Miffed's Scribblings

There is no force more powerful than a woman who is determined to rise. Glass ceilings, Patriarchy, Gender pay gap, Sexist workplace policies, and just male privilege — a lot of challenges dot a woman’s path to success, but many have taken on the mantle to power through them all and succeed against all odds. Here’s a success story of women empowerment, led by a distinguished father of the Jesuit province that changed the lives of many in the rural areas of Sonitpur. Father Oscar Pereira belongs to the Jesuits of the Bombay province, he came chiefly to start social work for the whole of the northeast through the Jesuit organisation.  The initial start began with promoting the Self Help Groups (SHGs). Within a year the organisation was recognised by the Government. Currently, it is funded by Caring Friends, Mumbai (Through Action North East Trust, Bongaigaon ), and Assam Investment Advisory Society. ) Oscar Pereira’s journey to Balipara and the subsequent steps taken to establi...

Over time, the things we use the most become dull. For example, we are prone to happiness. Who wants unhappiness? Do we invite unhappiness? No one does. We are predisposed to want happiness all the time. So we overuse our senses- physical and emotional to saturate ourselves with happiness. Eventually, to make ourselves happier, we need more and more stimuli coming from within as well as outside. It’s overuse of our senses, internal as well as physical. What happens with pain, misery, and sadness? Nobody wants them. If at all they come our way, we ignore them as if ignoring them will make them go away! Since we don’t use them, whatever little miseries may come our way becomes really highlighted. Happiness is made dull by overuse whereas sadness becomes extremely sharp through underuse. It cuts us like a razor. The more we avoid it, the more every little bit of sadness or unhappiness drives us crazy. “With expectations too, when we have greater expectations from our loved ones, it ...

Talking about Ambubachi, it is a celebration of the annual Mensuration of Mother Earth. Since mensuration is a natural part of the reproductive cycle, it is a phenomenon unique to girls. However, it has always been surrounded by taboos and myths that exclude women from many aspects of socio-cultural life. In India, even a mention of this topic has been taboo in the past and even to this date. Culturally in many parts of India, mensuration is still considered to be dirty and impure. Further, in the Hindu faith, women are prohibited from participating in normal life while menstruating. This year, The Ambubachi Mela started on June 22nd in Kamakhya temple, Guwahati. Almost 10 lakh devotees are expected to visit the temple during this atmosphere time when the Goddess is said to be going through her yearly menstrual cycle. The festival of Ambubachi seems to eulogise womanhood. It is meant to redefine female strength. But to what extent is it true, is something debatable. The paradox...

Mental health problems are more common in people living alone regardless of age and sex, says a study. "The prevalence of common mental disorders was higher in individuals living alone than in those not living alone in all survey years," the study noted. For the study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, the researchers used data on 20,500 individuals aged 16-64 living in England who participated in the 1993, 2000, or 2007 National Psychiatric Morbidity Surveys. Whether a person had a common mental disorder (CMD) was assessed using the Clinical Interview Schedule Revised (CIS-R), a questionnaire focusing on neurotic symptoms. The study found that the prevalence of people  living alone in 1993, 2000, and 2007 was 8.8 per cent, 9.8 per cent, and 10.7 per cent. They found a positive association between living alone and common mental disorder. In different subgroups of people, living alone increased a person's risk for common mental disorder by 1.39 to 2.43 times, the...

Students, please take note. Increased stress during examinations is associated with eating a poor- quality diet including less fruit and vegetables and more fast food, say researchers. The research, published in the European Journal of Nutrition, suggests that students have difficulties eating healthy food and find themselves adopting bad eating habits, leading to stress. Stress has long been implicated in a poor diet. People tend to report overeating and comfort eating foods high in fat, sugar and calories in time of stress. Looking at the eating habits of students during exam periods confirm this stress induced dietary deterioration hypothesis. The results are based on an anonymous online survey of 232 students ( aged 19-22 years) recruited from Ghent University and other Universities in Belgium. The researchers investigated the relationship between exam stress and change in dietary quality, and whether these associations were modified by psychological factors such as eating...

A strategic way to deal between organizations and their public or private sectors is known as Public Relations. This also refers to maintaining the communication process between an organization and its public. A Public Relations officer manages clients for press conferences, writes speeches for company leaders, writes content for social media releases, manages the reputation of the company during times of crisis, etc. The main perspective of a Public Relations Officer is to inform the public, customers, investors, stakeholders, or other people related to the company. Maintaining Public Relations for an organization is a phenomenon that has a historical root. The propaganda was started by the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany during the world war to criticize enemies. Most historians believe that it was first stated in the United States by Ivy Lee and Edward and was later spread internationally. Many American companies with Public Relations departments spread this practice to E...