Namita Bhandare

“I was not likely to get justice,” reads the press statement by the Supreme Court employee who has alleged sexual harassment by the chief justice. The Supreme Court remains every citizen’s last hope. For now, India’s women are watching developments there very closely Their lordships have sworn to uphold Constitutional values of equality and dignity. […]

There are many words — cheat, lowlife, scoundrel — that describe men who lie to women just in order to have sex with them. Rapist is not one of them If rape is about consent — or the lack of it — then can consent obtained on false information truly be consent? And if it’s

In panchayats, women now average 46% in leadership posts, above the legally mandated 33%, with states like Bihar and Odisha bumping up the quota to 50%. There is growing evidence to show that nearly a quarter century of reservations has led to the creation of an empowered and aware constituency of women at the grassroots

These girls are our future citizens. Amongst them are leaders, heads of corporations, Members of Parliament, innovators, change makers. All we need to do is leave them alone and let them find their voice. Women struggle to talk about themselves positively, says Aparna Jain, author, leadership and diversity coach. At the workshops she organises, “There’s

The world’s largest march of rape survivors seeks to change the way you see victims of rape and sexual assault. Y’s husband beat her senseless when he found out that she had been raped by three men in the fields where she had been working. Then he threw her out of the house and told

Social assumptions about Noble Mothers who sacrifice careers for their children are deeply ingrained According to a July 2018 International Labour Organization (ILO)(Pratik Chorge/HT Photo) It was after his son Viggo was born that Swedish photographer, Johan Bavman, then on parental leave, began looking for information about stay-at-home-dads. He found nothing. What he did find

Women and politics are no longer strangers. Not only are women exercising their franchise in larger numbers, but over the past 25 years, an estimated one million women have been elected at the village, block and district level in panchayati raj institutions where 33% of seats are reserved for them. Almost none graduate to Parliament

It’s crucial to remember where we come from, who we are as a people and what we stand for. Our historical and cultural heritage includes not just powerful men in public life but also the women who, despite all the odds, managed to surge forward, make their own paths and, in doing so, show us

Sohaila’s just published book, What we Talk About When we Talk About Rape seeks to break that wall of shame. It sets out to break the silence In a culture where sexual assault is equated with loss of honour, rape tends to be shrouded in silence. Those who are raped, regardless of whether you call

We can’t seem to stop talking about sexual violence from strangers but can’t seem to start talking about the violence women face from within their homes In a country where 52% of women believe it’s all right for a husband to beat a wife as ‘punishment’, part of the problem is changing attitudes(AFP) If a