In response to public outrage against a spate of reported rapes of children, the government has now brought in an ordinance that imposes death to anyone convicted of raping a girl below 11. Why I think this ordinance won’t work, and what I think will. The remarkable fact about recent Indian law-making, particularly when it […]
Laws by public emotion Read More »
If the ongoing global gender conversation over sexual violence, over gay rights, over stereotypes just got a bit more interesting, then you can thank Caitlyn Jenner for that. Jenner’s decision to come out as a woman may not immediately open doors and dispel discrimination but it gives hope to many like her. The Kardashian khandaan
Bruce Jenner’s decision to come out as woman gives hope to many Read More »
Narendra Modi has a chance to lead, even change, the nation’s discourse. Right now, we are ripe for a thousand unspoken conversations: Secularism, inclusiveness, development, gender, poverty. But instead of a dialogue we have competitive shrillness. There is a great noise around Narendra Modi’s silence since the 60-odd days that he has been prime minister.
Modi has a chance to change India’s discourse, but for that he must speak Read More »
Few other budgets in recent memory have been quite as sweeping in terms of its reference to women and gender. The comparison was inevitable: Rs.200 crore for a statue of Sardar Patel, but only Rs.100 crore for the girl child through a Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao awareness campaign, which will include courses on gender mainstreaming in school curricula. “NDA
Budget 2014: A cautious start on gender inclusivity Read More »
With a sex ratio of just 877, permitting such marriages in Haryana is less radical shift and more pragmatic solution. Hisar: The winds of change are gently blowing through Haryana, but, ironically, it is the state’s skewed sex ratio rather than social revolution that is making this possible. In a state where men are increasingly finding
Khap inter-caste marriage ruling a sign of compulsion, not reform 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 »
A photoshopped Twitter photo of Gul Panag with an AAP cap before she was named candidate from Chandigarh is just an example of blatant misogyny reserved for women politicians. New Delhi: If it hadn’t been so predictable, it might have been dismissed as a sick joke. But there it was, in full colour. Scantily dressed with
Women seeking political office face personal attacks Read More »
Men say they are scared by this new environment. Far too many women have lived in fear of the old environment. It’s time to pack the dinosaurs off to the museum. I hear a great lament these days. Aggressive women are killing romance in the workplace with their flurry of complaints (young corporate executive) Come
Time to say ‘enough’ to sexual harassment Read More »
Gloria Steinem, one of feminism’s most influential voices, on the state of the women’s movement, and her enduring connection with India. I am putting together Gloria Steinem’s first-ever pani-puri, and a great deal of care has gone into its making: cracking the puri, stuffing the filling and adding the chutneys with what I can only hope is a
Gloria Steinem | The galvanizer Read More »
In just a month’s time, it will be one year to the brutal gangrape of a 23-year-old girl in Delhi. The incidence that shook the collective conscience of the nation has inspired a documentary film, which was screened recently in the Capital. In just a month’s time, it will be one year to the brutal
Documenting the politics of rape Read More »
The national conversation, dominated by temples, toilets, has no patience for stories of Dalit women who face humiliation daily. Given the measly media coverage, their stories cause no outrage. The national conversation, dominated by temples, toilets, has no patience for stories of Dalit women who face humiliation daily. Given the measly media coverage, their stories
At stake is the dignity of Dalit women Read More »
So what changes now? Now that four convicts in the Delhi gang rape case have been sentenced to death will your daughter be able to take a bus from a late evening film show without worrying about making it safely home? So what changes now? Now that four convicts in the Delhi gang-rape case have
No going back from here Read More »