The Many ‘Missing Voices’ in "India’s Daughter"

One film came and controversy arose. The furore over India’s Daughter, a documentary based on the December 2012 Delhi gang rape has been a subject of discussion over the past few weeks. Not just the content of the film, but issues like a ban on its broadcast have resulted in the documentary being discussed by people in India and across …

The Many ‘Missing Voices’ in “India’s Daughter”

One film came and controversy arose. The furore over India’s Daughter, a documentary based on the December 2012 Delhi gang rape has been a subject of discussion over the past few weeks. Not just the content of the film, but issues like a ban on its broadcast have resulted in the documentary being discussed by people in India and across …

Safety Tips for Women Who live Alone

As more and more women choose to explore the world and live their lives on their own terms, a major concern for them is safety. Today an increasing number of women are living by themselves. They may be students or working women or there may be many other reasons for the same.In the more technologically advanced world of today, there …

Where the Mind is Without Fear

In 2012, I was visiting my family in Kolkata when I heard about the brutal gang rape of a young woman in Delhi. The fear and disgust is still fresh on my mind. It has been two years since that day but news related to sexual violence against women are unabated. Take for example, the recent case of a 25-year-old girl …

Does Woman Mean “Woe-Men” in India?

The janitor in her school raped a good friend of mine when she was less than 8-years-old. She was in the girls’ toilet, all by herself, when this heinous crime occurred. When she came home and told her parents about the violence, most of which she couldn’t comprehend, her doctor father conducted a finger test to ensure whether or not …

The Night that Changed Everything

She walked back home as usual on what was an ordinary night, It was a long walk on a lonely road with no one in sight. The sense of loneliness and uncertainty made her feel queer, But she held her head high and kept walking muffling her fear. Lurking in the dark, sat a beast disguised as a man, He …

Feminism or Basic Human Rights?

Growing up in an ordinary, military, middle-class family, I didn’t expect myself to become a feminist. When I was a teenager, the prevailing view was that feminism meant being anti-men. Feminists were women who were divorced, widowed, or victims of abuse and hated everything to do with men. They lobbied for women’s freedoms only so that they could take away …

Nirbheek in Today’s World: How Feasible is a Gun for Women?

The Indian Ordnance Factory in Kanpur has taken the call to give more power to women in the country quite seriously. As a tribute to the young girl who was gang raped on December 16, 2012 and whom the nation collectively christened Nirbhaya for her unparalleled courage, the IOF has manufactured Nirbheek, a 0.32 bore light weight revolver which is …