WOMEN

For 15 years Sheela (name changed), a domestic worker, had been in the service of a single household, till the 2020 lockdown, when her employer left town and stopped answering her calls. She currently works at another house, earning less than half of what she used to. Caught up in bad loans, her husband died by suicide in November 2019 leaving her as her family's sole earner. The centrally sponsored Widow Pension scheme is erratic and unreliable, forcing her to search for other income sources. As a mother of two, Sheela has three mouths to feed, bills and fees to…

Describing her lockdown experience in a basti (settlement) in Mumbai, 15-year-old Saniya’s rap song captures the isolation that has given the year 2020 the epithet of ‘The Year We Lost’. The suspension of daily rhythms, coupled with a warped sense of time and subsequent loneliness—despite being surrounded by millions of other people—is a feeling many resonate with, as cities around the world fell into a disquieting silence. Yet, even as India went into one of the strictest lockdowns in the world with barely four hours notice, this sensation was amplified for already vulnerable groups such as adolescent girls. As school gates were locked and public…

In March 2020, Lakshmi's employer asked her to take a week's leave. After the week, Lakshmi, a domestic worker, was asked to not come to work for another month. After that, her employer stopped picking her calls and that is how she realised that she had been let go. Lakshmi's story is not unusual. This one narrative from a Bengalurean woman finds itself reflected in large-scale numbers seen in published reports. The Global Gender Gap Report 2021 saw India slipping down 28 places and being ranked at 140th position among 156 countries. One of the parameters this report looks at…

தமிழ்நாட்டில் தற்போதைய தேர்தல் நிலவரத்தில் வாரி வழங்கப்பட்டு பேசுபொருளாகி இருக்கும் வாக்குறுதிகளில் பெரும் பரபரப்பை உருவாக்கிக் கொண்டிருப்பது இல்லத்தரசிகளின் பணியை அங்கீகரித்து அவர்களுக்கு ஊதியம் வழங்குதல் என்ற வாக்குறுதி தான். கருத்தியல் ரீதியாக இதை பார்த்தோமானால் இந்த விஷயம் இன்று பேசுபொருளானதே   மனித மனங்கள் அடைந்துவரும்   முதிர்ச்சியின் பயணத்தில் ஒரு முன்னேற்றம் எனலாம். ஏனெனில் இதற்கு முன்பு இல்லத்தரசிகள் அதிகாலை  முதல் பின்னிரவுவரை அனைவரின் நலனுக்காகவும் ஓயாத இயந்திரமாக இயங்கி என்னதான் தியாகங்களை செய்தாலும், துரதிஷ்டவசமாக அவை கணக்கில் எடுத்துக் கொள்ளாதும், அதன் முக்கியத்துவம் மதித்து உணராதததுமான ஒரு நிலையே நிலவி வந்தது. பதிலாக அது அவர்களின் படைப்பின் விதி என்ற ஒரு மனோபாவமும் கூட பலரது மனங்களில் குடிகொண்டிருந்தது எனலாம். ஒவ்வொரு இல்லத்தையும் நிலைநிறுத்தும் இவர்களது வேலையை அங்கீகரிப்பதற்காக அவ்வப்போது பெண்ணிய அமைப்புகளிலிருந்தும் சமூக அக்கறை கொண்ட அமைப்புகளிலிருந்தும்  குரல்கள்  எதிரொலித்துக் கொண்டு வந்த போதும் சமீப காலங்களில்…

In July 2003, I stepped out of Dadar station for the first time with two big bags worth of belongings, starry eyes and dreams of adventures. My heart sank when I saw the crowd of people buzzing around like there was some emergency. Did I land in Mumbai in the middle of a calamity? But soon, I realised this was the way of life here.  Growing up in laid-back Pune, where people believed that afternoon naps were an important part of their existence, my first impression of Mumbai was ‘what the hell is going on’.  Soon I learnt that this…

The upcoming Tamil Nadu assembly election, which will see the state voting on April 6th, is being hotly contested between the two major parties DMK and AIADMK and their allies. On the third front, looking to break their hegemony is the relatively new entrant, Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam.  With polling dates close by, a slew of promises have been made by various candidates and parties. But what do citizens want from their elected representatives? What are their most pressing concerns that they would like the state to address? Citizen Matters brought together a panel of eminent citizens, who have…

The economic slump from the lockdown threw many businesses into a tizz. But a few enterprising women in Ahmedabad decided to convert the lemons life threw at them into not just lemonade, but also profit from it.   “For me it was a golden opportunity,” said Beenoo Mukhi, Corporate Trainer, Founder of Eternal Quest, a company that specializes in sales and corporate training. “Lockdown meant meetings and sales were happening online. There was a felt need for trainers like me. Moreover, sitting in Ahmedabad, I could train people anywhere. The good thing was internet connectivity and infrastructure for online training was…

We often discuss the poor representation of women in our Legislative Assemblies and the Parliament. Currently, only 3% of members in the State Legislature are women. And while half the seats in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Council are reserved for women, in many cases these councillors’ husbands are the ones attending to ward-level issues or even ward committee meetings. What about in much smaller units of society? Say, in residential apartments in Bengaluru. Do women in these complexes have enough voice and representation in their Managing Committees (MCs)? Apparently, not. MCs have significant responsibilities - they manage common resources…

Wearing a loose khaki shirt over a polyester saree, Shanthi D starts her auto on what promises to be yet another challenging day. She has been an auto driver for almost 16 years now. Shanthi started her career at a time when very few women had the courage to choose this path. Years have gone by, and while the number of women colleagues in the profession has increased, even now, she is greeted with amusement or shock by many. Strong and determined Women auto drivers in Chennai are a growing tribe. While their choices do reflect a degree of empowerment,…

Dr Syeda Ruksheda is the co-Chair of women’s mental health speciality section of Indian Psychiatric Society. An eminent psychiatrist and psychotherapist, she has specialised in young adults, women and families, in a career spanning 20 years. She also has two TEDx talks to her credit. In this video she talks to Malathi Rai, who wrote the concept, story, screen-play and lyrics of Smile Simi, a film on depression released on World Mental Health Day this year. Syeda and Malathi discuss the mental health pressures on women from marginalised sections of the society and how tough it is for such women…