Governments, like citizens, need to be brave. If one woman in a wheelchair can speak up then surely countries must step up. A nation’s progress is not merely measured in terms of GDP but also in terms of inclusion and acceptance. She has five tattoos and, under her baseball cap, hair coloured ash blue. Born with spina bifida, she often travels alone in her wheelchair. In the Rio Paralympics she took a bronze in the 100m breaststroke but was a Singaporean icon well before that. Yet, the one reason to listen to Theresa Goh is this: Her bravery. Goh laughs…

Governments, like citizens, need to be brave. If one woman in a wheelchair can speak up then surely countries must step up. A nation’s progress is not merely measured in terms of GDP but also in terms of inclusion and acceptance Bronze medallist Rui Si Theresa Goh of Singapore poses for the photographs on the podium at the medal ceremony for Women’s 100m Breaststroke in Rio de Janeiro. Goh is one of three brand ambassadors at Singapore’s annual LGBTQ rally, Pink Dot, now in its ninth year. The event, being held today, is a reminder that Singapore, like India, criminalises…

Removing GST from sanitary napkins and menstrual hygiene products is only one of many issues we need to address when talking about menstruation Recyclable sanitary napkins being made at a processing unit at Goonj,Delhi. Most sanitary napkins available in the market are non-biodegradable and are difficult to dispose(Saumya Khandelwal/HT) Hay, dried leaves, straw. Nature’s bounty? Hardly. These are just some of the innovative blotters used by many Indian girls and women who menstruate. That word itself; so troublesome, so awkward. Perhaps that’s why we choose to keep mum over a natural biological process experienced every month by 336 million Indian…

Removing GST from sanitary napkins and menstrual hygiene products is only one of many issues we need to address when talking about menstruation. Hay, dried leaves, straw. Nature’s bounty? Hardly. These are just some of the innovative blotters used by many Indian girls and women who menstruate. That word itself; so troublesome, so awkward. Perhaps that’s why we choose to keep mum over a natural biological process experienced every month by 336 million Indian girls and women. This enforced culture of secrecy comes at a price. Nearly half of all girls have absolutely no knowledge about menstruation when they get…

Why does the five-man bench get to decide which of the three issues in the triple talaq case is more important than the others? When the history of Indian women is written, 2017 will go down as the year when the Plight of the Muslim Woman was uncovered. So grave is this plight that politicians have sworn one law for all citizens. So pitiable her condition that Supreme Court judges have sacrificed their vacation to come to judgment. Inside the court, men argue to follow practices that go back 1,400 years. The courts cannot interfere. Others say, they must, especially…

Why does the five-man bench get to decide which of the three issues in the triple talaq case is more important than the others? Muslim women hold placards against ‘triple talaq’ in New Delhi(PTI) When the history of Indian women is written, 2017 will go down as the year when the Plight of the Muslim Woman was uncovered. So grave is this plight that politicians have sworn one law for all citizens. So pitiable her condition that Supreme Court judges have sacrificed their vacation to come to judgment. Inside the court, men argue to follow practices that go back 1,400…

Speaking up has consequences and, so, in the din of divisive discourse that makes way for majoritarian force, the solitary voice is now hard to hear. I don’t know if you ever read Roger Rosenblatt’s essay in Time magazine in the early eighties: the air-crash over Washington, the rescue helicopter picking up survivors and, in the freezing water, the man who each time offers the lifeline to someone else, you go first. By the time it’s his turn, he’s gone under. That era is over. We now live in an age of spectacle, of Twitter stars and troll slayers. Where…

Speaking up has consequences and, so, in the din of divisive discourse that makes way for majoritarian force, the solitary voice is now hard to hear. A note rests at a makeshift memorial for the two men who were killed May 26 on a commuter train while trying to stop another man from harassing two young women who appeared to be Muslim, in Portland, Oregon.(REUTERS) I don’t know if you ever read Roger Rosenblatt’s essay in Time magazine in the early eighties: the air-crash over Washington, the rescue helicopter picking up survivors and, in the freezing water, the man who…

The meek acquiescence by citizens to the growing intrusion of state and other actors is alarming. Members of Gau Raksha Dal holding a Protest in 2016. Does the sudden increase in vigilante groups signal an erosion of civil liberties and democratic values?(Bharat Bhushan/HT Photo) Don’t eat beef. Don’t transport cows. Don’t buy cows. Don’t drink alcohol if in Gujarat and Bihar or within 500 metres of state and national highways. Don’t play cricket with Pakistan and don’t hire Pakistani actors in films. Stand to attention during the playing of the national anthem before watching culturally appropriate movies. Scenes that show…

The meek acquiescence by citizens to the growing intrusion of state and other actors is alarming. Don’t eat beef. Don’t transport cows. Don’t buy cows. Don’t drink alcohol if in Gujarat and Bihar or within 500 metres of state and national highways. Don’t play cricket with Pakistan and don’t hire Pakistani actors in films. Stand to attention during the playing of the national anthem before watching culturally appropriate movies. Scenes that show that Hanuman Chalisa doesn’t scare away ghosts will be excised. Tasteless remarks about Hindu Gods and sages will lead to arrest warrants. Do yoga. Dress decently. Do not…

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, when found, will not happen by placing hot emotion over cool strategy. A soon-to-be-launched news channel has declared public enemy #1. Not poverty, disease or illiteracy, it’s Pakistan. The channel isn’t on air, but if you watched the news on other channels this past week,…

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, when found, will not happen by placing hot emotion over cool strategy. People shout slogans and burn an effigy in Chandigarh during a protest against the killing of two Indian soldiers in Kashmir.(REUTERS) A soon-to-be-launched news channel has declared public enemy #1. Not poverty, disease…