The 36-year-old rape survivor in the Muzaffarnagar riots. (Image Source:Raj K Raj/HT Photo) When the riots broke out in her village in Muzaffarnagar that day on September 8, 2013, her husband had taken their elder son who had a fever to the hospital at Shamli. She was alone at home with their three-month old baby boy. […]
The survivor’s tale: The unacceptable price of justice Read More »
In the patriarchal dustbowl of India, sport has been the key to transforming the lives of girls. Now, a generation of girls stands to lose what their predecessors laid out for them A prolonged protest could derail the progress of the past few years. The website Scroll reports that the wrestlers’ agitation has already resulted
The wrestlers’ protests can save the akhada Read More »
For some weeks now, India’s top court has had marriage on its mind. One five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud is hearing why the LGBTQI+ community should be (or should definitely not be, depending on your perspective) granted marriage rights at par with other citizens. Another five-judge bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishen
Marriage on our minds Read More »
The wrestlers are strong, articulate, disciplined winners who’ve travelled all over the world and are public figures in their own right. Yet even they had to knock on the Supreme Court’s doors for the most basic demand of getting the police to do their job and lodge an FIR (first information report). On April 21,
Battling the Bahubali muscle: women’s struggle for justice against powerful politicians Read More »
At the heart of the Supreme Court marriage equality hearings lie a host of patriarchal anxieties over the challenge to the definition of family Nobody can predict which way the courts will rule. But to listen to the proceedings, is to hear the story of a nation where people fall in love and dream of
Who’s afraid of marriage equality? Read More »
Couples who wish to marry under the Special Marriage Act must serve a 30-day notice during which their personal details are on public display. This violates their privacy and leaves many vulnerable to parental and community reprisal. The police met her, her partner and her father to conduct an ‘inquiry’. Why get married in court?
The autonomy to choose one’s partner Read More »
Arguably the most significant hearing on LGBTQI rights since the Supreme Court decriminalised sex against the “order of nature” in 2018, here’s what the case being heard by chief justice DY Chandrachud and justices SK Kaul, Ravindra Bhat, Hima Kohli, and PS Narasimha has thrown up so far. Under discussion are adoption, majoritarian opinion, fundamental rights, marriage
Marriage equality: How the case impacts us all Read More »
( Image source: https://www.theknot.com/) Marriage, insists the government of India through solicitor general Tushar Mehta, can only take place between a biological man and a biological woman. It is a religious and social construct over which Parliament and not the courts have jurisdiction. Allowing marriage equality will cause “complete havoc” with the country’s personal laws. At the
Marriage equality is an idea whose time has come Read More »
There’s never been a better time for women athletes in India The first time Anne Aiza Khan wore a pair of shorts was at a football tournament in Kolkata. (Courtesy: Anne Aiza Khan) The first time Anne Aiza Khan wore a pair of shorts was at a football tournament in Kolkata. The year was 2016
According to a 2015 Dasra report, 23% of girls eventually drop out of school because of a lack of menstrual hygiene facilities (HT PHOTO) At three of the four schools I attended, including a co-ed one, the uniform was a dress or skirt. Teachers were obsessed with the length of the dress, and let me
For gender equality, go beyond symbolic steps Read More »
“I measure the progress of a community by the degree of progress which women have achieved.” Dr BR Ambedkbar A painting in Madhubani Style by Delhi-based artist Malvika Raj, also the cover of the book Spotted Goddesses: Dalit Women’s Agency-Narratives on Caste and Gender Violence. (Image source: Glasgow Women’s Library) From the time of Savitribai Phule,
How Dalit women activists are making history Read More »
Mumbai Indians skipper Harmanpreet Kaur along with teammates celebrate with the Women’s Premier League 2023 trophy. (Source: ANI) By Sharda Ugra Not sure how many noticed, but in his introduction of the captains on the opening night of IPL 2023, Ravi Shastri called out Hardik Pandya’s name as, “captain of the Gujarat Giants.” Pandya is
WPL: Showing us the money Read More »