Youth are responsible for revolution in many countries in different parts of the world. Similarly thousands of youth in Bangladesh sit down on streets and refuse to move until their demands for the capital punishment of War Criminals are met with.

The sit-in started on Tuesday afternoon, in response to the verdict of life imprisonment for Jamaat leader Abdul Quader Mollah, who was a war criminal during the Liberation War of Bangladesh from Pakistan in 1971, and the demonstration lasted throughout the night. The whole sit-in was organized  by bloggers and social network activists.

The spirit of this non-violent protest spread throughout the whole country with sit-ins and demonstrations taking place in Chittagong, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Sunamganj, Barisal, Rajbari, Noakhali and Narsingdi. It seemed as though 42 years later nostalgia had rekindled emotions of war, and hatred towards the war criminals of 1971.

This small movement started mainly by students with no politcal involvement at first, was later joined by political parties, freedom fighters, war veterans, senior citizens and other eminent personalities of Bangladesh. However the organizers of the sit-in have decided to not let any political leaders address the protest, in order to keep it neutral.

The protest is taking place in the capital’s Shahbagh area,which is a key point in the capital, adjacent to Dhaka University, National Museum, Suhrawardy Udyan, Central Shaheed Minar and Bangla Academy, which has a historical significance to the people for its link with the birth of the nation and the people’s struggle.

The organizers are keeping the entire protest non-violent, and as can be seen for the last three days, there has been motivational speeches, patriotic songs, street plays and art, and anti-war criminal chants and slogans. A lot of creativity has been put into the demonstration, as protestants have portrayed their vexation over the ruling by transforming their bodies into banners and posters, paper and waste products into effigies, wooden sticks into a symbolic cage and the streets into canvases.

At this very moment the crowd is no longer limited to just students. Children, housewives, laborers and people from all classes and castes have come together merely as citizens of Bangladesh who were not happy about the ruling. People are also signing petitions demanding to see Quader Mollah executed in the gallows. Different organizations such as the Sector Commanders’ Forum, Sammilito Sangskritik Jote, Sammilito Krira Poribar, Workers’ Party of Bangladesh, Communist Party of Bangladesh, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal and Gonotantrik Bam Morcha have expressed solidarity with the organizers of this movement.

The government Awami League, has also lauded this movement in the parliament, and has expressed its support to the organizers of this protest.

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Rape, domestic violence, abuse, sex-slave, child-marriage, dowry, prostitution – The first word that many associate with these concepts is ‘women’. For centuries, women all over the world have been subjected to oppression and till date, despite their achievements and contribution to society, a lot of women do not get justice. In a country like Saudi Arabia, women are not allowed to drive; in the South East Asia, young girls are forced to marry at an early age; and women are killed in many parts of the world by so-called ‘honor killings’. Women are victims of violence by both society and their families, and many of their stories go unheard.

Connecther and Harvard College Social Innovation Collaborative (SIC) this year present Girls Impact World The Film Festival 2013, where high school and undergraduate university students submit 3-5 minutes long short films that address global women’s issues such as: education for girls, maternal health, violence against women and girls among others. This will bring into light many issues and stories of women who are deprived of protection and other privileges.

Azmina Karim, a Bangladeshi undergraduate student from Asian University for Women majoring in Asian Development Studies, made a film which focuses on the violence on women in rural parts of Bangladesh. To watch the video click here

Toonari Post(TP): When did you decide to make this documentary about violence on women in Bangladesh?

Azmina Karim(AK): When I heard of Girls Impact the world film festival, I chose to portray ’violence against women’ in order to raise awareness about this topic. Girls Impact the world is a platform where women can speak for themselves and other women, where we can express that as women we need a safe place in the world to live and it is our right to speak up.

TP: Even though Bangladesh is developing, most people are still old-fashioned and traditional minded, how did you find the courage to take such an initiative? Did you face any difficulties (from government/society/family etc) while filming?

AK: Though Bangladesh is developing, the position of women in a patriarchal society is hard to change. Women are still objectified and thought as submissive to men. The notion of patriarchy has seeped into the psyche of men as well as women.

Women in our society take it as their fate, or some even think of it as their duty, to lock themselves into these modern day slavery practices in their very own homes. While filming, I particularly didn’t face difficulties from government or other social institutions. Maybe because these interviews were not taken in a larger scale to trigger any provocations. However, it was difficult to convince the battered and deprived women to share their stories as they were reluctant to speak up.

I discovered many were scared that we may take legal actions and many other women like Sonia Akhter, thought it was pointless to talk about this. Sonia Akhter shed some light on this topic when she mentioned, that prior to her interview with me, she shared her story to a news reporter and the news organization sent her back to her husband. This caused her husband to increase the level of torture because she’d seeked help from others. There is an underlying fear among these women that sharing their stories won’t bring any changes in their lives but rather make it worse.

Moreover, the notion of patriarchy legitimizes the violence against women in our society, so the women themselves accept that it is normal to be beaten by her husband or any male member of their family. Thus they don’t speak up.

I didn’t face any problem from my family in general while making these interviews, they were supportive, one of the reason being that I don’t have any brothers. My parents raised us four sisters by giving us the equal rights that they might have given to their sons.

TP: Have you received enough support from family/friends and/or other organizations?

AK: I didn’t work under any organization while making these interviews. My family members supported me; they even escorted me to different slums to cover the stories.

TP: What was your main inspiration for the film?

AK: Inspiration for covering this topic or even participating in this competition came from the latest incidents that took place around the world. The way women are being raped, the number of deaths due to domestic violence etc. – they made me want to speak up against male dominance.

TP: Have you seen domestic violence in your family or among your friends, where the woman got pressured to not report the case?

I grew up in a different environment where you can challenge the traditional structure of the society. My parents gave me and my other three sisters the opportunity to get education, and freedom so that we can choose our path and discern what is right from wrong.

However, living in Bangladesh the case of domestic violence is so obvious that almost every day we encounter stories of this kind of violence, be it from neighbours, stories of relatives, stories from friends and also in newspapers and tv channels. Most of these stories remain unheard, these women do not have any means to report these cases.

We don’t have strict laws against these violent acts, nor do we have good policies to support the women who fight for their right. Also the state does not provide shelters or protection so when violence happens, these women have nowhere to go. Nor do their family members support them in this case. The result in most of these cases is then that they go unreported, leading to only one option – living with their male partners, even if they are tortured all their life.

TP: What do you hope to achieve by your film?

AK: I hope to raise awareness and to prove a point that it’s about time we all get a safe place to live. I want to create collective identity for women, by sharing their stories and say it’s okay to speak up. I hope to get justice for women like Sonia Akhter and many others. I want to give a voice to women like her.

TP: Are you involved in any activities, such as protesting or rallying, to spread your message to the public in Bangladesh?

AK: No, I am not involved in any protest or rally as such because we haven’t had any such movements lately. So far, Girls Impact the film festival is the only platform that I have used to raise public awareness about these topics. Moreover, this documentary has been widely shared on Facebook and Twitter, so I hope people get the message that we, as women, have had enough of these prejudices against us for being born as a woman. We want to stop the occurrence of violence as a regular practice of a male dominated society. I firmly believe initiatives like mine will bring some positive change in our society.

TP: Do you think the women of newer generations also suffer from domestic violence?

AK: Women all over suffer from domestic violence of some sort, be they educated, working,  from rich backgrounds or part of the new generation – they can all potentially fall victim to such acts. The dominance in society over female populations is still quite the same towards generations of educated, working class people. Even though these women might be educated and open minded, the structure of society did not change, neither did the mindset of their family often.

TP: What measures do you think the public or government should take regarding domestic violence?

AK: Gender studies should be included in the national curriculum. Women need to be made aware of their rights and feel free to share their problems. Often when NGOs intervene in domestic affairs, they tend to solve the problem from their perspective and make decisions from their points of view (the top-down approach). I think they should rather take measures based on what the victims really want.

TP: In your opinion, what is the solution to eradicate domestic violence in Bangladesh?

AK: There is no particular solution. Through a single initiative, we can’t remove it from our society. We have to create awareness step by step, not just from person to person, but through government. The social institutions or NGOs should step forward to ensure justice for the victimized women, our social structure should provide equal rights. Even the victims should be mentally prepared to make initiatives for themselves so others can help them too.

TP: Did Sonia Akhter get justice in the end?

AK: No. We could not take any action against her husband because Sonia Akhter herself resisted from taking any action, she wants to wait for her husband and hopes one day he will come back.

TP: What would you like to say to all those women who are subjected to domestic violence today?

AK: Speak up! That’s the only phrase I would like to emphasize. They have a huge responsibility, if they don’t speak up for themselves, then we will be left with a society where their daughters and granddaughter will undergo the same acts of violence. Because nobody dared to speak up for their rights.

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Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins, one-third of super girl group TLC, is ready to make her comeback. At the age of forty-two the raspy voiced songstress is stepping back into the limelight with a new reality show titled “Totally T-Boz” which will premiere on January 1.

The reality show will capture Watkins attempting to reclaim her position in the music industry as well as some of her most vulnerable moments including her divorce, financial problems and life threatening illnesses.

In a sneak peek of the first episode, Watkins meets with music producer Bangladesh (Beyoncé, Missy Elliot, Kelly Rowland, etc.) who expresses his doubts about T-Boz’s commitment to crafting a new album. He has some serious questions for which Watkins does not seem to have the answers. One thing that T-Boz does make clear, however, is that she does not mind proving herself to music consumers.

“I guess I have to prove myself all over again, even if it’s to the world,” said Watkins. “I don’t have a problem doing that.”

Proving herself to the world may be harder than she expects. Indeed, the music industry has seen many changes since her days of girl group domination alongside Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas and Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes. The last full length album that Watkins was featured on was TLC’s ’3D’.  Released in 2002, seven months after the car crash death of Lopes, 3D achieved platinum status in the United States.

That same year T-Boz was hospitalized for four months due to complications of sickle cell anemia. The singer had been diagnosed with the disease during her early childhood and went public with her illness in 1996.  She later became a spokesperson for the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America.

In 2004, Watkins filed for divorce from her rapper husband Mack 10. The two married in 2000 and welcomed a daughter, Chase, shortly after their nuptials. In the years since the dissolution of her marriage, Watkins has had to care for her daughter on her own while battling sickle cell anemia and, most recently, a brain tumor. Mack 10 reportedly owes the singer more than $250,000 in back child support. Her medical issues and lack of support from her ex-husband led Watkins to file for bankruptcy in 2011.

“Totally T-Boz” will also chronicle Watkins’ challenges and joys of single parenthood. The singer is not necessarily alone though. Along for the ride are her support system which includes her younger brother, Koya, cousins Barb and Chris and friend Tae-Tae, as well as her business partner, Tara. “Totally T-Boz” will premiere on January 1 at 8/7c on the TLC network.

Image Courtesy : Featureflash / Shutterstock.com

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The Human Rights Watch Group has been working with Dhaka, a global human rights group, in an effort to convince Bangladesh to take in more Myanmar Refugees. Dhaka is urging Bangladesh to keep its borders open to the refugees of Myanmar, who are seeking refuge from the violence going on in western Myanmar. Additionally, according to the Associated Press, “New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a statement that Bangladesh should also allow independent humanitarian agencies free and unfettered access to the border areas.”

Both groups got involved after word got out that Bangladesh turned away approximately 1,000 Muslims that came over in three boats. By doing this, “Bangladesh is putting lives at grave risk,” said Bill Frelick, Refugee Programme director at Human Rights Watch. Frelick also added, “Bangladesh has an obligation under international law to keep its border open to people fleeing threats to their lives and provide them protection.”

The violence is Myanmar has escalated between minority Muslims (known as Rohingyas) and Buddhists. As the tension grows between the two religious groups, hundreds of homes have been burned in Myanmar.

While Frelick believes it is Bangladesh’s duty to help these refugees, Foreign Minister Dipu Moni of Myanmar disagrees. At a news conference in the country’s capital, Dhaka, he stated, “it was not in Bangladesh’s interest to accept any refugees because the impoverished country’s resources already are strained.”

Buddhists are outraged about the Rohingyas living in Myanmar, claiming that the Royingyas are illegal immigrants and should be denied citizenship. Meanwhile, according to the Associated Press, “Bangladesh says Rohingya have been living in Myanmar for centuries and should be recognized there as citizens.”

Not knowing where to go or turn, Rohingyas are turning to Aung San Suu Kyi, a Burmese opposition politician and General Secretary of the National League for Democracy in Burma, to help end their persecution.

According to the Sunday Times Newspaper in Sri Lanka, “Bangladesh, which shares a 200-km (125-mile) border with Myanmar, is home to an estimated 300,000 Rohingya refugees, about a tenth of whom live in squalid conditions in UN-assisted camps.”

Mohammad Islam, leader of Rohingya refugees living in Nayapara camp in the Bangladesh border town of Teknaf, stated, “in her [Suu Kyi] first visit outside Myanmar in 24 years, Suu Kyi last month met thousands of Myanmar refugees now living in a Thai border camp. She promised to try as much as she could to help them return home, vowing not to forget them.” Islam added, “we heard the relations between the government and Suu Kyi have mended and there are now reforms sweeping the country. But for Rohingya, these changes mean nothing.”

Still Suu Kyi is hopeful and has no plans of giving up on the refugees.

“I would like to do my best for the interests of the people,” she said.

Image Courtesy of  Zzvet / Shutterstock.com

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On Friday, June 8 2012 violence broke out in Western Myanmar (also known as Burma) leading to days of ethnic and religious violence including knife attacks and rioting. According to Reuters and MSNBC as of Monday 21 have died, another 21 have been wounded, and 1,662 houses have been burned to the ground. At least 4,100 people have lost their homes and are taking up refuge in schools and Buddhist monasteries.

The Western state of Rakhine is home to the majority religion group the Rakhine Buddhists and the minority group, Rohingya Muslims. The tension has been building for years as the Buddhists and the Muslims have different ethnic, religious, and cultural ties. The former military government has also persecuted the Rohingya Muslims for many years.

According to the UN the Rakhine state – this distraught region of Myanmar – is one of the most discriminating areas in the world. Tomas Ojea Quintana, the UN special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, claimed, “the underlying tensions that stem from discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities pose a threat to Myanmar’s democratic transition and stability.”

President Thein Sein has also admitted, “what is currently happening in the Rakhine state is about putting grievances, hatred, and desire for revenge at the forefront, based on racial and religious grounds, and that’s why anarchic actions are becoming widespread.”

The recent violence began after three Muslims were arrested in relation to the rape and murder of a Buddhist woman. A few days later, on June 3, a mob attacked a bus and lynched ten Muslims who were unrelated to the case. The Buddhists are also worried about the Rohingyas taking the jobs in the area where employment is scarce.

The rioting originally broke out in the city of Maungdaw on June 8, but quickly spread to the neighboring towns and cities including the state capital city of Sittwe.

During the violence on June 11, the United Nations pulled out 44 of 150 members of its staff in the western region of Myanmar. Ashok Nigam, the UN’s resident and human coordinator in Yangon – Myanmar’s largest city – stated that the relocation was a precaution for the safety of its staff.

Mohammad Sadek of Malaysia’s Rohingya Arakanese Refugee Committee stated, “We are trying to call on the international community, especially the UN, to send peacekeeping forces to mediate. Thousands of Rohingya are displaced, the wounded can’t get medication, it’s a crisis.”

President Thein Sein declared a state of emergency in the coastal region of the Rakhine state Sunday, June 10. Police were forced to fire shots into the air on Tuesday June 12 in order to disperse a rioting Rohingya group that was burning houses in Sittwe. As of the following day, there were soldiers patrolling the streets of Sittwe preventing individuals from carrying weapons and setting fire to houses.

Soldiers are also helping groups of Rohingya Muslims escape from Sittwe to Thae Chaung village since many individuals’ houses have burned down. The presence of soldiers in Sittwe seems to be calming the violence and residents since, according to Reuters’ reporters, more people are leaving their homes.

The 800,000 Rohingya Muslims living in Myanmar claim to be from the Rakhine region but they have been persecuted by the Myanmar government for years and are still not recognized as citizens, according to the United Nations. Instead the Myanmar government claims the Rohingya Muslims are from Bangladesh and are illegal immigrants; however, the Bangladesh government will not accept them as citizens either. During the 1990s around 250,000 Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh to escape the persecution of the Myanmar government. The Bangladesh government eventually stopped letting the Rohingyas into the country in 1992.

Recently three boats carrying about one thousand Rohingya Muslims tried to enter Bangladesh to flee the current violence but were turned away. Around thirty Rohingyas actually managed to enter Bangladesh ten of whom were injured in the rioting violence in Myanmar and are being treated.

In the past year or so Myanmar has been working to end decades of military rule and economic isolation; however these riots and other recent conflicts have somewhat stalled its efforts. There have been several protests over recent months due to power cuts and workers have also blocked access to twelve mines in Mandalay Division because of bad labor conditions and job cuts.

The military junta in Myanmar ruled the country for decades and heavily supported  the ethnic majority of Burmans over the minority groups in the country. According to Jan Zalewski, a South Asia analyst with IHD Global Insight based in London, “the rest, the non-Burmans, were pretty much persecuted.” Zalewski also suggests a reason for the recent protests and violence during these government reforms. “As you reform and open up the media, people have an opportunity to vent their anger over everything that’s sitting quite deep. So you increase the polarization between groups.”

President Sein was elected with the backing of the military but he has worked to get rid of many of the former, oppressive policies and has worked toward the pro-democracy movement advocated by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and former political prisoner Auug San Suu Kyi. Myanmar’s government over the past year has released political prisoners, held free elections, and signed peace deals with rebel minority groups; several Western governments that have previously left Myanmar in economic isolation have relaxed economic sanctions with these changes.

Some have been worried that the government will use this outbreak of violence as an excuse to tighten control again. However the European Union announced that it was ‘satisfied’ with the response by the Myanmar government, possibly implying that they believe the government has not overstepped its bounds during this crisis.

The United States Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton also made a statement saying, “We urge the people of Burma to work together toward a peaceful, prosperous and democratic country that respects the rights of all its diverse people.”

Although the violence seems to be calming, the International Crisis Group, a non-governmental research organization, warns, “How the government handles this case will be a major test of the police and courts in a country that has just begun to emerge from an authoritarian past. It will also test the government’s will and capacity to reverse a longstanding policy of discrimination toward the Muslim Rohingya.”

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A Bangladeshi labor rights activist and former apparel worker was tortured and murdered last week in Dhaka. His body was dumped outside of the capital city and was found by local police last Thursday. According to the police report, Aminul Islam’s body bore signs of brutal torture.

Aminul’s family, who had been searching for him since he disappeared last Wednesday, identified him on Saturday from photos appearing in local newspapers. Labor rights organizations in Bangladesh and the United States believe the killing is associated with Aminul’s work on behalf of apparel workers who sew garments for suppliers to major U.S. retailers and brands

Aminul had worked for several years as a labor rights organizer and advocate. His organization is among the most prominent labor rights groups in the country. Levi Strauss called BCWS “a globally respected labor rights organization that has played a vital role in documenting and working to remedy labor violations in the apparel industry in Bangladesh.”

The Bangladeshi Center for Worker Solidarity (BCWS) was featured in a recent ABC TV News story (http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/workers-die-factories-tommy-hilfiger/story?id=15966305) exposing the relationship of U.S. brands to a sweatshop factory fire in Dhaka that killed twenty-nine workers last year, and describing the repression of labor rights advocates.

BCWS and its staff have been the target of a campaign of harassment by the Bangladeshi government and apparel factory owners for two years. The organization’s license to operate was revoked and Aminul and two of his colleagues were jailed in 2010. Their release was secured only after international pressure.

Aminul had disappeared Wednesday evening on his way to meet a worker who had called him seeking assistance. Aminul’s family and friends searched for him until Saturday, when his wife recognized a photograph of his body, published in a local newspaper.

Aminul had been detained by officials of the National Intelligence Service (NSI) in June 2010. According to Aminul, he was subjected to severe and repeated beatings, which his captors said would stop only if he agreed to give false testimony against his colleagues at BCWS.

The NSI officials demanded that he write a letter stating that his colleagues were the instigators of recent worker protests, which had resulted in damage to some factory buildings. Aminul refused. While being transported to another location, he managed to escape his captors and went into hiding.

Later that year, Aminul and two colleagues, Kalpona Akhter and Babul Akter, were arrested and jailed on charges of fomenting riots and related acts – charges regarded as baseless by international labor and human rights organizations. They were released only after substantial international pressure on the Bangladesh government and they still face trials.

On Wednesday of last week, after working during the day at BCWS’s office in Savar, Aminul went to evening prayers. While there, he noticed a police van parked outside. Fearing harassment or arrest he called a colleague to say that they should close the BCWS office for the day.

Aminul then returned to his home. Later in the evening, he received a call from a worker urgently seeking assistance. He left home to meet the worker and was never heard from again. Labor rights organizations in the U.S. and Bangladesh are calling for a full investigation of the murder and for those responsible to be brought to justice.

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Rescue efforts are well underway in the Himalayan state of Sikkim, the epicenter of an earthquake that shook parts of Tibet, Nepal and Bangladesh on Sunday, September 17. The quake, measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, has taken the lives of 118 people and injured many more.

Helicopters are being used to deliver food as well as relief material to affected areas within Sikkim. At least 5,000 people are being sheltered in government camps. The Teesta Hydro Electro Project employees feared dead have mostly been counted for and 400 tourists stranded in the remote North have been rescued.

“Rescue workers have now reached most of the villages that had been inaccessible since the quake on Sunday, “ said government spokesman K.S. Topgay. Power in quake epicenter Mangan (district capital of North Sikkim) has been restored, but roads beyond that have been badly affected making it difficult to reach the interior.

Medical teams are being flown in with food and medical supplies, but nine villages still remain completely cut off. Sikkim falls within Zone IV, a high damage risk zone, of the seismological map of the Indian subcontinent.

State finance minister Badal Choudhury said, “Central government should set up at least one station in each of the capitals of all the eight northeastern states with an adequate number of NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) personnel.” Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram also visited the quake-hit areas on Thursday to review the situation.

He said that the prime motive was to provide relief to the 5,000 – 6,000 survivors in camps, and to restore connectivity and water supply. The overall death toll has risen to 118, including 75 in the Himalayan state, while West Bengal has reported 15 deaths, nine in Bihar, 11 in Nepal, seven in Tibet and one in Bhutan.

Tibetan Spiritual leader, H.H. The Dalai Lama has donated 500,000 rupees to affected areas. “I was saddened to learn about the loss of life and damage to property that the recent earthquake has caused across isolated Himalayan regions, particularly in Sikkim.

I offer my sympathy and condolences to all those families, who have been directly affected by what I understand is one of the worst earthquakes in recent memory,” His Holiness said in his letter dated September 20, 2011. Hundreds of homes have been destroyed and repairs to the area will cost an estimated $22 billion.

Sikkim is the least populous area in India. Many tourists are drawn to the area for it’s Buddhist monasteries and adventure activities. Sikkim experienced a 3.8 tremor around 10:15 pm Thursday night. East Sikkim district collector D Anandan said, “People came out on the roads and were afraid to go back inside their homes.”

Unfortunately, monsoon weather continues to interfere with rescue efforts to the mountainous region.

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India – Some men complain that having just one woman is enough for them. What do you think Mr. Ziona Chana would think when he was 39 wives, 94 children and 33 grandchildren? To answers this question, this is what Mr. Ziona said” “I have so many people to care (for) and look after, and I consider myself a lucky man.”

He comes from India, and has 66 years old.  He lives in a four-storied building with all his family members, the building possesses 100 rooms. The Children, woman and sons live all in different rooms in the same building. Surprisingly he feels really comfortable, and founds himself a lucky man to be responsible of this amount of family members.

In total the Ziona family has 181 members. They live in a mountainous village in Mizoram state, sharing borders with Bruma and Bangladesh

It would be hard to picture how is the daily day life for all the family. But as Mr. Chana has described in past articles, he tells that the connivance is not as hard as it seems. There is a lot of cooperation among the wives for example, who take turns in order to cook in the only kitchen they have in the house, which is being shared by all.  On the other hand, the daughters are in charge of the cleaning duties of the house, and the washing. Also, the men have their specific tasks and roles, and they expend a lot of their time in outdoor activities and jobs, like taking care of livestock and farming.

They live in a very simple way, and they depend on their work for their life’s functionality. They eat and sustain themselves with all the products they cultivate and grow in the land.  On a daily basis, the family members consume an estimated amount of 200 pounds of rice, and 130 pounds of potatoes. They also receive a little help from donations that are given by followers.

He says that there are no limitations for him to stop having more wives, “I once married 10 women in one year,” Ziona Chana said. “Even today, I am ready to expand my family and willing to go to any extent to marry,”

Mr. Chana is in charge of a religious sect, named the “Chana”; this local sect was formed in June 1942, and allows polygamy. The main believe of the sect is the ruling of the world by the side of Christ.  This sect has expanded thorough the years and nowadays it has a membership enclosing approximately 400 families.

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