Empowering Women Against Violence
Women’s health has made recent headlines for all the wrong reasons. Alabama, Texas, and Idaho have recently passed stringent anti-abortion laws, and a UK-based survey of 110,123 women found that taboos and stigmas prevented many women from getting the treatment and help they needed. Unfortunately, these findings won’t strike many as a surprise. The healthcare industry has a long, shameful …
Is Marital Rape Real? Rape – a word to define a violent and ghastly act. I believe that there are not enough words in the English language to perfectly describe rape. No words to embody the nastiness of the crime and of the criminal. No words to convey the trauma that survivors go through for the rest of their lives. …
You might perhaps be familiar with an awkward, sinking feeling that begins as an ‘oh no’ in your tummy and comes out as a feeble ‘yes’. It could be a last-minute invite to crash a party you knew nothing about. It could be a hand yanking you into a picture with people you’d rather not hang with. Heck, it could …
Princess Sophia Duleep Singh’s life is extraordinary and full of what seem like contradictions. As Anita Anand, her biographer, says:She was the vacuous socialite who developed an all-consuming social conscience. A royal pauper, who appeared on every aristocratic guest list, yet lived on state handouts. An obedient goddaughter to Queen Victoria, she revelled in giving the establishment a good kick-in. …
Introduction As a brown person, I have always felt unheard and unrepresented. Growing up, mainstream media constantly churned out whitewashed content for children like me. The movies I watched, the books I read; they were all about girls with pale skin and blue eyes. They say your childhood shapes you. Well, I spent a large part of mine struggling to accept …
“There is so much guilt and shame and fear imbued in people because they don’t have any place where they can get permission to accept themselves as sexual beings.” – Patti Britton, Ph.D., A.C.S.E. Introduction The approach towards sex education programs has serious limitations around the world. High-quality Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) is science-based, medically accurate and age-, developmentally, and culturally appropriate. It …
Image courtesy of the BBC RAPE IN INDIA In 2012, six men gang-raped a young girl on a moving bus in Delhi. Many thought it was a watershed moment that started a fresh wave of anti-rape movement in the country. However, this movement has a more extended history than we assume. In pre-Independence India, the nationalist-feminist campaign often raised the issue …
Introduction Sexual assault is a topic that is rightfully gaining momentum these days. Social media is buzzing with survivor tales. Tales which span years, with many survivors finally finding the courage to speak about their many years old experiences. A lot of these reveal the true colours of popular, respected and revered people. While there has been an outpouring of support …
Goddess Worship In India The Hindu lexicon has many goddesses, all of whom we worship. We have Saraswati, the goddess of music and learning, and Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity. Some worship the divine feminine energy of Shakti, in Durga, Kali and Parvati. And others valorise women such as Lakshmibai, singing Bundeley Harbolon key munh hamney suni kahani thi, …
“I have this recurring scene playing in my head – I’m walking alone on a dark road, and a man jumps out of the shadows and pins me to the ground. I try to scream, but nothing comes out…I try to move, but I’m frozen.” Over the past decade of working in security, women from different corners of the globe …