WOMEN

Nation-wide strike ... some thoughts. a) People who feel that they are not sharing in the economic gains of the country resort to strikes. That much is understandable. And we must do something about this - inequality at these high levels is harmful in many ways. b) The public at large, however, is tired of strikes - especially because in addition to economically motivated strikes called by disaffected workers, there is another set of strikes called by employees of over-staffed public sector organisations that most people think should have been closed long ago, because they are just a drain on…

“Mahesh Sharma’s advisory for tourists: No short skirts, no travelling alone at night.” This headline has probably already made its way to your Facebook and Twitter feed and back again in the last 48 hours. It’s referring to comments made by Union Minister Mahesh Sharma during a press conference on Sunday at the popular tourist destination, Agra. Sharma warned female foreigners against wearing skirts or venturing “out alone at night in small cities” in India. His statement mimicked the existing sexist rhetoric rampant in international dialogues around crimes against women: It’s the woman’s fault. Her clothes were some sort of provocation. Why was…

WOMEN’S SAFETY – A LONG WAY OFF? I was walking home from the grocery store in my neighbourhood of R.A Puram the other day, when the driver of a passing rickshaw stuck out his tongue and made an obscene gesture at me. I was stunned. For less than a second though, after which I started laughing, highly amused. I suppose I should have been offended. But it happens so often that I have learnt to ignore it and laugh at it, indirectly allowing it to persist, not just with me but with scores of other women in the city. I…

Bengaluru is the IT hub of India, and most people here are becoming tech-savvy.  Bengaluru is today a global name, and with the changing stature of the city, the Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) too is striving to do its best.  Given the widespread use of technology, BTP has decided to use technology to serve citizens better. BTP frequently receives many complaints against auto drivers from the public—refusal to go on hire, demanding excess fare, misbehaving and other issues—through its various communication channels. In order to address citizens’ problems effectively, BTP has designed, developed and launched a mobile application called bSafe…

On Marth 8th, my maid borrowed money to take her alchoholic and hypochondriac husband to the doctor...the fourth time in a week. The lady who sells vegetables  in the local market told me how all the vendors were "cleared" last week and have slowly started drifting back...at increased "hafta" rates. The flower seller in front of the temple told me her 2-year-old daughter was suffering from high fever,and she had to come to sell flowers to be able to make enough to take her to the doctor. "Happy Woman's Day," we privileged ones say to each other. For many of…

"I'm doing what I want. I feel like, after marriage, however my life will be, I will not have regrets for not having enjoyed life in my 20s. I will never have to think that 'my life was so dull and so boring'. I can be happy thinking I have (at least) enjoyed life when I was single." Meet Manwara, 26, an MBA graduate, working in a well-known IT firm in Bengaluru. Manwara and her friends Deepthi (25), Sandhya (30) and Ruchika (28) live in a paying guest accommodation in South Bengaluru. They come from different parts of India, and…

Pink advertisements are all over the media. It’s raining offers for women all over e-commerce websites. A newspaper carries the T-20 cricket schedule, where a pink section highlights the schedule for women’s T-20 cricket matches. It’s March 8th — International Women’s Day!  Happy Women's Day to all our readers! While saluting the women, it is also important to remember their contribution to society. The involvement of women in civic activism in the city of Bengaluru has made it all only better and better. Women are in all the fields that matter to Bengaluru—waste management, saving lakes, helping shape the public policy…

If you are a women, the chances are that you have been at the receiving end of sexual harassment in some form or the other; being groped on a moving bus or being catcalled at, or even being made to listen to sexist jokes. Unfortunately, what happens in most cases is that women accept it as a sad reality of living in India. And unless the assualt is severe, very few women actually come forward to report it to the police. According to Amnesty International, only 1 in every 100 women reports sexual violence. Pic: readytoreport.in/WhenIFileAnFIR To empower women to…

Bangalore Political Action Committee (B.PAC) in association with BBMP on December 21st organised a workshop, Women Leaders for a Better Tomorrow - the imprint of women leaders in political leadership. Leading ladies of the BBMP Council. Pic: B.PAC “This is a historic moment in Bengaluru’s history”, said Revathy Ashok, CEO and Managing Trustee, B.PAC. “BBMP has more than 52% of women elected members and we thought this is the right moment to celebrate this win and to inspire our corporators with mind-blowing stories of several women political luminaries of Karnataka such as Leeladevi R Prasad and BT Lalita Nayak, she…

The Ramagondanahalli-Borewell Road in Whitefield stretches more than two kilometres connecting Varthur Road to Borewell Road. This area falls under Ward  84, Hagduru under Mahadevapura constituency. This has about a thousand residential dwellings mostly in the form of flats and villas. With quite a few of them being relatively new apartments, there are at least about 600 families who are staying here at present and this number is expected cross 1,000 in the next few months. This road also is home to a beautiful lake named Sheelavanthana kere. Giant potholes and non-functional street lights on the Ramagondanahalli-Borewell Road in Whitefield.…