So, another advertising campaign, another round of outrage on Indian social media. These images of abused goddesses, with the lines: “Pray that we never see this day. Today, more than 68 per cent of women in India are victims of domestic violence. Tomorrow, it seems like no woman shall be spared. Not even the ones… Continue reading These images of abused goddesses are not “incredibly powerful”
Category: Society & Development
Women’s rights, rural development, ICTs…
The story of a rape
No, this is not about the infamous Delhi gang-rape that had the nation outraged (and where is all that outrage now?) just a couple of months ago. This is about the recent Steubenville rape of a 16 year old by a couple of “rising football stars” of her school. There are so many things wrong… Continue reading The story of a rape
Clothing for dignity
Anshu Gupta’s journey began in 1992 after a 6-year-old girl in New Delhi told him that she hugged dead bodies through the night to keep her warm. The girl’s father, Habib, and her blind mother, Amina Begum, were municipal workers, in charge of disposing of unclaimed corpses. Habib would receive 20 rupees (about 38 cents)… Continue reading Clothing for dignity
This time, it’s personal
Enough and more has been said and written about the Delhi gangrape and the reactions of the nation to that horrific crime. I shed tears, along with many women I know, the day she died. I went for a peaceful protest demonstration at Shivaji Park, I discussed it endlessly with my husband and followed every… Continue reading This time, it’s personal
Tamilnadu’s cradle babies
Remember Baby Falak? In a country where babies, especially girls are abandoned and killed every day, the story of the bruised and battered two-year-old girl is not really new or particularly shocking. Now leave Baby Falak for a moment and travel with me across the country. To Tamil Nadu, which has one of the highest… Continue reading Tamilnadu’s cradle babies
Wheels of change
A piece in The Atlantic on a new book on bicycles and their role in the empowerment of women: ‘Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along the Way)’. From the piece, “To men, the bicycle in the beginning was merely a new toy, another machine added… Continue reading Wheels of change
Women power – and powerlessness
Last week of January – Jaipur edition of Times of India – two front page items caught my eye on consecutive days. Wheel power for Alwar women – about how ‘In a remote village in Alwar district, 25-year-old Kesari Devi routinely goes to her farm, much to the envy of men. Reason: She herself drives… Continue reading Women power – and powerlessness
On Goonj
Update: the Goonj website is up and running again – there was some problem with it last week when I had posted the note on goonj – do have a look now! I had blogged about Goonj a few years ago in Clothes Line – and I forgot about them till the time I sat… Continue reading On Goonj
Ladies Special
I came across this bit in a travel magazine recently about rooms for female travelers at the Movenpick Hotel in Hanoi. Sounded interesting. I have traveled enough on work and been alone at enough hotels in strange towns to know what feels like to hear that random knock on the door in the middle of… Continue reading Ladies Special
Life and a career
This is not a good way to begin a Monday morning – What’s the connection between abortion and careers? But it appeared on the blogs feed, shared by Gautam Ghosh and I read it. It takes a *lot* of courage to bare one’s soul the way Penelope Trunk has done here (knowing the kind of… Continue reading Life and a career