Namita Bhandare

There’s no shortage of talent. For over two decades, women have occupied 33% of seats in panchayats and done so well that states like Bihar bumped up their quota to 50%. Political parties that speak loudly about women’s rights should, by now, be reflecting this enthusiastic political participation by fielding more women. Right?(PTI) Exactly 101 […]

Courage in a climate where the naysayers mutter about ‘false accusations’ and ‘why she didn’t speak up earlier’, where we shine the spotlight on victims rather than the accused and where we speculate about ulterior motives. In all the thunder of a furious October have we paused to think about the courage it takes to

Now is the time to ask for workplaces that value women and recognise that diversity is not just a nice sounding word The resignation of minister of state for external affairs MJ Akbar might seem like a victory for the #MeToo movement, but it’s far too premature for any celebrations(Vipin Kumar/HT PHOTO) The resignation of

A heinous gang rape of one girl impacts the mobility of many others, affecting their ability to participate in public life Members of All India Democratic Women’s Association and various other organisations protest against the Rewari gang rape case, Haryana Bhawan, New Delhi, September 17, 2018(Sanchit Khanna/HT PHOTO) The first-year BSc student was on her

Women cricketers in outer Delhi juggle school, tuition and housework and still find the time to practice on the field Hima Das celebrates after securing silver medal in the women’s 400m final on athletics track event at the 18th Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta, August 26. Despite the Asian Games success of Swapna Barman, Hima

Today, we know that while floods, droughts, fires, earthquakes and tsunamis do not discriminate on the grounds of caste, religion or gender, their impact is profoundly discriminatory. Studies have shown that it is women (and the poor and marginalised) who bear their heaviest burden. Following a disaster, incidents of sexual and domestic violence shoot up

Muzaffarpur is emblematic of the large-scale systemic abuse of institutionalised children that we choose not to see Brajesh Thakur, main accused in the Muzaffarpur shelter home case , after a woman allegedly threw ink on his face while he was being taken to a special POCSO court, in Muzaffarpur, August 8(PTI) One fought with her

Now that we are making our child sexual offences law gender neutral, isn’t it time we started talking about adult male rape survivors? Men themselves are reluctant to report being raped for fear of being judged by a society with iron-clad notions about masculinity. “Aren’t you a man? Why didn’t you hit back? Were you

Frankly, I find this business of ranking ‘worst’ countries to be tedious. To be bad is bad enough; better or worse is an academic argument Women protest against rape in New Delhi. A Thomson Reuters yearly survey called India as the most dangerous place for women, which the government rejected saying it’s an opinion poll.(HT)

Section 377 is wrong not because it conforms to outdated notions of family or religion or what is ‘natural’. It is wrong because it is the most blatant violation of human rights. Students from Delhi University , the AUD Queer Collective and Jawahar Lal Nehru University at a protest against campus violence against LGBTQ.(Hindustan Times)

Atul Kochhar is the symbol of a far more widespread problem – the normalization of prejudice against Muslims. People offer namaz out side the Bandra ststion on the occasion of Eid – al – Fitr in Mumbai on June 16.(HT Photo) I run into my college friend after a gap of some years. Post the