Ankita Dhar Karmakar, Author at BehanBox

Ground Reports12 Jun 2024

Name Off Rolls, These Women Were Disenfranchised In A Crucial Election

Elderly women who fear this will be their last vote, women from minority communities keen to back democratic norms – missing from the electoral list these women feel deprived of their right to vote in what was a historic election

Ground Reports03 Jun 2024

‘A Trip To The Doctor Means Loss Of Wages, I Can’t Afford That’

A single mother of two, this e-rickshaw driver in Tinsukia says life is a daily struggle to balance earnings and expense

Ground Reports21 May 2024

Why A Workers’ Rights Activist Has Jumped Into The Electoral Fray

Aditi, a member of the Revolutionary Workers’ Party of India, has contested elections multiple times at both local and national levels but has never won. She says that winning was never the point

Ground Reports14 May 2024

Govt Teaching Jobs: Contractualisation Is Stifling Women’s Aspirations

Job insecurity, random transfers, non-payment of wages, and lack of benefits are hurting contractual teachers, of whom 55% are women

Care economy17 Apr 2024

“My Income Hasn’t Changed In Ten Years, And We Have No Savings”

Whether it is putting off an urgent surgery or making do with 250 gm of fish for her family of four once a month, Lakhya Hira Phukon, like most other poorly-paid ASHA workers, has to balance her domestic budget with extreme care

Ground Reports28 Mar 2024

How Gender, Mobility, and Disability Barriers Prevent Many From Voting In India

At least 986 million Indians should be voting this year. But it is likely the final numbers will be many millions less. We explain why

Inequality29 Feb 2024

Why Repealing Assam Muslim Marriage Act May Do Little To Empower Women

It will not curb child marriage but may complicate registrations, say experts

LGBTQIA+26 Feb 2024

Despite Laws, Guidelines, Queerphobia Remains Unchecked In Campuses

Students have reported frequent incidents of queerphobia and misogyny in universities. We look at why redressal mechanisms remain ineffective

Inequality25 Jan 2024

Bribes, Bullying, Sexual Harassment: Why Workers In A Delhi Hospital Want An End To Outsourced Hiring

Striking sanitation workers in Delhi’s Burari Hospital have accused private hiring companies of corrupt practices and sexual harassment

Beats18 Jan 2024

Assam’s Family Size Norm For New Initiative Could Hit Its Marginalised Women Most

Linking economic welfare schemes for women to their family size will further limit women’s participation in work and increase their vulnerabilities, argue experts

Beats05 Jan 2024

For Young Women, Savitribai Phule’s Legacy Of Rebellion Is Empowering

The bright red slash of kumkum across her forehead has become a mark of feminist solidarity

Stories03 Jan 2024

Back When Wrestling Was Macho, This Delhi Akhada Began Training Women

Now 40% of the trainees at the Guru Premnath Akhada are women dreaming of making it to the Olympics, mostly from small-town India

Beats22 Dec 2023

Who Is Responsible For Safety Of Domestic Workers At Workplaces?

India has approximately 5.2 million domestic workers according to government data. However, the National Domestic Workers’ Movement (NDWM) estimates the total number in India from anywhere […]

Beats10 Nov 2023

Patchy Fixes, Poor Redressal System: Why Campus Harassment Continues Unabated

Students say that university authorities remain apathetic to repeated instances of sexual harassment and complaints panels are neither unbiased nor effective

ASHA Workers02 Nov 2023

‘Our Movement Will Continue For ASHA Workers In Other States’: Sunita Rani

After a 73-day protest, Haryana’s ASHA workers were able to negotiate for themselves a Rs 2100 hike in their honorarium. This surpasses what is paid by Kerala, the state that pays ASHA workers the highest amount. But the Haryana ASHA workers union is determined to continue the movement for those working in other states too.

ASHA Workers02 Nov 2023

73 Days and Counting, ASHA Workers Continue Their Strike For More Pay In Haryana

The frontline health workers have called for a 24-hour strike outside district offices and homes of political leaders

Health17 Oct 2023

One In Two Trans Men Struggle To Access Basic Healthcare: Study

Most trans men and transmasculine individuals in India end up seeking private medical care because of multiple hurdles to government schemes, says a study

Leisure22 Sep 2023

What An Evening At Purdah Bagh In Old Delhi Says About Women And Leisure

Are segregated parks for women the solution to a city’s heavily male-dominated leisure spaces? Even as urban planners and feminists argue, we take a walk in Old Delhi’s historical zenana parks to find some answers

Caste20 Sep 2023

How A Dalit Women Led Trade Union Made History

In January 2021, when Jayasre Kathiravel, a 20-year old employee of a garment factory in Tamil Nadu’s Dindigul district was sexually assaulted and murdered by the […]

Policy09 Aug 2023

More Women, Marginalised Community Teachers In Bihar’s Public Schools. But The Good News Ends There

Only 20% of students attend primary schools in Bihar’s Araria and Katihar districts, revealing a grim post-pandemic state of government schools.

Manipur Conflict04 Aug 2023

Jobs, Education Interrupted, Manipur’s Women Struggle To Rebuild Their Lives

A student just an exam away from finishing her Masters, a dental doctor on the verge of a career, and a school warden held hostage – the violence in Manipur has left them all rudderless. We speak to them in Delhi as they seek to rebuild their lives

Manipur Conflict24 Jul 2023

How A Women’s Collective In Delhi Is Aiding Displaced Communities In Manipur

The violence in Manipur has displaced thousands of people who are now staying in refugee camps. A tribal women’s collective from the north east is spearheading relief operations out of Delhi

Law19 Jul 2023

Why The Uniform Civil Code Has Become A Polarising Idea

The debate around the UCC goes back to colonial times. Here is an explainer of how the idea has evolved over time

Law17 Jul 2023

How A Regressive Transgender Act Was Finally Thrown Out

The Telangana High Court recently struck down the state’s Eunuch’s Act which criminalised the entire transgender community. We explain why it was outdated and violative of citizen rights

Culture05 Jul 2023

A Ramble Through Delhi’s Queer History, Told Through Monuments And Subcultures

A heritage walk looks at the capital city’s historic and contemporary spaces through the queer lens, revealing some less known insights

Health21 Jun 2023

‘Queer Affirmative Medical Education Should Begin At School, Not College’

Medical education has remained largely binary, focusing on male/female bodies, heterosexuality and Cis-gendered lives. There are nascent efforts now to make medical education – and the […]

Gender Based Violence16 Jun 2023

Delhi Needs 11 Sexual Harassment Panels For Informal Workers. Only One Is Effective

Except one, none of the PoSH-mandated Local Committees in the capital are doing what they should – create conditions that encourage women workers from the informal sector to speak up against sexual violence

Law18 May 2023

Homes Razed, Tughlaqabad’s Women Agitate For Rehabilitation Rights

The bulldozers arrived with no notice, women allege, leaving them stranded without shelter or belongings

Gender Based Violence08 May 2023

‘Women In Sports Need More Networks Of Solidarity’

Many athletes are not even aware of what constitutes sexual harassment and those who complain meet with apathy from government sports bodies, says Jagmati Sangwan, activist and former athlete