WOMEN

For more than a 100 years now (since 1911 to be specific), the world has celebrated March 8th as International Women's Day. Every year, the day serves to highlight the strides taken by women around the world and also put together an idea of what needs to be the way forward. The idea of an equal world for men and women is still Utopian, but everyday we take some steps to achieve it, though the fight for womens' rights is still at a very nascent stage. But for 37-year-old Sumangali Balakrishna, the idea of a world with equal rights is…

The Bangalore International Centre is celebrating women, freedom and equality with day-long events that highlight the strengths and vulnerabilities of women and busts myths and stereotypes of gender. Art, music, photography, theatre, books, discussions, films, workshops and food, there is something for everyone. The events start in the morning at 10:30 and run through out the day. Here are some events: Self Reimagined- A photo exhibition by Clare Arni The photographs in the exhibition are from a workshop Clare Arni and Varuni Mohan conducted with the class 9 girls of RBANMS High School, Bengaluru. They discussed themes of women’s empowerment…

City of Women is an upcoming podcast about how women in the city explores the calculated strategies, the backdoor negotiations and the sometimes absurd lengths women go to have fun and feel free in their city. Every Indian woman knows that being out in the city comes with rules - rules that determine who gets to be where and what you can and can’t do. But this show is not about those rules. It’s about how they get broken, bent, and jumped over when women decide to do things just for themselves. City of Women is fun, complex, and a…

Women’s labour is often unseen and their stories, often unheard. This unseen, invisible, and often unpaid labour is the ground upon which all ‘development’ in this monster economy takes place. We are witness to a moment in time when women are organising, fighting, and demanding their rights, questioning the very ideas of growth, progress and citizenship. In short, they are making their voices heard and making their labour visible. As part of our ongoing Satyagraha for the Sacred Economy, Gram Seva Sangh, Centre for Budget and Policy Studies along with few more organisations want to create a platform in the…

“Voice of Freedom.” That is how Kajal Singh describes her relationship with graffiti art. The 24-year-old from Delhi who goes by the name Dizy is currently in Berlin and has built for herself an international reputation as a woman graffiti artist. She was first introduced to the art through the Hip-hop culture which embodies graffiti as one of its elements. “Being a shy person, graffiti became my voice of expression,” said Dizy. “It also allowed me to go beyond the stereotypes set for women in society”. With its origins in the early 1960s in Philadelphia, graffiti art began when writers…

“Voice of Freedom.” That is how Kajal Singh describes her relationship with graffiti art. The 24-year-old from Delhi who goes by the name Dizy is currently in Berlin and has built for herself an international reputation as a woman graffiti artist. She was first introduced to the art through the Hip-hop culture which embodies graffiti as one of its elements. “Being a shy person, graffiti became my voice of expression,” said Dizy. “It also allowed me to go beyond the stereotypes set for women in society”. With its origins in the early 1960s in Philadelphia, graffiti art began when writers…

‘Ambition’ sounds a rather lofty and serious word for 16-year-old S Harika*, a student of Class XI of the Corporation School, New Washermanpet. Hailing from a low-income family, Harika saw no point in nurturing ambitions, for she was almost sure that they would not be fulfilled. Today, however, she aims to become a doctor and is working hard to achieve the goal. The change in Harika and many others like her can be attributed to a pilot project by an organisation called EngenderedCo, which is trying to improve labour force participation rates among women in India. The organisation works with…

In the last few years, from Nirbhaya to Disha, from Delhi to Hyderabad — with Kathua, Unnao, Chennai, Jaipur and countless others in between — the spate of gender crimes seems to continue unabated. What, and who, then, can we rely on for long-term solutions to this huge threat to the security and safety of women, that we seem to be unable to eliminate or even reduce? Earlier this month, we focused on ‘Safety of women in Indian cities’ as part of our special project. We explored the topic in depth through reportage, data, interactions and op-eds.  We looked at…

This article is part of a special series: Safety of women in Indian cities The Sexual Harassment (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 was passed by Parliament to address gender specific discrimination in the workplace. The law codified the  Supreme Court’s guidelines in the Vishaka v. Union of India case, but has been marred by implementation and compliance challenges. Sexual harassment of women continues in the workplace, remains under-reported and when reported, is not immune from failed dispute resolution processes managed by the employers.. The reasons for the law struggling to deliver redressal to its intended beneficiaries are many.  But what…

Translated by Vadivu Mahendran குழந்தைகள் பாலியல் துன்புறுத்தல் பாதுகாப்பு  சட்ட (திருத்தம்) 2019 இன் படி அதில் மிக முக்கிய அம்சங்களானக சேர்க்கப்பட்ட குழந்தைகள் ஆபாசக் காணொளி தடுப்பு மற்றும் பாலியல் குற்றவாளிகளுக்கு மரணதண்டனை போன்றவை பலராலும் வரவேற்கப்பட்டது. முக்கியமாக வழக்குகளை விரைந்து முடிப்பதன் மீதான உத்தரவே பெரிதும் ஆமோதிக்கப்பட்டது. இதனை நடைமுறைப்படுத்த சட்ட அமைச்சகம், நாடு முழுவதும் இருக்கும் குழந்தைகள் மற்றும் பெண்களுக்கெதிரான 1.66 லட்ச குற்ற வழக்குகளை விரைந்து முடிப்பதற்காக 1023 சிறப்பு விரைவு நீதிமன்றங்களை நிறுவுவதைப் பரிந்துரைத்தது. உண்மையில் போக்ஸோ சட்டமானது சம்பவம் நிகழ்ந்த ஒரு வருடத்திற்குள் சட்டரீதியான நடைமுறைகள் எல்லாம் முடிந்திருக்க வேண்டியதை அவசியமாகக் கொண்டுள்ளது. எப்படியாயினும், பெரும்பாலும் இந்த விவகாரங்கள் எல்லாம் ஏட்டளவிலேயே உள்ளது. சென்னையில் மட்டும் நூற்றுக்கணக்கான போக்ஸோ வழக்குகள் வெவ்வேறு நீதிமன்றங்களில் உள்கட்டமைப்பு மற்றும் செயல்முறைக் குறைபாட்டால் அதிகளவில் தேங்கியுள்ளது. உதாரணமாக, சென்னையில் ஹாசினி வழக்கில் செங்கல்பட்டு நீதிமன்றத்தால் ஒரு…