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. All over the world, the responsibility of bringing up children lies disproportionately with women.(Getty Images) New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern tweeted this past week that she and her partner Clarke Grayford will “join the many parents who wear two hats. I’ll be PM & a mum while Clarke will be ‘first man of fishing’ & stay at…

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 her partner Clarke Grayford will “join the many parents who wear two hats. I’ll be PM & a mum while Clarke will be ‘first man of fishing’ & stay at home dad”. The idea that a Head of State is going to experience what countless…

Padmavat has been cleared for release; its attempted censorship and ban comes from non-state actors and Vasundhara Raje’s decision to block its release in Rajasthan out of respect to the ‘sentiments of the people’ is meek acquiescence to these non-state actors I am not a fan of Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and yet, watching his latest movie is the only way I can think of that I as an individual citizen can mark both my protest and my support: Support for the right to make films, write books and voice opinions without being brow-beaten into submission and protest against the craven…

Padmavat has been cleared for release; its attempted censorship and ban comes from non-state actors and Vasundhara Raje’s decision to block its release in Rajasthan out of respect to the ‘sentiments of the people’ is meek acquiescence to these non-state actors I’m not a fan of advocating mass suicide by women as a method of safeguarding some male notion of honour, but I am going to watch Padmavat. I am not a fan of Sanjay Leela Bhansali either, and yet, watching his latest movie is the only way I can think of that I as an individual citizen can mark…

A new generation of anti-status-quoists is unapologetic about its beliefs, unafraid about whom it is taking on and unfettered by the hackneyed script. No careers were brought down. No global hashtags were created. No roars reverberated throughout the world. And yet, women in India continued chipping away at that edifice called patriarchy. In a year that began badly with the molestation of women on the streets of Bengaluru, it might seem out of place to chalk up gender victories. But as the year ended, there was cause for hope. This was a year when the women’s cricket team captain, Mithali…

A new generation of anti-status-quoists is unapologetic about its beliefs, unafraid about whom it is taking on and unfettered by the hackneyed script It was a year of assertion with disc jockey Varnika Kundu packing her VIP stalkers, including the son of the Haryana BJP chief, off to jail and thousands supporting her with the hashtag #AintNoCinderella.(Ravi Kumar/Hindustan Times) No careers were brought down. No global hashtags were created. No roars reverberated throughout the world. And yet, women in India continued chipping away at that edifice called patriarchy. In a year that began badly with the molestation of women on…

Every woman has a story, the man who ‘accidentally’ touches her in the metro, the schoolboys who chase her in the park for sport, the masturbating pervert late at night on the bus. We learn to ignore it – rule #1 of the street: never, ever make eye contact – but sometimes it spills over into a serious crime. And, always it’s our fault. An Indian woman who has never had to deal with molestation on public transportation and in open spaces is a rare species. For too many of us, commuting to school, college and work is an everyday…

Every woman has a story, the man who ‘accidentally’ touches her in the metro, the schoolboys who chase her in the park for sport, the masturbating pervert late at night on the bus. We learn to ignore it – rule #1 of the street: never, ever make eye contact – but sometimes it spills over into a serious crime. And, always it’s our fault. Delhi University students pay tribute on the second anniversary of the December 16 rape case, New Delhi(Ajay Aggarwal/ Hindustan Times) An Indian woman who has never had to deal with molestation on public transportation and in…

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 then 14-year-old had not yet told her parents that she had applied. When she was nine, Negin’s father had packed her off to live in Kabul in an orphanage — not because she was an orphan but because that was the only way he could…

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 then 14-year-old had not yet told her parents that she had applied. When she was nine, Negin’s father had packed her off to live in Kabul in an orphanage — not because she was an orphan but because that was the only way he could…

Delhi’s well-off function as independent city-states with their own security, water filtration and supply, power back-ups and, now, air purifiers. Our kids don’t study in government schools, we don’t use public transport, we don’t seek treatment at government hospitals. With no stake in public services, we don’t demand better quality or, for that matter, any quality at all. Just as surely as the seasons change, our angst at the state of our cities will pass. The capital’s toxic air will cede to other crises. Again. In Chennai and Mumbai, the annual rite of monsoon flooding will hold sway, then the…

The right to life, guaranteed by our Constitution, is incomplete without the right to die. Individuals must be allowed to choose how to live their lives, or end them, without being judged by religious leaders or hampered by their country’s laws. HT Image The woman in the video is talking about joy, life and laughter. She holds her husband’s hand as they walk through the woods. She takes a plate of food outdoors for a picnic lunch. She packs her bag as if preparing for a trip. She does not look like a woman who has chosen to die. But…