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


Virtual Sexual Violence Is Everywhere, From Chat Rooms To Webinars

There is little conversation around violence against women and other marginalised groups on the internet


‘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


Dalit Lacemakers Of Narsapuram: How They Found Dignity And Livelihood In 19th Century

A craft brought by the missionaries changed the lives of Dalit women in multiple ways before it became the domain of a dominant caste


Vending Law Ineffective, Raghubir Nagar’s Pheriwalis Reimagine Safe Work Spaces

In this, the second in the series ‘Placing Work, Mapping Places’, we detail the struggles of Raghubir Nagar’s pheriwalis in dealing with street and State violence. We ask them to reimagine their workspaces as safer, gender-friendly and more productive.


Decoding women’s labour force participation in 2021-22: What the Periodic Labour Force Survey shows

After recording some improvement in recent years, the growth in female labour force participation rate in India now seems to be stagnating. Among the women who work, the share of those who are self-employed has been increasing in recent years, even as their average earnings, already low, have dwindled further.


Why Focus Must Shift From What Restricts Women’s Employment To What Works For Them

As a young PhD student just embarking on research, I was very certain that I wanted to contribute to the field of education economics. After completing […]


Placing Work, Mapping Places — Stories of Raghubir Nagar’s women informal workers

In India’s cheapest second-hand clothes market, women have to reclaim public spaces to assert their right to livelihood constantly


How many women work in India’s factories?

Of the millions of workers who worked in India’s factories in 2019-20, less than a fifth were women. This share has remained largely unchanged for over two decades


As LPG Prices Soar, Women Return To Toxic Traditional Stoves

A 51.7% rise in the price of LPG refills between January 2021 and July 2022 has forced women from low-incomes homes to minimise the use of gas stoves


Illusion Of Freedom Vs Tyranny Of Gig Work: The Dilemma Of Urban Co’s ‘Partners’

There are rising tensions between the aspirations of thousands of workers and the work structure of the gig economy


Why Women Stringers Are Missing From Telugu Media In Small Towns

The job is too ‘dangerous’, ‘dirty’ for women, say male-dominated newsrooms


How The Climate Crisis Is Driving Sex Trafficking In Arid Rayalaseema

The livelihood crisis created by scorching summers, failed monsoons and frequent droughts in the arid Rayalaseema region of southwestern Andhra Pradesh has left women from poor […]


Why Informal Micro Businesses Run By Women Are Not Benefiting From E-Formalisation

“What is this Udyam Registration Certificate? Why do I need the certificate?” Kalpanaben*, who runs a saree business out of her house in Delhi, is bewildered. […]


Harassment, Assault, Murder – But Stalking Is Still Not A ‘Serious’ Crime

The murder last week of Chennai college student Sathya Priya by her stalker is at once horrific and familiar: a young woman is followed and harassed […]


Why Elderly Women With Disabilities Are At Highest Risk of Abuse, Neglect

Forced to depend on their family for support and care because of social norms and ineffective government policies, elderly women with disabilities are highly vulnerable to […]


A Day In The Life Of Women Garment Workers: Some Lessons For Employers

In 2021, a qualitative study was carried out on women’s career progression, access to healthcare and grievance redressal mechanisms across the textile and apparel industry. It […]


India’s Workplace Harassment Law Has Failed Informal, Marginalised Workers

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 […]


Navigating Statelessness: How Laws Fail Bangladeshi Trafficking Survivors In India

Nafeesa Bibi* (36) was 16 when she left her home in a Bangladesh village and swam across the Ichhamati river into Bongaon in the North 24 […]


How All-Girls Collectives Are Battling Sex Trafficking In Sundarbans

With criminal networks, apathetic policing and patriarchal practices turning the impoverished Sundarbans delta region in West Bengal into a trafficking hub, it is now up to […]


Inflation-Hit, Women Demand Better Wages, More Workdays Under Rural Jobs Scheme

As August rains swept Delhi, more than 500 workers, mostly women, gathered around the Jantar Mantar monument to protest delayed wages, reduced workdays and digital glitches […]


‘We Rarely Connect The Social Worlds Of Migrant Women Workers’

‘Mobile Girls Koottam: Working Women Speak’, released in 2021, documents the real-life conversations between gender and labour rights scholar Madhumita Dutta,  radio podcaster Samyuktha PC and […]


Why Women Sugarcane Cutters Of Maharashtra Seek Needless Hysterectomies

Sugarcane cutting is relentless, backbreaking work, say the migrant women workers of Kothi village in Kaij taluka of Maharashtra’s Beed district. You have to hack at […]


Why Gender Crimes Need Exclusive Not Segregated Handling By Police: Studies

Police stations with help desks for women, especially those run by women, are more likely to register cases of gender-based violence, says a new study, ‘Policing […]


How Delays In Victim Compensation Fund Fail Trafficking Survivors

The Calcutta High Court has ordered the Government of West Bengal to ensure adequate funds with the State Legal Services Authority (SLSA) to disburse compensation to […]


Why Delhi Cannot Celebrate Its Declining Gender Crime Numbers Yet

Here are some critical data-points on crimes against women in Delhi for the year 2020 from the Crime in India report by National Crime Records Bureau. 997 […]


Why Credit Coops Outdo Banks In Alleviating Financial Distress Of Informal Workers

Inclusive financial networks such as credit cooperatives are more effective than traditional financial institutions in relieving the financial distress of women whose lives and livelihoods are […]


How Digital Spaces Are Pushing Marginalised Women Campaigners Further Into Shadows

The rights of women from India’s marginalised communities are being disproportionately constrained and eroded in digital civic spaces, says a report by The Bachchao Project, a […]


Why It Is Hard For Disabled Women, Queer Persons To Leave Abusive Partners

Reema*, 32, has been married for about five years but the man she thought would be her life partner has turned out to be a stranger […]


SC Order Grants Dignity To Sex Work But It Is Far From Being Decriminalised

The recent Supreme Court directives on guaranteeing sex workers dignity and constitutional freedoms still leaves some critical problem areas unaddressed and these can only be resolved […]


Perpetrators Change But Violence Follows Bangladeshi Women Across The Indo-Bangladesh Border

How do state borders create and sustain the binaries between ‘citizen’ and ‘foreigner’? What implication do these have on the lived experiences of the women who […]


In Delhi’s Illegal Factories, Hazards, Precarity Are Every Day Challenges For Women Workers

The recent industrial fire at an electronic assembly unit of Cofe Impex Pvt Ltd in west Delhi’s Mundka village has exposed the social and economic precarity […]


“We’re Capable. We Can Do It”; Jagadevi’s Decade-Long Engagement With Local Governance

Jagadevi, a seasoned elected woman representative, is currently serving as a ward member of the Chittawadi gram panchayat in north-east Karnataka’s Bidar district. She has been […]


Why Climate Impact On Tea Yield Is Making Women Workers Sick

From skin inflammation and blurred vision to respiratory and digestive disorders, women workers in Darjeeling’s tea plantations are struggling with an array of health issues caused […]


How Indian Laws Patronise Working Women, Limit Job Opportunities

Leela had been a binding assistant at the Kerala Books and Publications Society, a state-owned textbook publishing house, for 19 years when she was overlooked for […]


A Dalit Women’s Union Wrests a First-Ever Private Pact Ensuring Gender Safety At Work

After a year-long campaign by a Dalit women’s union in Tamil Nadu, the multinational fast-fashion brand H&M and its Tamil Nadu-based supplier, Eastman Exports Global Clothing […]


Dalit Survivors Of Sexual Violence Deal With Blocks To Justice At Every Step

[This article contains descriptions of sexual and physical violence, which might trigger unwelcome and distressing memories or thoughts. We advise readers to use their discretion before […]


Why Only 1 In 10 Survivors Of Domestic Violence Seeks Justice

Every third married woman in India faces spousal violence but only one in 10 seeks any help, says a 2020 study published in the BMJ. Worse, […]


Health Workers Can Be Critical In The Campaign Against Domestic Violence

“A pregnant woman has been hit in the stomach by her husband; she is bleeding. There are also marks of assault on her legs and hands. […]


Gujarat’s Rural Hospitals Become Support Centres For Domestic Violence Survivors

The excitement is palpable at the gathering of around 30 women, old and young, seated in a circle at the sub-district hospital in Patan district’s Radhanpura […]


How Maternity Leave Policies Discriminate Against Adoptive Mothers And Children

It took nearly a year for Virginia* and her husband to bring home the four siblings they had asked to adopt. The children were aged between […]


Delhi Anganwadi Workers To Move Court Against Termination Orders

Delhi’s anganwadi workers (AWW) and helpers (AWH), who ended their 38-day strike on March 9, will move court against the state government order terminating the services […]


‘Growing Workload, Still Treated As Volunteers:’ Why Delhi’s Anganwadi Workers Are Protesting

A sea of red flags rises up along Flagstaff Road in north Delhi’s Civil Lines area, just a few metres from the home of chief minister […]


Why Manipur’s Women Remain Underrepresented in Electoral Politics

Manipur is all set to elect its 12th state legislative assembly as it goes to polls in a 2 phase election, with the electorate voting on […]


Why UP’s Crime Records Fail To Report Full Extent Of Crimes Against Dalit Women

[This article contains descriptions of sexual and physical violence, which might trigger unwelcome and distressing memories or thoughts. We advise readers to use their discretion before […]


In Tribal UP, School-Girls As Well As Graduates Are Driven To Construction Work

It is a wintery February morning and a dense fog has descended over Palia, a town 100 km from Lakhimpur town in northern Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur […]


A young Dalit woman Challenges Patriarchy in Panchayat Politics

For Khublata Regar (31), a Dalit woman, the decision to run for the office of the Sarpanch (president) in the Gram Panchayat elections in Potlan in […]


Chhattisgarh Government Is Taking Back Covid Incentives Paid To Mitanins

Usha Sahu, 45, a Mitanin trainer from Bemetara district in central Chhattisgarh was in for a  shock when she checked her bank account in October. The […]


“Young People Should Run The Panchayat Administration”: Story Of A Young Adivasi Woman Leader

For Laxmi Bhil (23), the Bhil Adivasi Sarpanch (President), Kabra Village Council, Bhilwara District, Rajasthan, contesting elections was both taxing and rewarding. A nursing student, Laxmi […]


Women Leaders Help In Securing Women’s Land Rights in Gujarat

Geeta Ben Gamit, 42, is a busy woman. The Sarpanch ( village council head) of Bhatpur in Tapi district in South Gujarat was finishing signing papers […]


“I will stand by them, fight for their rights”: One Dalit Woman Panchayat Leader’s Fight For Social Justice

For Lokamma (30), a Dalit woman leader,  who won her seat in Hokarna Panchayat in Bidar district, in the Gram Panchayat elections in December 2020 in […]


How IIT Guwahati Fostered A Culture of Impunity To Sexual Offences

[Trigger Warning: This article contains descriptions of sexual and  physical violence,which might trigger unwelcome and distressing memories or thoughts. We advise readers to use their discretion […]


Women Own Forested Land In Gujarat But Not Its Wealth

Mangla Hira Ji Thakre (45) and her family are sprawled around the television for their post-dinner ritual of watching a hit soap opera. “Arey, this hero […]


Cyber Crimes On the Rise Against Women in Jammu and Kashmir

Farah Zaidi, a social activist from  Kulgam district in North Kashmir was trolled online by men after her interview was published online where she talked about  […]


How Organic Promotion Policies End Up Excluding Women Farmers In Gujarat

On May 14, 2021, while encouraging farmers to take up organic farming as he released the 8th instalment of the Pradhan Mantri- Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN), […]


Sulli Deals: Online Platforms Fuel Cyber Sexual Violence Against Muslim Women

Shaikh Tabinda received a message from her friend, on the night of 4 July, which read that she had been ‘sold’ in an online ‘auction’ on […]


Women Yet To Cross Gender Barriers In India’s Agricultural Markets

Lassu Ben, 38, is an outspoken and resolute woman but even she sometimes hesitates to trade with the men at the local farm market. ‘Bahas mat […]


Underpaid ASHA Workers Tackle Covid and Vaccine Hesitancy In Kashmir

Khalida Akhter (36), an ASHA worker from Sheeri village in Baramulla district in North Kashmir, died of Covid-19  in May this year.  An Accredited Social Health Activist […]


How Garment Factories Forced Illegal Resignations Of Women Workers In Karnataka

As Karnataka begins to ease state-wide restrictions imposed since May 10, 2021 to control the spread of COVID-19 virus, industries have been allowed to function with […]


Women’s Political Representation In Assam Slips To Its Lowest In 20 Years

Fewer women will now occupy seats in the newly elected Vidhan Sabha (state legislative assembly) in Assam in 2021. Six women were elected in the recently […]


From ‘Didi’ to ‘Banglar Nijer Meye’: The Rebranding of Mamata Banerjee

‘I will win Bengal on one leg and in the future, will get victory in Delhi on two legs’, thundered Mamata Banerjee, the current chief minister […]


“We Will Ask For Our Rights In Parliament”: M. Radha, Trans Candidate In Tamil Nadu polls

For M Radha (53), the transgender contestant and her team of fellow trans campaigners, election season meant spending  hours in campaigning  door to door, distributing pamphlets […]


In Poll-Bound Tamil Nadu, Labour Rights Of Women Workers Flouted

S. Rathinam (39) had escaped death by a whisker that afternoon.  On February 13, 2021, she, along with hundreds of others, had to run for their […]


Long In The Backseat In Kerala Politics, Women Now Claim Their Space

Kerala’s first Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) was a woman.Rosamma Punnoose, 44 years-old when Kerala elected its first post-Independence legislative assembly in 1957, was elected from […]


All-Women Panchayats In Uttarakhand Reimagine Post-Covid Futures

“This is just the beginning; there is much to do and fight for”, said Kavita Arya (31), Dalit Pradhan ( village council head) of Rauliyana Gram […]


How Women Garment Workers Took On A Global Clothing Giant And Won Their Rights

On 24 October, 2020, 1300 women garment workers of  Euro Clothing Company– 2 (ECC-2) of a unit of Gokaldas Exports in Srirangapatna, in Mandya district of […]


Poor Wages, No Social Security Hurt Women Beedi Workers

“I have been rolling beedis since I was fifteen. Our whole community is dependent on the profession. Our employers underpay us, our pension never arrives without […]


Women Leaders Breathing Life Into Van Panchayats in Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand is home to the fierce ‘Chipko Movement.’ Led by the bold and spirited women in the 1960s, the movement was one of the many significant […]


How Women Farmers in Punjab Mobilised Against The Farm Laws

“These capitalists will ruin us,” thundered Charanjeet Kaur, a thirty nine year old farmer with a medium landholding of 12 acres (4 hectares) from Wara Bhaika […]


How Police And Justice System Fails Survivors of Sexual Violence In Uttar Pradesh

“Tum gareeb ho, tum rehne do. Waise bhi tum jhoota case likha rahi ho toh case nahi likha jayega” (You are poor, so you shouldn’t pursue […]


Cost Of Sugar: Women Cane Cutters In Maharashtra

Neeta (name changed), a cane cutter in one of the many sugarcane farms in Beed district of central Maharashtra, was only in her early 30s when […]


How Farm Acts Affect Women In Agriculture

On 27 September 2020,  three Farm Bills became law after receiving presidential assent. The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill […]


Adivasi Women Claim Power In Local Elections

Badami Bai (32), had a problem on her hands, just a week before the Panchayat (India’s directly elected village councils) elections in India’s western state of […]


ASHA Workers Criminalised For Fighting For Their Rights

India’s frontline women health workers, or ASHAs, play a critical role in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. But when they demanded better pay, protective gear and fixed […]


First African-Pakistani Lawmaker Fights To Claim Power

Tanzeela Qambrani (41) created history in Pakistan when she became the first Sheedi Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) of Sindh Assembly in 2018. Her election to […]


When Violence Is the Cost Of Doing Politics

When Mamta (26), was elected to Jayadara  Gram Panchayat ( lowest tier in India’s 3 tier local governance system)  in Sirohi district of Rajasthan in 2015, […]


Dalit And Adivasi Women Leaders Secure Community Rights

Surta Bairwa (33), the former Dalit Sarpanch of  Srirampura Panchayat in Rajasthan’s Tonk district had enough of the centuries old dominance of the upper caste Gurjars. […]


“I Am The Education Minister Of Maharashtra Because Of Savitribai Phule”

For Varsha Eknath Gaikwad (45), Dharavi in Mumbai is much more than a constituency. She calls it home. The 4 time Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) […]


The Afghan MP Who Is Not Shaken By The Strong Winds

Fawzia Koofi (45), the Member of Parliament from Afghanistan, has survived several assassination attempts by the Taliban. “The Taliban dislike women holding such powerful positions in […]


The Afghan MP Negotiating Peace With The Taliban

Fawzia Koofi (45), the Member of Parliament from Afghanistan, has survived several assassination attempts by the Taliban. “The Taliban dislike women holding such powerful positions in […]


“Women in Sri Lanka Need to Change The Masculine, Toxic Political Space”: Dr. Harini Amarasuriya

Sri Lanka is all set to elect its ninth Parliament on 5 August 2020. According to officials, 7,452 candidates, 70 parties and 313 independent groups are […]


India’s Missing Women Remain A Global Concern

Only 810 girl children are born per 1000 boys in urban Uttarakhand. In rural areas, the state recorded a comparably higher sex ratio at birth (female […]


Garment Workers Take On Global Clothing Giant

For over a month now, over 600 women garment workers have been sitting in protest against the illegal layoffs in the factory premises of the  ECC […]


Women Continue To Be Underrepresented in India’s Parliament

Women’s political participation remains abysmally low in the Lok Sabha- the directly elected House of the Parliament as well as state legislative assemblies. The current Lok […]


A double blow for Adivasi Women Collectives

” We are unable to sell Mahul flowers in the market due to the lockdown. Lockdown has taken our  livelihood away”, said Baijanti Kalo of Bamandagarh […]


ASHAs Within the ‘Kerala Model’ Lead Covid-19 Response, Get Little in Return

Our 16-state survey found that in Kerala, ASHAs, women health workers at the frontlines of India’s resistance to Covid-19, feel empowered and respected. Yet, their demands […]


Promised, Mostly Never Paid: Rs 1,000 Covid Wage To Million Health Workers

Minara Begum, 33, has reached breaking point. “If the government of Assam does not release my salary today, my kids will starve,” said the mother of […]


10 लाख स्वास्थ्य कर्मियों को 1000 रुपये की ‘कोविड सैलरी’: वादे ज्यादातर पूरे नहीं हुए

असम की रहने वालीं 33 साल की मीनारा बेगम चार बच्चों की मां हैं. उनका सबसे छोटा बेटा दो साल का है. वह रोते हुए कहती […]


Anger, Distress Among India’s Frontline Workers In Fight Against Covid-19

Without them, It would be impossible to track, test and monitor Covid-19 patients across India’s villages and cities. But over a million women health workers must […]


कोविड-19 के खिलाफ लड़ाई : गुस्सा और तनाव में भारत के फ्रंटलाइन वर्कर्स

रात के 9 बज रहे हैं. दिनभर की भाग-दौड़ के बाद अब लक्ष्मी सिंह खाने बैठी ही थीं कि सरपंच ने उन्हें बुला लिया.कई दिनों से […]


A “Resilience Fund” by women in coastal Odisha is Helping Them Cope With COVID-19: Story of Women of Penthakata Urban Slum in Puri

Satyavathi (48) has borne the brunt of disasters before and knows the heavy toll it takes on the lives and livelihoods of families. On 3 May […]


Women Continue To Be Underrepresented in Delhi Assembly

Delhi Vidhan Sabha, the elected body of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, has a dismal representation of women. Only 9% of the elected MLAs in […]


Women’s Political Participation Sees A Steady Increase In Jharkhand

Women’s political representation in Jharkhand has seen a constant upward surge since the state came into existence in 2000. The proportion of women Members of Legislative […]


Haryana’s Women Carve a Larger Role in The State’s Politics

In Haryana, a state with a skewed sex ratio (913 girls to 1000 boys, an improvement from 830 girls in 2011), there is one gender indicator […]


Women Hold Fewer Ministerial Positions In State Governments

Telangana, the newest state in Southern India, finally has women ministers in the state’s council of ministers for the first time in its history. In a […]


Krishnaveni’s Story And The Era Of Women Panchayat Presidents

P Krishnaveni remembers the night of 13 June, 2011, clear as day. Barely 200 m from her home of 15 years, in front of a local […]


First Time Adivasi MP Hopes To Be The Voice Of People

Goddeti Madhavi (26), the first time Member of Parliament (MP) from Araku in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh (AP) knows the trust that her constituents […]


The Triumph Of Sharmila Devi And Tamil Nadu’s Women Leaders

Sharmila Devi (39), the youngest dalit sarpanch of Thirumanvayal panchayat in southern Tamil Nadu’s Sivagangai district, has pulled off what none of her upper-caste, male predecessors […]


Meagre Funds, No Salary: How Tamil Nadu’s Women Leaders Still Succeed

What is it like to do a full-time job without a salary? Especially if you are a dalit or an adivasi woman and your daily earnings […]


Why Muthukanni, A Dalit, Had To Build Her Own Panchayat Office

It wasn’t personal ambition that drove K Muthukanni to stand for election as panchayat president from Madhavakurichi in Mannur block of southern Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli district. […]