I was having my daily snack and all of sudden something strikes my mind; I wonder what if the apple I was eating may be the 4 th apple that will change the world. Yes, it may sound funny but why it can’t be the 4 th apple, it has got all those qualities that apple needs compared to the past history making apple that changed world. Wondering what were those apples, Let’s find out. The first apple was the apple that made Isaac Newton discover gravity. The second apple was the Apple iPhone which was designed by Steve Jobs. The third apple was the apple or the fruit mentioned in Bible Genesis Chapter 3 or the so-called “Eve’s apple”.

The first apple that changed the world was the apple that made Newton discover gravity. One day, the young Newton sat beneath an apple tree and looked at the mysterious universe. Suddenly, an apple hit him on the head. He shouted and understood that the very same force that brought the apple crashing toward the ground also kept and prevented the moon from falling toward the Earth and the Earth from falling toward the sun. This is the force of gravity. Newton’s apple taught us a lot of lessons.

Firstly, millions saw the apple fall but Newton was the one who asked “why”. This shows the importance of curiosity. We should always ask the six “wh” questions, especially the question of “why”. In so doing, we would discover a lot of new knowledge. Secondly, Newton said that “no great discovery was ever made without a bold guess”. So, try to think out of the box. Trial and error are important for the discovery of new knowledge. Thirdly, from his “apple falling due to gravity” theory, Newton concluded, “Whatever goes up, must come down!” In other words, Newton reminded all of us to be humble. Please do not think that you are as important as other people. Don’t think too highly of yourself. Try to respect others. Fourthly, Newton said, “I have a fundamental belief in the Bible as the Word of God, written by men who were inspired. I study the Bible daily.” So, try to follow Newton and respect God.

The second apple that changed the world was the Apple iPhone which was designed by Steve Jobs. His invention of the I product changed the whole world of technology. In 2007, the Apple Company designed and marketed the iPhone. According to Steve Jobs, iPhone was target-oriented and people- oriented. The word “i” in “iPhone” (as well as in “iMac”, “iPod” and “iPad”) stands for five things. They are the so-called five “i”s. The first “i” stands for “internet”. Internet is the global system of interconnected computer networks. It carries a vast range of information, resources and services. The second “i” stands for “individual”. The iPhone is designed for one person. It is unique and people- oriented. The third “i” stands for “instruct”. The iPhone aims at teaching people a practical skill. The fourth “i” stands for “inform”. The iPhone aims at telling people different data. The fifth “i” stands for “inspire”. The iPhone is designed to give people artistic or imaginative ideas. Boys and girls, learn from Steve Jobs, be target-oriented and people-oriented. When you work on any tasks, make sure you have a target before you and you are working toward the target. Also, make sure what you do is good and beneficial to the well-being of other people. Even though he was kicked from his own company he didn’t lost his hope to change the world which lead to development of 1 st animated film “toy story”. Through this we can learn his dedication and “never lose hope attitude” as he was again re signed as CEO of Apple.

The third apple that changed the world was the apple or the fruit mentioned in the Bible, Genesis Chapter 3 or the so-called “Eve’s apple”. In fact, there is no mention of Adam and Eve eating an apple in the Bible. The fruit mentioned in Bible may not be an apple. Anyway, by eating the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve commi ted a sin. If they did not have a sinful nature yet, why did Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit? Adam and Eve were the first people to not read the Apple terms and conditions. According to the Bible, the penalty of sin is death. But God showed grace toward Adam and Eve. He still oved Adam and Eve so He made garments of skin for Adam and Eve and clothed them. God’s love for people is everlasting. His love is long, wide, high and deep. God’s love is long. He loved people in the past. He loves people now. He’ll still love human beings in the future. God’s love is wide. It covers a wide range of people. Regardless of race, appearance, wealth and social status, God loves all people. God’s love is high. God’s love for us is high-order and high-level. God’s love is deep. He cares for us physically and spiritually. In conclusion, boys and girls, apple is not just a fruit. It does not only contain a lot of vitamins. It can also teach us a lot of lessons.

Learn from Newton’s apple the importance of curiosity and humility. Be curious and humble. Learn from Steve Jobs’ iPhone the importance of being target-oriented and people-oriented. Learn from Adam and Eve’s apple or fruit the great love of God.

This Covid situation has given us a lot of time to stay by ourselves and think. I’ve been thinking about a lot of stuff, especially about myself. At this point I’ve summarized my entire life and my gradual development. Thinking back, I’ve been a very bad human being. I was arrogant, greedy, hypocrite, racist, sexist, transphobic, homophobic and what not. All this before the age of 16. On digging deep, I asked myself why I was prejudiced towards people based on their gender or sexuality? It’s not something we choose. Also, they have done us no harm. To be honest gay men are actually a huge relief to me. They take off all the handsome and even leave the cute girls. That was a joke, laugh it off! So, coming back to the point. Why was I prejudiced? It’s not the law of our country for sure. Infact, Nepal is amongst the early countries in Asia and the first country in South Asia to recognize and give legal support and rights to people of LGBTQ community. LGBTQ rights in Nepal are among the most progressive in Asia.

The Nepalese Constitution recognizes LGBTQ rights as fundamental rights. Compared to most developing nations in the world, Nepal is miles ahead. It has been legal in Nepal since 2007 AD. Discrimination based on sexuality is prohibited by law and third gender is recognized. Even service of LGBTQ people in the military is taken into consideration. Same sex family rights might not be as developed as other developed countries but for a country like Nepal which is still under poverty and is categorized as a developing nation, it is a huge step towards the right path. The country isn’t prejudiced so why am I?So, then I questioned my upbringing or the way I grew up. I still remember when I was still in primary school, the Vyākarana (Nepali grammar) book had a picture of a person with a half man in prime and another half with woman in prime which was labeled as Chakkā. Remember this is the worst homophobic and transphobic slur to exist in Nepal. Everyone in the class including the teacher and me laughed it off like it was the funniest thing. Imagine a minority being treated as a joke, not anywhere else but in the textbook of primary school students. Imagine the impact it would have on the student of such a tender age. Who should we blame? The one who wrote the book? The one who published? The one who approved to publish it? Or the one who approved it as a text book for the school?

This demeaning homophobic Why are we prejudiced towards LGBTQ community? Article slur was used by me often. Either as a joke, either during a heated argument or to address a slightly feminine male friend of mine. The slur was always funny when used by me and was a huge shame if used on me! I never understood the impact it had! Why did I hold so much grudge? Why was it a matter of shame when used on me? Maybe because I valued my identity as a straight male and didn’t want a taint on it. Well, if that were the case, why do I value the straight male identity so much but disgraced homosexuality so much? Just because I don’t belong to that minority doesn’t mean I can demean them. Also how do I know I am a straight male at such a young age? Now that I am 18, I am quite sure I don’t belong to LGBTQ community. People of LGBTQ community were suppressed from ancient times. They had the fatal threat if they were to come out as one. There is a huge backlash from society even to this day. Before writing this, I asked my mom if I were to say “I am gay and don’t want to marry a woman but a man what would you do?” to which she replied “Do as you want; you’ve got too big and mighty for us and to listen to us. You have no respect for society.” These were her exact words but in Nepali. Why is being, what one wants which is a bit different from the general mass a disgrace to the society. One cannot have a choice of what they want!

The culture and practices of the society needs a reform. Reform doesn’t occur with a snap of a finger but by constant progress. That’s the reason education is important. But wait, my mother is a literate person. So is the teacher that laughed at the homophobic slur back in my primary school. So, are the lot of homophobic personality but why does homophobia still exist? Doesn’t being educated mean personal development, having the ability to determine right and wrong and adopt right things while giving up on wrong things? What’s wrong with LGBTQ that even the literate people choose to not acknowledge them? Women were suppressed for a long time in our country back then but that rate has dropped significantly now. All thanks to all the awareness and education. We’ve been hearing the term Woman Empowerment ever since we could read texts and understand them. But have we ever heard of the term LGBTQ empowerment or anything such? We’ve given countless speeches, written multiple times, and studied in academic books about women empowerment. We’ve all been said women are equal to men or men and women are two sides of a coin in the society. Why did we forget the third side, the edge of the coin the LGBTQ community? I wouldn’t blame Baby Boomers or Generation X if they were homophobic or transphobic but in this rapidly developing age of Internet if Millennials and Generation Z are homophobic or transphobic you are not educated. Just having academic qualification doesn’t mean you’re educated! Browsing through the social media and internet, I’ve seen a lot of hate for people of LGBTQ community. Hating someone for being themselves is not wrong but going to extreme measures just to prove your hate by causing them mental and even physical harm is the worst thing anyone could do! This is not always the case though. I’ve also seen people coming out as a member of LGBTQ considering the negative backlash from the illiterate people. I hope in the coming days the illiteracy with subsequently drop and this country would be a better place for everyone regardless of their gender or sexual preferences. Live and let live!

Everyone’s on the cliff edge of normal. Everyone finds life an utter nightmare sometimes and there’s no normal way of dealing with it. This statement from the novel “Am I Normal Yet” written by Holly Bourne says a lot about being normal. According to it, there is nothing such as ‘Normal’ and everybody is always at the edge of normal in some situations which are sudden and unexpected. We don’t deal with those situations in a normal way; we deal with them in an eccentric way and that eccentric or odd way is not normal. The unusual way which is not normal now becomes the new normal later.

Adaptability is one of the greatest reasons for the survival of mankind and adaptation involves change.This change was caused by the Global Pandemic of Novel CoronaVirus (COVID-19). Taking the lives of more than 2.5 million people, this pandemic has impacted mankind in every field i.e physically, mentally and socially. In the world where socialization was marked so important, the word “Social Distancing” got introduced. The fear changed people and introduced the world; The new Normal. We all knew about the existence of the internet from the very beginning but now, it has become a key factor in terms of education and business as well, with ‘The new Normal’ giving topmost priority to the health sector all over the globe.

For me; as a student, going to school and attending physical-classes was normal but now, sitting everyday in front of my laptop with my webcam on to attend my online classes is the new normal.

Turning the living rooms of people into office cubicles from the idea of what we now call ‘Work From Home’ is the new normal.

Seeing the empty streets of Kathmandu is the new normal. And the N-95 masks have become as important as our identity cards.

By now, people have started to adapt with the new normal and are getting familiar with the word “online” because things are now changing gradually including online classes, online interviews, online entrance and even online parties. This may sound a little funny but people have also started to host parties in zoom celebrating from their respective residences. And yes, this is the New Normal.

The pandemic has also brought a slight change in the way of practicing our culture too. The Kumari Jatra, where thousands of people gather to pull the Kumari’s chariot, The Living Goddess walked on her own.This is the new normal.

The poor people have greatly been affected by this new normal. Their situations have gotten worse. Experts have also predicted that the GDP growth of 2020-21 is likely to be negative. The whole world is greatly affected by it.

We can’t deny the fact that nothing but only the change is permanent. Everything has got a positive and a negative side too. People who used to depend on restaurants for food have now started cooking for themselves.The air quality of cities has been the best of its decade in 2020. People who could hardly spend time with their family have now got time to stay with them. Such are the positive sides. Adaptability is one of the greatest reasons for the survival of ma kind.

“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.”

What is the true nature of the universe?

To answer the question, humans came up with stories to describe the world. The more humans learn about the universe the more complicated it becomes. String theory is also one of the famous theories on the nature of everything . We are always amazed when we understand the reality of nature. The bizarre creatures, landscapes, complex protein robots and the whole reality is made up of molecules and even smaller units, atoms. We thought they were the final layer of reality until elementary particles were discovered. Simply known as elements.

The problem now is that we can no longer see them . To see an object we need light , an electromagnetic wave. This wave hits the surface of the object and gets reflected back to the eye. The wave carries information from the object which your brain uses to create an image. So you can’t see anything without interacting with it. This is not the problem with most things as we can see them. But particles are very very small, so small that the electromagnetic waves we see are too big to touch them. So we can’t see them. We can try to solve this by creating electromagnetic waves of much smaller wavelengths but more wavelengths mean more energy. So when we touch a particle with more energy it alters it . So we can’t measure elementary particles precisely. This fact is known as Heisenbergs’s Uncertainty Principle . It is the basic principle of all quantum physics . We just know that particles exist as we cannot see them.

Then, the theory of point particles originated .It is a hypothesis saying that the particle is in a certain point in space having a certain charge and mass . With this theory the Physicists could carry out all the calculations.This theory was called quantum theory and solved many problems .

With this theory some properties of elements were tested and proved to be accurate upto 0.0000000000002%. In quantum mechanics all physical forces are carried out by certain particles. There is no precise way to measure things in the quantum world. The story of gravity doesn’t work with the story of quantum physics.

Then the string theory was born. String theory describes many different elementary particles as modes of vibration of a string. String theory unified all fundamental forces of the universe. String theory requires 10 dimensions to work out but our universe has 4 dimensions. No one was able to convert the dimensions of string theory into dimensions of our own universe.

So, string theory was not accepted by the scientists but string theory has been a major step in revealing the truth about quantum gravity. If this theory is proved then we can figure out how black holes work.

Hence, string theory was created to solve Heisenberg’s Uncertainty principle and perform quantum calculations which was later rejected by the scientists.

Have you been more benefited or harmed more by your major learning platform? The reader is expected to have found their answer at the end of this writing. Getting to interact with the world, being able to gobble the information that we thought was only possible by physical means is an achievement itself. Today, we have people from the other side of the globe taking classes that they could not physically go and afford. The main idea of online classes is, education being accessible to all people at all times. It is giving an opportunity for us to learn despite our physical boundaries. It is more convenient than ever before. Today, if someone wishes to go and find a programming course on the internet, they will find tons of it. But, if you go looking for it in your locality, there is a possibility that you might not get one. This is after all helping people have the freedom to explore the vast ocean of knowledge.

Do you remember how last year you were so tired while returning back from your educational institution? And yes, now you don’t have the trouble of traveling from one place to the other. This not only ends up saving hours that you sent in buses or trains but also your energy. This will help us to be more productive. You will end up eating more homemade foods. You evolve into a healthier being. But, sadly not everyone has access to technology even if we are living in the 21st century. There are thousands or maybe millions who haven’t got the opportunity to experience a mobile phone on their own. The issue of the internet does not leave our back. We have connectivity issues and to those who can’t join it is enough to spoil their mood for the day. And if this is a long-term issue then, the access to education will have a full stop for the time being. It’s difficult to feel the vibe of 10 people in the room, isn’t it? There is so much energy when someone is speaking to you in a physical room. But unfortunately, it is not really possible. There is always this void in your heart, that if that person was there with you, you would pat them a certain way on their back or spread your warm hugs.

We as students have certainly felt this. Not just this, but we have a headache because we have been looking at the screen for an extended period of time that we were certainly not trained for. Staying in the same chair and staring at the screen also tends to add up to the amount of time we spend being physically inactive. That can be a major drawback to our health. To sum up all the above-mentioned points, the online class has its own flaws and beautiful side to offer the world.

Student’s life is all about Convincing your parents that you are studying and convincing your friends that you’re not. - Nabin Sah

They had told me, “Life is what you make of it.” But how could that be true? I had always tried to make life the absolute best. Yet that never worked. So I believed that life is not what you make of it. In some twisted way, life is whatever life wants to be. I ended wondering where my life would end. And whether it is the path declared by destiny! My life was living hell; I was suffocated and dying within.

It was daybreak when I woke up with the beautiful sun was gilding everything around me. I decided to go hunting for Pokémon. I saw a group of teenagers with cool outfits with phones in their hands. I walk to them. “Are you guys playing Pokémon go?” With a curious voice, they looked at me. Ripped jeans, T-shirt, oversized jacket with a phone in my hand. “Yeah! We are! If you are too then this place is good, you can get lots of Pokémon. A guy twice my age replied. “Perhaps you can join us. It will be fun to make new friends.” They all nodded their heads. Why did I trust them so doubtlessly? This was how it all started. After that, we started hanging out. I started missing my classes. It wasn’t any longer I started smoking, trying drugs, and getting high every day. In the blink of an eye, I was holding a cigarette with the hands I used to hold a pen with. I was in love with my new life, always trying new things calling them adventures. Crossing boundaries which I called doing crazy stuff, I was blindly flowing with that freedom that I forget to rest for a moment and analyze what am I doing? I was alone with my decisions with no one there to help me. In hopes of gaining a cool life, I was destroying myself. I was losing everything. One night, I hit a girl with an empty bottle. My memory is a bit clouded must be because I was drunk. Before I could wish it was a nightmare, I saw my mom’s tears dripping down her face and begging for my bail out of jail. It was the first time I saw her crying. I have someone who cares and loves me even though I was worse. I could not have said how much time had passed before I found myself back with that luminous being inside the circle which I had drawn. I had known love before, but until that night, it also meant fear. That fear, however slight I was always a veil. I could see almost everything through it, but not the colors. And at that moment, with my mother there before me, I understood that love was a feeling completely bound up with colors, like thousands of rainbows. Superimposed one to top of the other.

A deep and dark voice inside me viewed change everything, to make everything okay like it was back then. I realized I was living in a world in which I had no place for myself. Tomorrow morning, I will be waking up with sun gliding everything around me with the hope to take the right path trying to change lunatic life to a sensible one.........!!!

“The media is the most powerful entity on Earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and the guilty innocent.Because they control the minds of the mass” -Malcolm X.

Just imagine, if the scenario of the media as a whole was a movie and we all were the crowd watching and believing it. Maybe we all are justifying our opinions and thoughts solely on what the media want us the interpret. Today that can obviously be happening. We never know how are our minds are being manipulated.

There might be thousands of fake reports. Fake reports that are being published by the media that is considered truthful. Can you believe, In 1960s the sugar industry paid Harvard scientists to promote saturated fat as the main cause of heart disease?This report has also led to a hypothesis being believed and followed for decades.Still today some people believe it. Even The United States Dietary Guidelines prescribed it.We all were the people being experimented upon without us even knowing. This was discovered probably after 50 years of timeframe. For that, we can consider ourselves as guinea pigs.

Isn’t that the influence of the existing media ?

Even today, Coca-Cola has been providing millions of dollars as funds to researchers who sought to play down the link between sugary drinks and obesity. Hopefully, there are some bits and pieces of information that is revolving around.

Lets change our perspective from being a viewer to a news reporter or the executive head of a media company. There are thousands of correspondences , camera person , producer and all others working to present the viewers with content. In the age of growing media, there are many companies doing the same. But the content viewers prefer to check out the one that looks the most prepossessing. So to meet that goal, there can be misleading or deceptive information.

We of course are being able to the know what is happening around the world at this very moment through media.But everything we see is not the truth.

“Being a woman should be your supreme achievement and not your deepest fear. Celebrate womanhood, fuel yourself with self-confidence and let that fuel empower you to soar towards your dreams.”

This is the 21st century. In today’s modern world many things are believed to have changed. A century ago, the lives of people around the globe was still primitive but within decades, the world has gone through a radical change in the sector of health, education, nutrition, science and technology. The extraordinary development in these fields has resulted in the complex civilization and modernization of the society. With this change in time and circumstances, the conception, the way of thinking and people’s perspectives have changed. A person’s understanding about a particular issue now and then has significant gap. People have now developed a gorgeous way of life.

Talking about Nepal, our motherland, has also gone through a drastic change in everything, from the way of dressing to speaking, working, housing and many more within a very short period of time. Nepalese people also have developed a broader way of thinking and handling issues. The composition of our society and its features have changed. The Nepalese society we see now and the society that existed when our grandparents were our age have a huge difference. Our society has developed a wider point of view towards women now.

Just a few decades back, women were treated like toys to satisfy her husband’s desires, machines to manufacture children, servants to carry out the household chores and clerks to follow the boss’s orders. The voices of women were unheard, their feelings were suppressed and their words were shoved in their mouth. No freedom was granted, not for studying or for expression and primarily not for self-decision. The male members in the family were the ones Just a few decades back, women were treated like toys to satisfy her husband’s desires, machines to manufacture children, servants to carry out the household chores and clerks to follow the boss’s orders. The voices of women were unheard, their feelings were suppressed and their words were shoved in their mouth. No freedom was granted, not for studying or for expression and primarily not for self-decision. The male members in the family were the ones

But as time grew, the western society has developed a new and thankfully, a positive perspective towards women. They started protesting against inequality. They started professing things about men and women being two sides of a single coin, two wheels of a single cart and so on. As a result, the world has got a new concept for women and undoubtedly, Nepal too. Eventually, women in Nepal started to come out of the house and stand for themselves. They showed the society that even women can succeed in every field. They exposed the fact that women are not less capable than men. Women can do what a man can and even more. Women can make decisions of their own and they deserve respect. After all the ups and downs, the lives of most of the women in Nepal has improved. We are now living for ourselves, earning for ourselves and living our life to the fullest. Today a woman can be a teacher, a doctor, a nurse, an engineer, a lawyer, an astronaut, and the president of a country. Today the Nepalese society treats women as one halves of the sky and gives her the respect she deserves. After all we also cannot deny the fact that many women are yet to receive their rights and for that, every Nepali has to have a clear mindset. We are the youths and we are the beginnings. So, we must develop a healthy attitude and widen the horizon of our understanding to change the society for good and empower women.

"Grandma, take your tea.” I said.

"Hey you sinful, don’t touch me! How dare you speak so loud after all that happened? I can’t eat what you cook, you shameless!! You’ve cut our nose in the society.” Grandma shouted at me.

She looked at my father and continued “I had insisted you earlier to get her married. But you didn’t listen to me. I had always told you that daughters are like this; mean. Now see what trouble your beloved daughter has brought to us! Who will marry her now?”

“She’s just a child mom! I had told you not to take her to Chhau goth. She’s too small to understand this.” my father supported me.

“Grandma, it’s not my fault!” I cried.

“Look, how brave she is. How does she manage to speak up after the incident? Look my son, we have to get her married within a week otherwise this girl can bring us issues. I had told you to remarry and have a son. Had you married then, we would not have faced this situation today!” My grandma continued.

Tears rolled down my cheeks, I could not listen anymore and I went inside.

My story starts from an incident that occurred a week ago. One fine day, I and my friends were going to kuwa to fetch water early in the morning. We were carrying gagris and were walking slowly talking with each other.

Suddenly, I felt a steady flow of liquid drop through my left thigh. I ignored it at first. But then it happened again. I had never felt anything like that before. I could not understand what was happening and how to react. I felt so strange and looked GRANDMA, IT’S NOT MY FAULT! down at my feet. I saw something like red splash over my left foot and oh gosh that was blood! My friends, too looked at my feet and they noticed the same. We were all of age from 11 to 13 and no one had felt such thing before. I explained what I felt to them and one of my friends said I was menstruating. She said her sister shared it with her.

I didn’t know what menstruation was till then. Yes I didn’t. And that was because there was no one in my family who would talk to me about these matters. Moreover, talking about such matters is considered sham ful in our society. My family is small. I live with my father and grandmother. My father is a farmer. They say, my mother left me when I was 6 months old. They say grandmother was expecting me to be a son but I was born. So, she doesn’t care about me a lot. She always wanted my father to remarry. But he kept on refusing.

After all that, my friends suggested me to return home and we did the same. They told my Grandma about everything that happened and then my Grandma started shouting at me. I was shocked at that moment. “What is my fault after all?” I started questioning to myself. She immediately got into the house, got some rags and asked me to follow her to chhau goth. (Chhau goth is a menstrual hut made from wood or stone.) Then she told me that I had to stay at there for two weeks and wouldn’t be able to go to our home or school or temple. She told that she would bring me meals and any other thing I needed. She also asked me to not look at other males. I agreed what she said and spent the day there. The day was easy but as it grew dark, I got scared. It was my first experience after all. At night, Grandma once visited me with food and asked me not to get scared and I’ll be used to with it. I had a candle and myself. I stayed awake the whole night. The next day too, grandmother and my friends visited me. They wouldn’t touch me. I used to feel helpless and suffocated. Similarly, the days passed and I started getting used to with it. I thought days would pass as that. But then there was a lot left for me. On the second last day, Grandma gave me some food and left. After having my food, I was about to sleep but then, I heard some sound through the bush. At first, I neglected it thinking it might be some insects. But the sound became louder and closer. I became attentive and I saw a huge shadow. That was not an animal for sure. The shadow grew larger and larger and hugged me from behind closing my mouth. The candle was blown off and I don’t want to recall what happened. Later in the morning, I came to know that I was raped. That news spread as fast as wind in the village. They tried to hide it but they couldn’t and now they’re saying these things.

“What is my fault after all?” I question myself all the time. Now, I know the answer, my fault is that, I’m a girl. Although I was lucky to belong from a well-educated family and never suffered from such practices, this is a sample story of many girls living in the far western region of Nepal. Still many girls are forced to stay at Chhau goth for two weeks during their first menstruation, first childbirth and also during their regular periods. Because of this many girls die of suffocation (especially in winter when they try to light fire), wild animals’ attack, snake bite, etc. Some girls also become victim of rape. They lack proper menstrual hygiene leading to genital infections. Women in postnatal stage may lack proper nutrition and face many health hazards. They do so because the secretions during menstruation are considered as ‘impure’ and they believe that if they don’t do so God might get angry. Now a days, Nepalese government in co-ordination with local and provincial government is destroying these Chhau Goth. There are strict legal provisions against this Chhaupadi system in our law. But still, they practice it in some districts of far-western region of Nepal. It is necessary to raise the awareness against such practices. Also, many girls still lack menstrual health education and that should also be provided. There are many such anti-women practices around the world that make women lag behind. Such practices should be eradicated through our common efforts.

Do you search your bank account details at google? Or carry monetary transaction through google?

BUT we get our bank details from the server of bank’s website. And here we part the web: one you go for search engines, search your query and get results of it and the other one anonymous web not accessed by all. So, we term them respectively as surface web and deep web.

‘Dark Web’ is a part of deep web which you do not get access via common search engines, instead need a different browser to browse it. Different browser?

Yeah! To access the dark web, you need a browser called ‘TOR’ (The Onion Router). Browsing through Tor, you can hide your own IP address and assign to the IP address of another server. So, the word ‘anonymous’ best suits for all the stuffs related to Tor and the dark web i.e. when you access Tor browser, your IP is anonymous which means it gives you an IP unknown to your ISP or google. Tor browser is free and you can easily download it from your common web browser.

And here arises the question: Is Tor legal or illegal? Is being anonymous while using web accepted in your country? It depends on your country’s rule about private network. It might be illegal in the countries considering VPNs illegal. Although, Tor might me legal, the websites under it may be illegal. However, google even sponsors Tor and telling websites may be illegal, Facebook also has its website on it. A legitimate site ‘Black book’ is considered as the Facebook of To r.

Talking about websites under Tor, they don’t have ‘.com’ or ‘.co’ extensions instead, they have ‘.onion’ extension. Since an onion has many layers on it, accessing Tor websites consists of different layer of sites making it anonymous. The browsing through dark web comprises ‘onion routing’. Now, ‘what is onion routing?’

Before that, let us know how social networking community runs.

When we use Facebook, Google and all other social platforms, we give some sort of private information to them. That is, our contact number, location and so on to access us. So, using surface web, we can’t maintain our privacy to the level we want. It gets to conclude that we have an open source community while using them. But privacy matters! Hence the VPN (Virtual Private Network) was made into practice.

But, when we use VPN, our ISP may not be known what we are accessing but our specific VPN provider can surely be acknowledged. And here VPN also fails. Now it’s clear that onion routing can maintain better level of privacy through dark web.

Therefore, dark web has onion routing comprising numerous VPNs, so when you access certain website on it, the website searches you how you’re accessing it but due to different VPNs (proxy servers), it becomes difficult for you to be traced. And hence it’s anonymous.

To be clear on this, suppose, you visited “thefarak.onion” on Tor, and also suppose Tor used 100 proxy servers for you to finally access this website. Now, “thefarak.onion” tries to know how you are accessing it but for that it should go onserver1… server2…..server3…..and so on and it couldn’t know through which server are you accessing it. So, you’re anonymous. This is how onion routing occurs. If browsing through Tor is that anonymous, how can we think of being hacked or being attacked by illegal works in dark web?

Being anonymous is both best and worst for Tor. When you create a dark web site with “.onion” in Tor, and if someone get access to it, your computer itself acts as the server and you need no hosts. You can be the host yourself. To be clear, when I create a website in Tor and if someone goes on my site, I create the web service to him/her through Tor. Since my computer acts as the server itself, the entered data on my site can be accessed by me. So, you are likely to be hacked and since it’s anonymous, you don’t know what’s going on.

And finally, it’s better not performing internet banking through is and not providing real identity to unknown websites of it. Malware attacks, drug dealing, selling and buying hacked accounts, viruses, operational and financial data theft and other type of attacks occur. So, it’s better to be careful. If you want a private environment for browsing internet, accessing through dark web could be the good choice.

It has been over 75 years since the events in Hiroshima and Nagasaki took place which shook the whole world to the ground, yet, international peace is nowhere to be found completely till date. Nuclear disarmament is extremely necessary to achieve World Peace. Experts also believe that the two major threats in front of us are Climate Change and Nuclear Weapons and they have been urging for complete disarmament.

The term denuclearization is also used to describe the process leading to complete nuclear disarmament. Disarmament and International Security Committee (DISEC), the first committee of UN General Assembly was formed in 1945 to address international concerns for the “Establishment of a Commission to Deal with the Problems Raised by the Discovery of Atomic Energy.” This committee is concerned with the issues relating to disarmament, global challenges and threats to peace that affect the international committee and strives for solutions to the challenges in the international security regime. The Committee comprises of all m e m b e r nations of the United Nations. Even though its order is limited to recommendations, it has proven to be one of the most influential and prominent bodies in the United Nations, as its resolutions deal with some of the most tortuous topics in the international community.

Efforts and progress are ongoing; however, it is very complicated as there are shifts in numbers of weapons and the overarching policies governing these weapons are relevant. In terms of quantitative reductions, measurable steps have been undertaken by NWS (Nuclear Weapon Reduction) both unilaterally and bilaterally.

DISEC showcases very delicate issues that plague the world today, and delegates should treat them as such. Their controversial, hot-button topics attract a wave of delegates itching to solve issues with new technology, databases, and intelligence. Some common topics that we want to see appear on the floor of the Disarmament and International Security Committee are Cyber Security and Warfare, Ethics of Drones, Fourth Generation Warfare, Nuclear Proliferation, Illicit Arms Trade, and the Illegal Drug Trade.

“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”

Over the years, everywhere around the globe, irrespective of all political, economic, cultural, religious environment, Human Rights are breached and violated on grounds of people’s real or perceived opinions on sexual orientation or gender identity. Although many countries have introduced laws against any form of discrimination based on human rights concerning the gender issues, the implementation seems to fail in several aspects.

As mentioned in UN Deceleration “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” But the abuse and injustice against LGBTQ+ community is excessively prevalent across the globe. As of now, only 29 countries have legalized same sex marriage. Similarly, Homophobia and transphobia can’t even be presented with statics. Although the IE SOGI, by UNHRC on 2016 have been working on providing member states with statics for prevention, prosecution and punishment for violation of basic human rights if LGBTQ community. For a long time, homosexuality has been subjected to intense forms of marginalization and social and political exclusion everywhere in the world. Homosexual behaviours been and continue to be criminalized by various legal provisions, and in addition to that, in the daily life people with the sexual preference have been excluded from multiple social benefits and have had to endure social stigmatization. And in the most extreme cases results in campaigns of extermination against these populations. This situation of homosexuals has been justified via conception because these people had been considered abnormal or immoral because they display a sexual orientation which is different from the majority of the population. Even the government has failed to address the cases of bigotry and promulgate the laws and practices effectively.

Likewise, various countries surpass other form of discriminations including workplace gender biasness, domestic violence. Hate crime, social ostracism, sexual objectification, sexism etc. Traditionally, federal law only prohibited discrimination based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, and sex. As a result, many states went beyond the federal law to offer protection against discriminatory acts involving sexual orientation or gender identity.

Hence, the persecution of people because of their sexual orientation and gender identity is not a new phenomenon. It is only in more recent years that a growing number of asylum claims have been made by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) individuals. This has necessitated greater awareness among decision-makers of the specific experiences of LGBTI asylum-seekers and a deeper examination of the legal questions involved. Inclusive of the gender rights which include the biased behaviours to men, women and LGBTIQ community, the provided agenda is crucial enough to be discussed within the committee for the countries to bring pragmatic and possible resolution after an ample discussion and argumentation.