In the 70th year of our Independence, a new generation of women, unwilling to be victims, is speaking up and saying ‘enough’. The Chandigarh stalking has received more than usual attention, some of it because one of the two men accused, Vikas Barala, is the son of the state’s BJP chief. But much of it […]
Whether it’s Varnika Kundu or Gurmehar Kaur, the fightback from women has begun Read More »
Governments, like citizens, need to be brave. If one woman in a wheelchair can speak up then surely countries must step up. A nation’s progress is not merely measured in terms of GDP but also in terms of inclusion and acceptance. She has five tattoos and, under her baseball cap, hair coloured ash blue. Born
Paralympian Goh shows the way for queer athletes to be themselves Read More »
How the urban local bodies qualify as “customary” institutions is anybody’s guess. But in the past 16 years there has been no election to them. The women’s groups insist on reservation. But the tribal bodies remain adamant about not sharing power. Without reservation, women will simply not be given the opportunity to compete. For a
Who’s afraid of the Naga Mothers? Read More »
Narendra Modi’s decision to strike at black money and corruption by wiping out 86% of the currency notes in circulation has hit women vendors the hardest. These are women who are not part of the banking system, survive on one income (their own), which is entirely in cash earned daily and must negotiate petty bribes
Women vendors who exist on cash income hit hardest by demonetisation Read More »
Politicians in India have rarely been forthcoming about their health, taking refuge in the argument that they are entitled to their privacy. Do we as citizens have the right to know? In hindsight, we know that at the time of Independence, Pakistan’s Quaid-e-Azam MA Jinnah had advanced tuberculosis and died just over a year later
The lack of transparency about Jayalalithaa’s health is worrying Read More »
A new book by the first woman high court chief justice offers insights into the causes affecting women today. At the sprightly age of 84, Leila Seth is busy planning her schedule. There are literary seminars to attend, talks to be given to schoolchildren, a book that has just been launched and, yes, already, another book to
Leila Seth: Words like justice Read More »
Progressive Muslim women’s organizations look to help women solve problems within the code of Islamic law. Mumbai: The women in the airy, well-lit room could be women anywhere talking of things that women often talk about. An adult son who won’t contribute to the household expenses. A daughter who is finding it difficult to adjust to
A voice for Muslim women Read More »
Physician, writer and avowed communist, Rashid Jahan was an inspiration for young Muslim women. Woman of fire In the winter of 1932, three men and a woman published a collection of short stories and sparked a literary storm. Sajjad Zaheer, Ahmad Ali, Sahibzada Mahmuduzaffar and the woman, Rashid Jahan, were writing an angry book, Angarey (embers) that railed against social inequity, hypocritical maulvis and
Book Review | A Rebel And Her Cause Read More »
Compared to the geeky earnestness of her brother, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is a star. Her belated entry will not stop a likely UPA defeat, but you have to credit her with putting up a fight. If the Congress campaign suddenly seems to have shifted to a more combative mode, it has one woman to thank
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is a charismatic enigma Read More »
A recent survey found that security and empowerment of women was tenth most important in a list of 30 election issues. New Delhi: Who would have imagined that the roar of the angry crowds at India Gate in December 2012 would echo all the way to the general elections 18 months later? Who could have predicted
Political parties yet to move beyond symbols on women’s empowerment Read More »
States with the best sex ratios, gender indices elect the fewest women to Parliament. New Delhi: States with the best sex ratios and gender indices elect the fewest women to Parliament, finds a study conducted for Mint by IndiaSpend.com, a data journalism initiative. Conversely, states with poorer gender indices have the highest percentage of women Members of Parliament (MPs).
‘Empowered’ states have fewer women MPs Read More »
In India we are leap years away from giving women a just work environment. The unlamentable fall of Phaneesh Murthy should have been a clear signal of zero tolerance by managements towards sexual harassment. The collective tut-tutting by the IT industry — ‘message to all leaders in business’, ‘right decision’ etc — should have come
An inconvenient truth Read More »