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 the way ahead Students of Shivaji School, Ghatkopar, dress up like Savitribai Phule on the occasion of her birth anniversary, Mumbai, January 3, 2019(Satish Bate/HT Photo) The conference room at the National Commission for Women (NCW), a statutory body that advises government on policies for…

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 them victims or survivors, are put into a Shamed Victim box(AP) I don’t remember the precise moment when my then college roommate, Sohaila Abdulali, told me about being gangraped when she was 17. It was just an incontestable fact of her life: she was from…

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 picture says a thousand words, then a graphic illustration of 137 figures — the number of women killed every day around the world by a partner or family member — doesn’t even begin to tell you the horror. The statistics are part of a study…

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 years after the 19th Amendment granted American women suffrage, a record 116 women, including the first Muslim, the first Native American and the youngest ever, were voted to the US Congress. India, too, has the highest number of women MPs in its history — 62…

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 speak up?(AP) The complainant in one of India’s most high profile sexual harassment cases is telling me about the price of speaking up. A hostile work environment, mental stress, failing health, long and costly litigation and, despite it all, loss of a job, says the…

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 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 celebration. The former editor is accused by at least 20 women of a range of inappropriate behaviour from interviewing potential new…

In Foreign Policy, I write on workplace sexual harassment from Bhanwari Devi to the resignation of M.J. Akbar, what’s changed over the years and which way India’s  #MeToo movement is likely to go.  For close to two weeks now, many of India’s women, particularly in the English-language media and entertainment businesses, have taken to social media to call out sexual predators: bosses who had demanded sexual favors, men who had sent unsolicited explicit photographs, and stars who had interacted inappropriately with underage fans. Among those caught up in the torrent of accusations have been editors, directors, actors, writers, stand-up comedians,…

In The Print, I write about the current movement against workplace sexual harassment that for me has summoned up old ghosts and taken me back to my own #MeToo moment 30 years ago. Has nothing really changed? Or is it that a new generation of women journalists are telling predatory, entitled male bosses to back off? My #MeToo moment goes back some 30 years. I was a young reporter in a new job in Mumbai and was visiting my parents who lived in Delhi. My new editor happened to be in town and the three of us – the New…

In IndiaSpend, I look at the state of India’s shelter homes for children to discover endemic abuse and, worse, absolute apathy.  She has no memory of her early childhood, no recollection of her biological parents and no idea of how or why she got separated from them when she was about three years old. What she does remember is the day she arrived at the Udayan Home for girls in south Delhi. “I had then been living at a government-run shelter for some years,” said Ritu, who often uses Udayan as her last name. “I must have been around six years…

In my Hindustan Times column, I look at a state that has, despite having India’s worst gender indices (sex ratio at birth, crimes against women, including gang-rape and stalking), there is a high level of ambition and aspiration amongst young girls and women. Yet, when there’s a gang-rape of one woman, it impacts and restricts the mobility of the other women and girls in the village.  The first-year BSc student was on her way to coaching classes to prepare for the railways entrance exam. She was abducted, drugged, gang-raped and then dumped back at the bus stop from where they had…

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 way to coaching classes to prepare for the railways entrance exam. She was abducted, drugged, gang-raped and then dumped back at the bus stop from where they had taken her. The crime touches so many aspects of what it means to be female in Haryana.…

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 Das, Harshita Tomar and Dutee Chand, the sight of girls playing a sport is rare anywhere(PTI) When I first met them two years ago, the girls of the Saksham Sports Club were playing cricket in Shahbad Dairy, on the outskirts of Delhi, where they live.…