Articles by Deepa Ranganathan

Zooni*, a 20-year-old resident of Yeshwantpur and a sex worker "by chance and not by choice," as she puts it, is a typical example of a woman who was driven into the sex trade as a result of being caught in a bad marriage. Public pledge to end AIDS, displayed at Bhoruka Charitable Trust's testing centre. BCT is an NGO funded by KSAPS. Pic: Deepa Ranganathan. Married at the age of 17, Zooni was impregnated by her husband, whom she describes as "a drunkard," months after their marriage. He abandoned her last year, but has continued to demand sex and…

Also read Citizen Matters' article Call these helplines to report domestic violence cases Nirmala (name changed), a resident of Bengaluru, was subjected to repeated sexual torture by her alcoholic husband. Despite belonging to the Lingayat community, wherein people abstain from eating meat, Nirmala's husband not only ate meat but also forced her to cook it for him. She was a victim of both his sexual and verbal abuse. He regularly beat her up and locked her up in a room, while he spent all his income on liquor. In October 2007, Nirmala filed a case against her husband under the…

If you are a victim of domestic violence, there are a number of helplines available in Bengaluru, to report your case. One of them is being run by the Bangalore City Police (BCP), called Vanitha Sahaya Vani. Their helpline number was set up in 1999 to help "women in distress", across class, creed and communities. The BCP website says the helpline is operational between 8 am and 8 pm. An abused woman Who is or has been living in a shared household An abuser could be Husband Male - Live-in partner, Relatives of husband Any adult male with whom she…

Based on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Bangalore-based Institute of Public Health (IPH), the Karnataka High Court (HC) has issued notices to the Karnataka state health and family welfare department, and the union ministries of commerce and health. The PIL challenges the sponsorship and participation of the Tobacco Board of India (a Government of India entity established under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce) in the Global Tobacco Networking Forum (GTNF), scheduled to be held at ITC  Royal Gardenia (near Kanteerva stadium) between October 4th - 8th, here in Bangalore. The Global Tobacco Networking Forum is scheduled to…