G Gopakumar’s acquittal of Franco Mulakkal, a bishop of the Jalandhar diocese, is the latest in misogynist rape judgments and tells you why sexual assault survivors remain reluctant to speak up. In two words: Rape trials The acquittal of Tarun Tejpal in May 2021 falls into this pattern and is rife with graphic details about […]
Why rape victims hesitate to speak up Read More »
The online ‘auction’ of Muslim women exists in an ecosystem of hate. But the sexualized attack on Muslim women is not new. Over the past year, there have been at least three “auctions” — May 2020, Eid in July, and November on Clubhouse It reflects the divisiveness sown by media that makes free use of
A petri dish of deep distrust and hatred Read More »
Vanitha, one of Kerala’s most popular women’s magazines published by the Malayala Manorama group, chose for its January cover a smiling portrait of Malayalam actor Dileep, along with his wife and two daughters. The picture-perfect image caused a furore. Actor Swara Bhaskar tweeted, “shame on you” and film critic Anna Vetticad responded, “sick”. Dileep is
Waiting for justice Read More »
A new variant of Covid in full throttle has tempered the hope that traditionally comes with a new year. It’s also a grim reminder of just how hard it is to dislodge that other ‘p’ word, patriarchy. What are the trends that will define India’s gender agenda in 2022? This edition of Mind the Gap
Six Trends To Watch Out For In 2022 Read More »
The protests by some women workers at Urban Company, the Indian platform that provides home and beauty services, are not new. What is unprecedented is the legal notice sent by the company to its workers (called “partners”) who are protesting against “unfair trade practices”, which the women say, will hurt their earnings. Back in October, the women
The company they keep Read More »
A year of loss and devastation still managed to have its undeniable hurrahs. More women judges in the higher judiciary, and the Delhi High Court, set to welcome its first openly gay judge, were a win for wider representation In the end, it wasn’t institutions so much as women themselves who raised the greater cheers.
2021: A year of quite a few silver linings Read More »
Hello and welcome to Mind the Gap, a newsletter that adds perspective to the gender developments of the week. Bringing the minimum age requirement for women at par with men falls in line with Constitutional guarantees of equality for all citizens (Shutterstock) THE BIG STORY The government is planning to introduce a bill to increase
Mind The Gap | The case for and against raising the marriage age for women Read More »
The government is planning to introduce a bill to increase the minimum marriage age of women from 18 to 21. To become law, the bill must be passed by both houses of Parliament after it is introduced, most likely during the winter session. The proposal, cleared during a Cabinet meeting on December 15, follows the
The case for and against raising the marriage age for women Read More »
Hello and welcome to Mind the Gap, a newsletter that adds perspective to the gender developments of the week. ‘Honour’ killings, where the families of daughters who exercise agency in their choice of marriage partners and so incur their family’s wrath for bringing disgrace, are India’s enduring shame (AFP) THE BIG STORY She was making
Mind The Gap | No honour in these killings Read More »
Hiring women drivers and conductors will instill confidence and enable more women to use public transport DTC hired its first woman driver, V Saritha, in April 2015 with announcements to hire more. Six years later, Saritha remains its sole woman driver (Hindustan Times)” Omkari’s family was scandalized when she told them she wanted to learn
Women bus drivers: A ticket to greater freedom Read More »
Hello and welcome to Mind the Gap, a newsletter that adds perspective to the gender developments of the week. Behind the various laws that seek to regulate women’s bodies lies the question of choice. How freely do women exercise agency when it comes to marriage, when to have a baby, or how many babies to
Mind The Gap | The Indian woman’s quest for autonomy Read More »
Hello and welcome to Mind the Gap, a newsletter that adds perspective to the gender developments of the week. We’ve come a long way from the days when parties promised free pressure cookers, mixer-grinders and gold for mangalsutras (Virendra Singh Gosain/HT PHOTO) THE BIG STORY: Everybody loves the woman voter Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s announcement of
Mind The Gap | Wooing the Indian woman voter Read More »