ABSTRACT
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has varied across countries. Some countries controlled the virus relatively well, while others did not. In the United States, almost a million people died. However, South Korea's death toll is only about 12,000 even though its population is about one-sixth of the United States. What caused the difference? We argue that public compliance to government direction is the primary reason. South Korea's collective culture valuing communal benefits helped the people conform to government directions, such as mask wearing in public places. By contrast, American people resisted the government policies that restrict individual freedom due to the individualistic culture. In South Korea, historical experiences of relatively frequent national crises led to the rise of defensive nationalism, resulting in national union. However, the United States had relatively fewer national crises, and thus nationalism did not rise. Instead, national division, xenophobia, and hatred toward Asians prevailed in the United States. Besides the cultural differences, differences in national leader's characteristics, past experiences of public health crisis, and political system also contributed to the different outcomes of the crisis.
ABSTRACT
Contemporary feminism manifests itself in the form of blogs, hashtags, e-magazines, and digitally planned protests through online communities that address the prevailing concerns of feminists in the digital age. This feminist approach to digital activism aims to reclaim the power of technology which is inherently hegemonic and masculinist by creating alternate spaces and modes of protest. Transnational feminism is increasingly being shaped by online discourses and the new digital space enables social movements in shaping feminist solidarity and complex netizen identities. This paper adopts discourse analysis of online contents that question the prevalent patriarchal system in South Asia and thus situate it in the changing socio-cultural context globally. Popular hashtag movements in various countries such as #YesAllWomen, #notallmen, #MeToo, #SheInspiresMe, #WomenMarch4Change, #WhyLoiter, #IWillGoOut, #AuratMarch #GirlsAtDhabas, #SafeCityIndia #PinjraTod as well as other online forums which raise the voices of women against various forms of violence will be analysed with a view to uncover their multi-layered impact. These multifaceted discourses on gender-based violence have reached a wider audience across the world through social media, and academic webinars during the Covid-19 pandemic have also largely contributed to the debate. The resonance of these dialogues has transcended the local to the global level;a close study of the transnational character of these digital messages in social media aims to examine the strict demarcation between the public and the private, thus challenging the concept of gendered spaces. This paper employs a multidisciplinary approach to methodologically analyse the online resources and nature of activism in India and investigate its global relevance. Additionally, the paper will also explore how the online campaigns are establishing networks notwithstanding time and place, by interrogating and understanding the relationship between online activism and its significance in conceptualizing transnational feminism.
ABSTRACT
The exponential emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic, with such an intensity on a global scale, created fear, paranoia, and insecurity among populations across the world. The Worldometer Website operated by Dadax, which provides live statistics of Covid-19, showed a daily increase in the number of people infected by this “strange” virus that shackled even the most powerful governments of the world. Nationwide lockdowns imposed by all the giant economic powers and administrations of various countries completely ceased any mobility of the people. However, despite all this, one of the most vulnerable groups was the nomads, whose mobility is the essence as well as a prerequisite for their existence. The Bakkarwals of Jammu and Kashmir (India), a nomadic community, showed exemplary courage amid all the chaos by undertaking their transhumant movement, walking 300 kilometers with their livestock and children to reach the pastures. The pandemic-era story of this marginalized and neglected population is worth telling.