MISSING MISS NEPAL
Mallika Aryal's diatribe against ANWO-R's obstructions to hold Miss Nepal 2008 is short of arguments (Witch hunt hits wrong target, #420). This is not the first time that the organizers of Miss Nepal have faced stiff opposition. But when you have 140 CA members and 40+ organisations rallying against it, there is a need to understand the reason behind it. The opponents have already signalled that their opposition is with a private company holding a Miss Nepal title that can be equally confused between a talent hunt and a beauty pageant. I don't think they would object to organising a Miss Dabur or a Miss Hidden Treasure contest. The organisers could not even capitalise the situation by coming up with a new idea like Miss New Nepal.

Narayan Manandhar,
Lalitpur

* I am no fan of Miss Nepal, or the beauty product companies that sponsor it. But where are the priorities of those who are opposed to Miss Nepal? Is the pageant the biggest threat to Nepali womanhood today? Is that keeping us backward? ANWO-R would be doing everyone a favour if it started agitating against the trafficking of Nepali young women to India for prostitution. We would take them seriously if they started a female literacy campaign. They would be serving a great cause if they spread awareness about the low status of women that is feeding into crises like maternal mortality, women with AIDS, child marriage and underweight female children. The anti-Miss Nepal bandwagon sounds to me like activism just for the sake of activism.

R Thapa,
email

SACRIFICES
Mallika Aryal talks about violation of animal rights during festivities in her piece (What a riot, #419) and that the money could instead be used for a better cause. I agree that we have to support noble causes and animal sacrifices may be viewed as a violation of animal rights. But let me point out that we are very rich in our culture and it is not right to violate our cultural rights either. These sacrifices are essential part of our traditions.

Deepak Thapa,
email

* Animal Nepal is concerned about the reintroduction of state-sponsored animal sacrifice. A survey we carried out in 2007 confirmed that a majority of people feel the government no longer has to cough up millions for the public beheading of innocent animals. In fact, Nepal is the only country in the world that sponsors such rituals. It is also the only country that shows animal sacrifice live on TV, with millions of children watching. How can we build a peaceful society when the government supports extreme violence against fellow living beings? Last week high level Hindu and Buddhist leaders vowed to ban animal sacrifice. This is the right moment to stop wasting money on the killing of innocent beings.

Animal Nepal,
Patan

* Really glad to see Finance Minister Baburam Bhattarai get his comeuppance with his decision to cut the budget for festivals. The Maoists have never been sensitive to cultural practices, and this has been their major weakness. While trying to take Nepal to Year Zero, they have tried to infringe on religion and culture, forcing Hindus to eat beef in some cases. That is what you'd do if you want to make enemies. And at the moment the Maoist-led government needs all the friends it can get.

Jujubhai,
Asan