot of female officer cadets now come up to me and say they chose the arms trades because Capt. Nichola Goddard inspired them to do so," says Krystel Carrier-Sabourin.

drunk driving

A policeman uses an alcometer.

Zirakpur, March 3
It seems that the Mohali Police is ill-equipped to deal with drunk drivers. Only 145 challans were issued in 2011 and only a few in the past two months. There is no regular checking at Zirakpur despite the place being the venue for weddings and social functions.
Sources said the Mohali Police had only two alcometers whereas the highway police had three. They added that one of the alcometers did not work properly.
They said the police was not well-equipped to deal with such cases.
“To check various traffic violations, a Bill proposing amendments to the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, is likely to be introduced in Rajya Sabha during the coming budget session. In the Bill, it will be proposed that a drunk driver should be awarded a four-year term,” said a police official.
Another official admitted that the police might not find itself in a position to implement the new rule in the absence of adequate equipment and manpower. The department is already reeling under staff crunch.
Another police official said police officials were hardly left with any time to enforce measures as VIP duties kept them preoccupied and they had no time to check drunk driving.
The problem intensifies during wedding season as the police officials are compelled to spend time in manoeuvring traffic jams and ensuring smooth flow of vehicles.
“It becomes difficult for the officials if the marriage function is being organised by some VIP,” says another police official.
“Also, during international matches at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali, we have to literally sweat it out,” he added.
In case of some international event at the stadium, security arrangements begin several days prior to it, resulting in diversion of the police force.
The official added that another problem bugging the department was that the state and national highways cut through the length and breadth of the district which helped law breakers escape easily. It became difficult for the Mohali police to set up barricades on the highway. Long duty hours, too, leave them fatigued.
The traffic police remains on its toes for 12 hours (from 8 am to 8 pm). Most of the incidents of drunk driving take place after 8 pm.
Mohali SP (Traffic) Swarandeep Singh said the Mohali Police would take steps to check drunk driving. Nakas would be set up and challans would be issued to violators.
He added that the alcometer which did not work properly would be repaired. “We have demanded more alcometers from the higher authorities,” he added.
The SP said a police team would educate truck drivers about the demerits of drunk driving.

Wrongful confinement in jail

National human rights’ body leaves matter open
National human rights’ body leaves matter open
Chandgarh, March 3
In a case where a person was wrongfully kept in jail for two months owing to a mistake by the court staff, the NHRC has left the matter open and said that the complainant can approach the court of law for relief.
Pankaj Chandgothia, Advocate and national convener of NGO, Harmonious Omni-Directional Public Endeavour (HOPE), had filed a complaint with the NHRC on June 18, asking for compensation and corrective measures in case of a person who was put in jail for over two months desspite being acquitted by the court.
The NHRC has left the matter open and said that "the victim may seek redressal of his grievance from the court of law”.
Ironically, in the judgement he was acquitted but due to inadvertence or clerical mistake, his conviction warrant was prepared by the reader of the court and got signed by the AD and SJ in a routine way. Later, the mistake was detected and release order was sent on June 17 for victim Ravi Kumar.

HC stay on colony in ‘green zone’

Chandigarh, March 3
PUDA’s plan of developing a colony in Fazilka was put on hold by Punjab and Haryana High Court after it directed the authorities to maintain status quo.
The directions came after a social worker, Navdeep Asija, sought judicial intervention in the matter, stating that the new colony was being developed under eco-sensitive zone of Badha Lake wetland.
The petitioner said the decision of developing the colony on the banks of Badha Lake wetland was solely aimed at earning revenue. The decision would destroy hundreds of grownup trees, which provide natural shelter, biodiversity and ecological balance in Fazilka, which is home to national bird peacocks as well, counsel for the petitioner APS Shergil stated.

Modern judicial complexes to be ready in a year: HC Judge

Khamano (Fatehgarh Sahib), March 3
People have high hopes from the judiciary for redressal of their grievances as well as to get justice, which is their fundamental right, so it is the duty of the judicial officers to give proper justice by developing quality delivery system, said Justice Ranjit Singh, chairman, Building Committee of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, while addressing a gathering of judges, lawyers, sarpanches, panches and prominent citizens after lying the foundation stone of the judicial courts-cum-residential complex at Khamano town today.
"Judicial officers should not take their job as a mere employment, but they should work with a mission. Moreover, honesty is not a quality, but a need of a judicial officer, said Justice Ranjit Singh. He termed the judicial complexes as temples of justice. Interestingly, it was for the first time that 14 judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court were present on the occasion.
Justice Ranjit Singh said that all the district headquarters and sub-divisions would have modern judicial complexes with all types of facilities within a year. The Punjab government had sanctioned Rs 135 crore for the purpose and Rs 115 crore had been spent.

Punjabi singer K S Makhan was sent to jail

Punjabi singer K S Makhan was sent to jail by a local court on Friday when he appeared in the court in connection with a case registered against him under NDPS Act for allegedly smuggling Heroin to Canada, where he was staying, in 2006.
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Jalandhar,3 MAR (Press Public News):-Punjabi singer KS Makhan, accused in a drug trafficking case, landed behind bars today after he appeared before the court of the Additional District and Sessions Judge.Makhan appeared in the court in a case registered against him under the NDPS Act in 2006 at the Nakodar police station. He was accused of running a network of smuggling heroin from Canada.The police had booked Makhan after nabbing his aide Rajwinder Singh for his alleged involvement in drug trade.Makhan's counsel Vijay Bhushan Mehta said the Punjab and Haryana High Court had granted a bail to him in August, 2011, following which he joined the police investigations.The police presented a challan against him and the court summoned him for personal appearance. Mehta alleged that the police submitted a false report about Makhan, following which the proceedings to declare him a proclaimed offender (PO) were initiated.