Look for alternative:

Aditya Man Shrestha’s proposal to use Nepali soldiers as mercenaries in Iraq and elsewhere, in his article entitled “National crisis: How the Americans could help us” (THT, February 6), is appalling. Too much blood has already been shed by our youth so far at home and abroad. To put our young boys in the hands of neo-imperialists cannot be acceptable to all Nepalis. Wars impoverish a nation both economically and politically. They lead to further exploitation of the poor. Thus, instead of sending Nepalis to help US wars, it would be better to seek US support in development efforts at home. The Nepali economy could gain from US investment so that job opportunities could be created for the educated Nepali youth. An active would-be peace mediator like Shrestha could easily provide us with creative suggestions.

Rakesh Tripathi, Dhading

Help women:

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, various programmes were organised in the country to spread the message of women’s rights. However, in Nepal, the status of women is deteriorating since a majority of them are still deprived of fundamental rights. Even in the 21st century, it’s sad that women are strangulated by the patriarchal society, which has confined them to the four walls of their homes. Even though some laws have been enacted to protect women’s rights and to give them justice, a large number of women are still subjected to all sorts of exploitation. Worse still, trafficking of young girls to India and elsewhere continues unabated. The condition of rural women has also been worsened by the ongoing insurgency. Thus it is high time the authorities concerned brought about revolutionary changes to help the women come out of their miseries.

Srijana Thapa and Barsa Shrestha, Pokhara

Insensitivity:

I went driving to visit a friend in Patan recently. To my amazement, I found that the road leading to her house was totally blocked by local farmers who were having a wedding dinner that night. While I have nothing against wedding celebrations, blocking public roads and causing traffic jams during weddings cause great inconvenience to vehicles and pedestrians. This also shows lack of respect for others’ time.

Gayatri Pradhan, Naxal

Mistake:

In the news “China to clip rich, poor gap” (THT, March 7) the Chinese prime minister’s name was written just as “Jiabao.” Unlike in the US or the UK style, in case of Chinese name sequence, family name is written before the surname. Thus the prime minister can be addressed as Mr Wen or PM Wen by the public, but not just Jiabao, which is his first name. Hope you will respect our style and not make this mistake in future.

Frank Wang, Banepa

Good work:

The Midway article “Sweet sixteen” by Palista Kharel (THT, March 8) was a good write-up. The author expressed the desires of a teenage girl in a simple but significant way. I want to congratulate Palista. She has the potential of being a good Midway writer. Hope we get to read more articles like this one in THT in future.

Bibhuti Shrestha, via e-mail