WOMEN

My team and I had the first detailed meeting with our local NGO partners from GB road, an infamous red light district of Delhi, in the summer of 2016. It was at the very outset that they warned us that the intended beneficiaries of our scheduled project, which aimed to provide quality eye care at their doorstep, were likely to have reservations about interacting with us, ‘outsiders.’ These were the sex workers and their families residing in the brothels of GB Road. Our partners, Lalitha Nayak (from SPID org), a very experienced educator and social worker and Geetanjali Babbar and…

15-year-old C Aarthi (name changed) is known as a brave and straightforward girl in Kannagi Nagar of Chennai. Her constant smile speaks of a cordial and open personality. But, ask her about the problems in notorious Kannagi Nagar where instances of prostitution and child marriages are common, and she keeps mum. However, two postgraduate students of the Social Work (aided) Department at Madras Christian College took a different route. B Swetha and C Sowmiya, who were placed in the Centre for Women’s Development and Research, tried a creative approach: Art therapy. Girl children from Kannagi Nagar between eight and 15…

The steady, low hum of buses leaving the city punctuates the night at Koyambedu, a commercial hub in Chennai. A few shops remain open for the odd patron while others are firmly shut. Under the golden yellow of the street lights, a rhythmic swoosh of bamboo against tar grows in the dark. Three women, bent at work, are leaving a pristine path in their wake, a trail they have cleaned for the last seven years. Armed with a rickety tricycle, an old aluminium basket, two brooms and reflector vests, this motley crew makes singara Chennai. The women work meticulously, one…

Savitha was still recovering from a stressful premature delivery, when her doctors informed her that she wasn’t producing enough milk for her baby. “After the birth, I still had instances of heavy bleeding and clotting disorders for which I needed constant treatment. My body was exhausted. My baby, who was in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) needed more milk than whatever little I was producing. I had no idea of what more I could do.” But Savitha’s doctors at Fortis La Femme did. Their solution? A breast milk bank. Breast milk banks aren’t a new phenomenon in India, but…

Not by a long shot, but I am glad you are willing to hear me out. Undoubtedly, the Supreme Court judgement was a victory for us all - you and I. We have been declared free of an irrational and arbitrary law that has no place in our society today. Now, we regroup and get to work. The judgement has laid the groundwork for things to come -- leading everyday lives of dignity and free of discrimination outside the bedroom. It has left us with a clean slate to write upon a set of binding policies that will truly ensure…

The rainbow is out, and rarely has it been brighter. A landmark Supreme Court verdict, delivered through four separate but concurring and stirring judgments, has decriminalized homosexuality by scrapping certain portions of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and also underlined the ‘primary objective’ of the Constitution as one of ‘establishing a dynamic and inclusive society’ that recognizes and grants the rights of all persons who identify themselves as ‘queer’. The mood among members of the community as well as those who work with them has been euphoric, for it has been the culmination of a long and…

Sanitation woes Public toilets in the city have come under the scanner for poor maintenance, lack of facilities and sheer inadequacy in number required to cater to a population the size of Chennai's. A subset of this issue is the lack of access to toilets for women. Dhagam Foundation’s recent event, Kakkoos-a-kaanom highlighted this problem plaguing people from all walks of life, especially women. The NGO had undertaken a meticulous social audit that covered 613 public toilets across the 15 zones in the city. A perception survey was also conducted among 1351 individuals on the myriad issues that prevent them…

The Swacch Bharat ranking released last month has seen Chennai climb to rank 100, up from a lowly 235 the previous year. While there is some reason for cheer there, realities on the ground with regard to sanitation facilities in the city are far from promising. Chennai's lack of public toilets has been an issue that has plagued the city for many years.  With a burgeoning population, the facilities in existing toilets have also been found to be wanting. Couched in this larger issue is the oft neglected problem of absence of adequate public toilets for women in the city…

அன்புள்ள பெற்றோர்களுக்கு, பாலியல் வன்கொடுமைக்கு ஆளான பதினோரு வயது சிறுமி பற்றிய செய்தியை படித்ததும் என்னைப் போலவே நீங்களும் அதிர்ச்சி அடைந்திருப்பீர்கள். இருபத்தி இரண்டு ஆண்கள், சிலர் தாத்தா வயதுடையவர்கள், தொடர்ந்து ஏழு மாதங்களாக இந்த கொடுமையை செய்திருக்கிறார்கள். இதை பற்றி அணுளவும் தெரியாமல் பெற்றோர்கள் இருந்துள்ளனர் என்பதை தான் ஜீரணிக்க முடியவில்லை. பாலியல் வன்கொடுமைக்கு ஆளான குழந்தையை பாதுகாக்க வேண்டிய பொறுப்பு முதலில் பெற்றோரிடம் தான் உள்ளது – பிறகு தான் ஆசிரியர்கள், பள்ளி நிர்வாகிகள், அரசாங்க அதிகாரிகள் ஆகியோறின் சிறிய பங்கு. இன்றைய சூழலில் குழந்தைகள் எதிர்கொள்ளும் ஆபத்துகளை பற்றி முதலில் பெற்றோர்கள் அறிந்து வைத்திருந்தால் மட்டுமே பாலியல் வன்கொடுமைக்கு ஆளாகியுள்ளார்களா என்று அறிந்து கொள்ள முடியும். வருமுன் காப்பது என்றுமே சிறந்தது, ஆகவே, நான் பெற்றோர்களுக்கு சொல்வதெல்லாம் உங்களால் இயன்ற அளவு குழந்தைகள் இது போன்ற கொடுமைகளுக்கு ஆளாகாமல் பார்த்து கொள்ள வேண்டும். அதே போல் அத்தகைய…

Dear parents, I am sure you have been as shocked and appalled as I, by the reports of repeated rape of a 12-year-old hearing impaired girl in Chennai, by as many as 22 men, some old enough to be her grandfathers, over a prolonged period of seven months. It is also equally, if not more, disturbing that her parents didn’t suspect anything for seven months. The onus of protecting a child from sexual abuse lies primarily with parents -- and then to a lesser extent with teachers, school authorities, other care givers and government authorities, in that order. So, to protect…