“The thing women have yet to learn is nobody gives you power. You just take it.” ~Roseanne Barr The memories of the horrendous gang rape that took place on December 16, 2012 haven’t faded yet. More reports of rape, sexual harassment and domestic violence act as constant reminders of the socio-cultural mess India has become. The constant violation of rights …
Category: Women Public Safety
The Bollywood Hypocrisy Around Women Rights
A couple of weeks prior to Women’s Day, a documentary based on a women’s vigilante group, The Gulaabi Gang, was released in India. The production of this documentary started in 2009, after the director Nishtha Jain, met the organization’s leader Sampat Pal Devi. She has been a champion of women’s rights for decades. She has fought against child marriage, the …
Safety Tips for Women in India: A Quick Video
INTRODUCTION Let me introduce you to Maura Barclay. She is a certified self-defense instructor, martial artist and the founder of Unbreakable Woman, a compassionate self-defense and empowerment program, which helps women and girls become more confident and stand up for themselves. I recently reached out to her and asked her if she had heard about the rash of violence against …
The Internet: A New Tool of Feminism?
Cyber has become a common prefix in the last decade. Cybershopping, cyberbanking, cyberpunk, cyberbullying; the list of cyber prefixed words is never-ending. Ever heard of feminism on Internet? It is called cyberfeminism. Feminists across the world have used blogs, websites, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and many more such portals to disseminate their ideas and opinions. The information shared across the Internet …
Harassed on a Train… What Do You Do?
This is the kind of story that does not make headlines in newspapers, but is true. It is the kind that may not be discussed too often, but is experienced by most women in India. It was a bright Tuesday afternoon and Priti was on her way home from her class. She enjoyed taking the train home, so as always …
We’re Not Victims: Mental and Emotional Abuse Should not be Treated as Daily Business
The metro in Delhi might be a boon for India, but girls in the city sure have another story to tell you. Like pretty much any public place in the country (or elsewhere, for that matter), a metro journey on an ordinary day can easily prove to be a harrowing experience for any woman. A metro ride is incomplete without …
My Ass, Your Eyes
Hi! I am, well you saw my name above, didn’t you? Don’t feel guilty if you missed it. Girls aren’t that big of a deal in India or where I currently live, Delhi. After that gang rape incident last year, I have no reason to feel safe. It’s not that I felt safe before 16th December but that incident has definitely …
Why Rapes Won’t Stop!
By Tushar Jain 22nd December, 2012, saw one of the biggest protests in the history of modern India. On a cold winter morning, thousands of young boys and girls got together near the India Gate to march up to the Rashtrapati Bhawan via the Raisina Hill. As the morning progressed, they were joined by more people of different age groups. …
Slim, Fair & Beautiful: How Shallow are Our Definitions of the Ideal Indian Woman?
We’ve all laughed our guts out at those jokes in Indian films about the big, fat, swarthy woman. It seemed like the obvious thing to do then. These people were ‘meant’ to be funny. Watch any of the Indra Kumar/David Dhawan comedies for reference. If they slipped on banana peels or appeared abruptly when you were expecting the slim, beautiful …
Slim, Fair & Beautiful: How Shallow are Our Definitions of the Ideal Indian Woman?
We’ve all laughed our guts out at those jokes in Indian films about the big, fat, swarthy woman. It seemed like the obvious thing to do then. These people were ‘meant’ to be funny. Watch any of the Indra Kumar/David Dhawan comedies for reference. If they slipped on banana peels or appeared abruptly when you were expecting the slim, beautiful …