WOMEN

Fifty percent of us are women. And there is a Women's Day, yes. Yet, there are scores of stories about the struggles, achievements, journeys, and worries of women in our cities. We cannot cram all these into a paper just on Women's Day. So for our part at Citizen Matters, as the city's premier newsmagazine, we simply decided to dedicate this issue on the theme. And we found plenty to report to you.Many of us may not pay attention to women related topics, unless we spend a conscience-pricked hour in front of Satyameva Jayate. But much of society’s attitude is…

It takes you so long to write a 700 word story! Said the horrified editor friend of mine. I counted sheep in my head (helps me stay calm. Another good alternative is the in-your- head-grocery list) and waited for the one question that I hate hearing ever since I gave up working full time to be a stay at home mother: So what do you do all day? The days go by in a blur. Pic: Reshmi Chakraborthy Really, what was it that I did the entire day? And what was it that the other mothers did, staying in this…

The Karnataka State cabinet on 7th May underlined its commitment towards women empowerment and announced provide 50 per cent reservation in urban local bodies on the lines of reservation in gram, taluk and zilla panchayats. Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs S Suresh Kumar after a cabinet meeting on 7th, reportedly said that the government will amend the Karnataka Municipalities Act, 1964 and Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 1976 in the next legislature. Karnataka has nine city corporations including the recent inclusion of Tumkur. It has 205 other municipalities: 43 City Municipal Councils, 94 Town Municipal Council and 68 Town Panchayats.…

Good morning and welcome to the Mummy Pick Up & Drop Off service. I'm the chief operating officer cum chief pick up girl here. The job description fits me to the tee as I am always picking up things -- clothes from the laundry, toys from the floor, soap from the bathroom basin, child from swimming class, bus stop, playdate, skating class and so on. Mother and kid on bike. file pic: Raghavan Kandala We welcome all sorts of applicants as long as they have spawned at least one offspring, possess a reasonable ability to be on their toes for…

"I brought my younger daughter to the park as she has her summer holidays and was keen to find out what this event is all about. My older girl is in doing well in high school", beamed Rafiq Ahmed (name changed) who visits Bangalore regularly from Tumkur. He was one of the eager members of the audience that swelled after the annual Global Walk for India's Missing Girls that started outside the Haji Ismail Sait mosque in Frazer Town reached Coles Park around 4 pm on Saturday, May-5, 2012. The motivation behind the Global Walk (which has been conducted in over…

Feet up, eyes glued to television, magazine in hand, house in a mess and she is in her own world of relaxation. The "Right to leisure" poster was brought out by Asmita, an Andhra Pradesh based NGO. Those gathered for the launch of ‘Our pictures, Our Words' book published by Zubaan, could relate very well to the poster. From left - Subramanian Vincent, Padmalatha Ravi, Laxmi Murthy,Maithreyi Krishna Raj, Ammu Joseph. Pic: Anisha Nair The pink poster is one of the hundreds of other pictures in the book. Sucharita Ishwar, a feminist said, "even women have the right to leisure…

Women in Bengaluru are asked to fend for themselves when it comes to protection from sexual harassment. With more working women moving in from other cities, many Paying Guest (PG) accommodation and hostels have come up in areas like Jayanagar and Koramangala. These young women are complaining of sexual harassment closer to where they live.Ankita Mehta, 24, a media employee and a resident of Koramangala says, "we face a lot of harassment problems in our lane, specially because there are fewer street lights working. Also sometimes the our PG caretaker brings a lot of men (friends)inside. We are always in…

Domestic Workers' rights union organised a public meeting in association with support groups Stree Jagruthi Samithi, APSA and Hengasara Hakkina Sangha (HHS) on March 13, 2012. The meeting was held at SCM house, Bangalore. Domestic Workers at the public meeting. Pic: Anisha Nair The meet was organised to address the concerns of the Domestic workers. Around 50 domestic workers came to voice their problems of domestic violence at their homes and workplaces from across the city.The panel of experts comprised of B S Bharathi Devi - Protection officer from Department of Women and child development, Aarti Mundkur - Lawyer, Sudha…

Once, when the older brat was two years old, I was visiting relatives in Delhi and came across a bubbly young lady who was thrilled at having won a very special gift hamper. It turned out that her son, also two, had just been judged ‘Best smile'' baby in a Healthy Baby Competition he (or rather she) had participated in. My eyes had almost popped out of their sockets. Did such competitions still exist? Weren't they rather regressive, pitting one baby over another purely on the basis of their looks and if I may add, chubbiness? Pic: Wikimediacommons I may…

Her journey is one every aspiring technology manager will want in a city that virtually sees a startup a week. She is known in tech circles as co-founder of the start-up Aarohi Communications, which was acquired by Emulex Corporation, a California-based firm. In Bengaluru, a startup's successful acquisition usually means a lot, from a sense of enormous accomplishment at the end of a journey and the beginning of many things new, in addition to just plain becoming wealthier. Shanti Subbaraman did all this as a woman, and while working in urban India. Not easy, most will say. She started her…