I report from Singapore on new cases of Covid-19 exploded among migrant workers who live in the country’s far-flung dormitories. Human rights watchers say these developments should be no surprise. Hailed as a model for its early success in containing the spread of coronavirus, Singapore is now having to explain an alarming surge in infections—more […]
Singapore’s coronavirus success story hits a snag Read More »
It cannot be a coincidence that countries headed by women are doing comparatively better at battling the Covid-19 pandemic Six days before Kerala recorded its first coronavirus case on January 30, health minister KK Shailaja made plans. She was following the news from Wuhan, China, where many students from the state were studying, and the
In Hindustan Times: Atul Kochhar is the symbol of a far more widespread problem – the normalization of prejudice against Muslims. I run into my college friend after a gap of some years. Post the usual small-talk, she wants to know my views on the tolerance/intolerance debate. I tell her I am worried about the
The bigot in my drawing room Read More »
All over the world, the responsibility of bringing up children lies disproportionately with women. A 2015 report by McKinsey Global Institute found that 75% of unpaid care-work – cooking, cleaning, washing, caring for children and the elderly – is done by women. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern tweeted this past week that she and
Childcare should not only be a woman’s job Read More »
Just picking up a musical instrument is an act of courage for Zohra, Afghanistan’s first all-woman orchestra. When the call came, she was home at Kunar for her holidays. Negin Khapalwak had just got admission into the Afghanistan National Institute of Music, the only music school in her country. But there was a problem. The
Afghan ensemble Zohra is a reflection of the transformative power of music Read More »
Hillary Clinton concedes that her new book titled ‘What Happened’ isn’t a comprehensive account of the elections, admitting that, “I couldn’t get the job done, and I’ll have to live with that for the rest of my life.” I was on a flight out of Delhi when the results started coming in. But I wasn’t
What Happened: Hillary Rodham Clinton comes to the sisterhood party a little too late Read More »
We do the army no favours by placing it on a pedestal from where it cannot be asked legitimate questions. We do it no favours when we seek to draw it into an emotional public debate. Military action cannot be based on populist sentiment; wars are not fought and won in TV studios. A solution,
Hyper-nationalism does not help the cause of the Army Read More »
Like Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela represented the best version of who we are as human beings: People who could be imprisoned but never diminished. People who never allowed themselves to become caricatures of how they were viewed by their oppressors. People who retained dignity despite systemic attempts to belittle them. Fired with idealism and passion,
Leaders like Mandela represent the best version of who we are as human beings Read More »
The Global Slavery Index estimates 45.8 million people globally are in some form of slavery. With 18 million people as slaves, India has the highest absolute numbers. They are found in the sex trade, in mining, as bonded labor, as domestic labor, in manufacturing, in fishing and agriculture. One-fourth of all trafficked people are children.
Trafficking is the fastest growing black market trade and it’s all around us Read More »
Given their history, I’m wary about the construction of yet another memorial in India. But the idea of a national war memorial, poised to leap from intent to drawing board, 55 years after it was first proposed is exciting. When completed, it will honour the nearly 22,500 men from the armed forces killed in the
Memorials preserve history 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 »
Physician, writer and avowed communist, Rashid Jahan was an inspiration for young Muslim women. Woman of fire In the winter of 1932, three men and a woman published a collection of short stories and sparked a literary storm. Sajjad Zaheer, Ahmad Ali, Sahibzada Mahmuduzaffar and the woman, Rashid Jahan, were writing an angry book, Angarey (embers) that railed against social inequity, hypocritical maulvis and
Book Review | A Rebel And Her Cause Read More »