WOMEN

From Sureshbhai Patel, who was left paralysed due to excessive physical force from overzealous policemen in the USA for being a “coloured” human being walking on the streets of a xenophobic town, to Nirbhaya who was brutally raped in a moving bus in New Delhi, it is apparent there is an erosion of the basic and universal values that we perhaps tend to take for granted. It is left to us to salvage this state of anomie by inculcating in children universal values such as respect, compassion, treating people the way one wants to be treated and helping those who…

In India, thousands of men and women are affected by sexual violence every year. In 2014, a report released by the United Nations Children’s Fund revealed that 77 percent of young girls between 15 and 19 years of age were affected by rape, forced sexual intercourse, and physical abuse by partners. In Bengaluru alone, there has been an alarming increase in the number of cases of child sexual assault.  DURGA (Dare to Understand behaviour, Respond appropriately and Guard ourselves Ably) is a unique citizen’s initiative to help young women and girls harness important life skills to deter crime. By creating…

A gentleman inside a ladies toilet! Pic: Anisha Nair When was the last time you thought you had died and then managed to resuscitate your being? I experienced this painful process very recently. Here we were going from one place to another, and typically, the way it normally happens—without warning—my bladder started to constrict. This meant that I had to go and I had to go now! This also meant that I couldn't go anywhere and everywhere I pleased, the reason being that I'm not an Indian dog, neither am I an Indian man. I can't simply pull over to…

A 16-year-old tribal girl, an aging illiterate social worker in Rajasthan, a 23-year-old physiotherapist  in Delhi, a young journalist in Mumbai, a 50-year-old tourist from Europe, a six-year-old school girl in Bengaluru–what do these females, from different parts of the country, with diverse backgrounds, have in common ? They were all  victims of gruesome rapes that made “news”. One of the first lead stories that I wrote, over three decades ago (1979), was about the infamous Mathura rape case, in which the court released the accused policemen (who had raped Mathura at the police station) on grounds that the 16-year-old…

I was surprised to see news reports that the Women's Right Commission (WRC) chief has written to the DGP and the Home Minister asking the State to discourage the Kiss of Love protest, because she felt it was uncivilised. In some ways, it shows how little she understands what her own job is. The WRC is intended to be a progressive body. If all that is required in a commission like this is that it should merely reflect whatever is going on in society, we would not need it at all. Child rights, women's rights, gender rights, dalit rights, minority…

It all started with an idea to celebrate Deepavali by saying NO to crackers. Noble enough? Perhaps, if you think that the atmosphere is the only thing which makes up the environment. However, the environment as a whole, includes all impacted, from the people who buy crackers to the ones who burst them, from the ones who fall sick because of them, to the cracker sellers as well. So when you are hit by a noble idea one fine morning to save the environment, you also need to think about the families who could be impacted. So instead of spending…

You are walking on a busy road and somebody passes a lewd comment as you walk past them. What would you do? Would you shoot a dirty look at the offender that communicates your displeasure and continue walking? Or would you simply ignore the offender in the hope that you don’t call attention to yourself or encourage him further? Or would you look him in the eye and bring him to task in front of an audience? What if it were some other lady that was being eve teased? Would you speak out or would you walk past - it’s…

I was recently required to set up a new bank account. The entire process took all of one week and I really didn’t have much to complain about. During that week however, one employee decided to become my self-appointed relationship manager — getting my number off company records and whatsapping me repeatedly after 8 pm at night, with delightful ‘Hi’ texts. Nothing irks me more than a genius who thinks a text that starts and ends with ‘Hi’, makes for a good start to anything. Maybe it was the fact that we were both Malayali and he thought we had…

We were having one of those Saturday nights, where we had a big group of people (from the Quora meetup) who decided to get out for a drink with last minute plans. As expected, we didn't really get a table in most bars and since we were a big group, we were desperate for a bar that seated us. Walking down Church Street in Bengaluru, a friend spotted Alibi, the restobar and it seemed like they had a few tables that would accommodate a large group. My friends and I had a decent time for about the first two hours…

We live in a city that brags of its achievements, of its IT sectors, of its socially aware and educated crowd. For a while now, I lived with thi impression, until an incident that took place on June 19th changed my very perception of the city and its people. It was just another normal day and I was off to meet a friend living less than three kilometers from my place. I commute by rickshaws most of the time, since I don't have my own vehicle. I got into an auto, the drivers earrings and strange looks did not bother me…