Surbhi Karwa is a feminist law researcher. She has a masters in law from University of Oxford. She is a columnist at Behanbox where she writes a monthly column ‘The Gender Files’ casting deep insights into gender and law in India
Law03 Dec 2024
Studies have shown that criminalisation of child marriage and the excessive use of force to prevent have not been effective solutions to the problem. Questions around poverty, education and the adolescent agency also need to be addressed
Stories25 Sep 2024
The boundaries of individual and collective blur in this account of her journey, as an individual, woman, and activist and the member of a unique collective
Gender Files02 May 2023
Feminists have critiqued the use of criminal law in ‘rape on the promise of marriage’ but the issue of intersectionalities cannot be ignored
Care economy10 Mar 2023
Currently, India’s legal structure shows little respect for care work of any kind
Gender Files16 Feb 2023
Intersectionality has long been ignored in India’s mainstream feminist movement as a critical issue
Gender Files05 Jan 2023
On December 13, 2022 the government of Maharashtra declared the establishment of a 13-member committee to ‘track’ inter-religious marriages. As per the resolution, this ‘interfaith marriage […]
Crime02 Dec 2022
Trigger Warning: This piece contains mentions of sexual violence which may be triggering for readers. On October 31, 2022 the Supreme Court of India once again […]
Gender Files03 Nov 2022
In June 1885, a 21-year-old woman, calling herself ‘Hindu Lady’, wrote two letters to The Times of India attacking the ‘wicked institutions’ of infant marriage and […]
Inequality19 Oct 2022
On October 13, the Supreme Court of India passed its judgement on the hijab ban in educational institutions imposed by the Karnataka Government. The two-judge bench […]
Gender Files03 Oct 2022
India’s law on sexual harassment at work has failed to account for the experiences of informal sector working women, most of who are from marginalised communities […]