Why ILO’s New Convention On Platform Work Falls Short On Gender Inclusion
Platform workers from marginalised groups face layered challenges in the labour market but this intersectional lens is missing from the convention
It Is Time To Recognise, Record The Life, Labour And Art Of Marginalised Film Dancers
Only a handful of celebrated cinematic dancers are known to us but there are dozens of trained and talented artistes who have upheld the fabled song and dance tradition of Hindi films but whose work has remained unacknowledged and underestimated
‘Partner Violence In Non-Marital Relationships Is Hard To Name And Address’
In this instalment of BehanBox Talkies, scholar Sundari Anitha says entering a relationship is itself an act of resistance for women and admitting that it has turned abusive therefore becomes difficult
The Many Double Standards Of India’s Maternity Benefits Policy
An excerpt from development economist Reetika Khera’s book, ‘Freebies or Rights: Understanding Social Policy in India’
‘We Are In A Fight for Azaadi’: Notes From An ASHA Worker’s Diary
Lakshmi Kaurav from Madhya Pradesh logs for a month her triple shift of care labour
BehanVox: A Kafkaesque Nightmare
This week in BehanVox: confessions of a BLO from Bengal, Gloria Steinem’s legacy, and more
‘We Saw The Biases In The SIR Process But Were Too Overwhelmed To Do Anything About It’
A BLO from West Bengal talks about the confusion around the ever-changing rules of the SIR process, the relentless work pressure and voter anxiety that shaped their work for six long months
BehanVox: Gone In A Flash
This week in BehanVox: the eroding right to food, biased chatbots, and more
The Biases And Blinkers Of Big Tech’s Language Models
We spoke to researchers and practitioners across Bangladesh, India, and Bhutan to understand the promises and fallacies of linguistic diversity in AI, and the way ahead
BehanVox: Delete, Delete, Delete
This week in BehanVox: 1970s cabaret songs, data centre resistance in Andhra Pradesh, and more
Postcards #17: Sisters and Furious Women
This month in Postcards: Ballykupe’s Tibetan food, Canadian summers, and more
‘The Data Center Has Taken Everything: Our Lands, Future, Happiness’
In this instalment of BehanBox Talkies, two Dalit women from Andhra Pradesh speak about their fight for their rights even as multinational tech-giants power a global AI boom
Voice as an Unruly Force
An excerpt from a new book on female playback singers in Bombay cinema, and how Asha Bhosle’s malleable voice whispered and breathed life into these
Why The SIR Is Like A Video Game, Where New Obstacles Come Up At Every Level
SIR has become an existential test where clerical errors from two decades ago and technological failures may put both your right to vote and citizenship under threat, says an SIR helpline volunteer
BehanVox: Feeble Democracy
This week in BehanVox: myths about ideal victims, Parliament watch, and more
BehanVox: Tanashahi Nahi Chalegi
This week in BehanVox: return of the farmers, loneliness of a caregiver, and more
Postscript #16: The 2026 Student Protests Are All About Reclaiming Citizenship
In Postscript, we reflect on the editorial choices we make and abandon. Plus all things behind the scenes. This week: sum of resentment
Care Diaries: ‘It Is An Odd Thing, To Be Both A Daughter And A Mother’
A chronicle of a 32-year-old woman’s caregiving, burnout, and search for community after her mother’s diagnosis with Parkinson’s Disease
Postcards #16: Sweet Discoveries
This month in Postcards: Somnath Hore’s art, sattu parathas, a Marxist cat, and more
How A Pavement Book Bazaar Interprets The Way Delhi Is Inhabited
An excerpt from ‘The Sunday Book Bazaar: Delhi’s Book Street and the Making of a Reading Public’, which offers a tribute to one of Delhi’s most permanently impermanent structures: the weekly chaotic book bazaar in Daryaganj
BehanVox: Let Puppets Do The Talking
This week in BehanVox: Amaravati’s shiny hollow promise, heat journal from Delhi, and more
Heat Journals: ‘The Heat Makes It Impossible To Do Household Chores’
A homemaker contends with the exhaustion heat brings, the money it drains, the tempers it sharpens, and the limits it places on the body
‘Social Movements Become Stronger By Incorporating Songs, Drama, And Creativity’
In this instalment of BehanBox Talkies, Shankar Singh talks about the history, process and the importance of cultural symbols and performances in social movements in India
BehanVox: No Pride, Only Punishment
This week in BehanVox: Erin Brockovich vs data centres, VB-GRAM G Act comes into force, and more
BehanVox: Truth, Imprisoned
This week in BehanVox: a Census worker’s testimony from Maharashtra, protests against GRAMG, and more
Postscript #15: To Tell the Truth, We Had to Protect the Teller
In Postscript, we reflect on the editorial choices we make and abandon. Plus all things behind the scenes. This week: anonymity and reader trust
‘They’re Calling It Digital Census But Asking For Manual Data’
A Census enumerator from Maharashtra tells us about the unyielding work load, safety concerns, and community anxieties shaping up their work
BehanVox: El Niño In Action
This week in BehanVox: momos and memory, social media age bans in the UK, and more
‘ASHA Workers Have To Fight For Everything, That’s The Tragedy Of Our Lives’
Sundaravva Patil shares the challenges of working in rural Karnataka, activism over the years, and how community relationships keep her going
Momos And Phambi: Seeing Street Food As A Site Of Women’s Resistance
An excerpt from Anshu Chhetri’s essay on how food can help us understand cultures and communities
BehanVox: Tragic Comedy
This week in BehanVox: app-based domestic workers, SC’s ruling on homemakers, and more
The App Fixes the Hour: How Platforms Are Reorganising Domestic Work in India
The promise of formality, dignity, and efficiency offered by on-demand apps for domestic workers mask the fact that they only reorganise old labour circuits and exacerbate its inequalities and exploitation
BehanVox: All Platitudes, No Heat Protections
This week in BehanVox: an investigation on casteism in ASHA work, Pope’s encyclical on AI, and more
Postscript #14: The Importance of Doing Micro Data Collection
In Postscript, we reflect on the editorial choices we make and abandon. Plus all things behind the scenes. This week: anecdotes at scale
‘ASHA Workers Have No Choice But To Work In The Heat’
Punam Amol Ahire in Mumbai talks about tracking illnesses, pregnancies, and diseases while managing domestic work and dealing with bureaucratic hurdles
BehanVox: Census And Cockroaches
This week in BehanVox: pay hike for Kerala ASHA workers, heat wave grips the country, and more
Postcards #15: Gold And Gardenia
This month in Postcards: the sweet Mallika, books and bees, charnel houses, and more
‘The Intention Is Questionable, The Means Do Not Inspire Trust’: GN Devy On Census 2027
The long-delayed exercise is not inclusive, transparent, or accountable. The government has undermined the promise and possibilities of a Census, says the scholar
BehanVox: Trouble On The Horizon
This week in BehanVox: the idea of citizenship online, Assam’s push for the Uniform Civil Code, and more
‘The Algorithm Is Paying Women To Uphold Patriarchy’
In BehanBox Talkies, we explore ideas through the lens of scholars. In this instalment, Devina Sarwatay talks about Indian tradwives, pastel patriarchy, and the saffronisation that threatens digital citizenship
BehanVox: Chaos And Coalitions
This week in BehanVox: a democratic experiment, radical feminist ideas in Telugu magazines, and more
Published Over 100 Years Ago, Telugu Women’s Magazines Held Radical Feminist Views
They argued against unpaid carework, rules of wifely conduct, and the tyranny of faith
Inside The Radical Promise Of Social Audits Under MGNREGA
The jan sunwai, an experiment in participatory democracy, was premised on the idea that ordinary citizens, especially the rural poor, can and must hold the state accountable
BehanVox: Poll Predictions and Prejudice
This week in BehanVox: killer heatwaves across the country, an ASHA worker talks about caste discrimination, and more
‘My Work As An ASHA Facilitator Was Questioned Because Of My Caste, Disability’
Dharmishtha Chauhan from Gujarat opens up about the casteism embedded in her work, the mental toll of harassment and discrimination, and why ASHA workers must be aware of their constitutional rights
BehanVox: What Cash Transfers For Women Can (And Can’t) Do
This week in BehanVox: protests and detentions of Noida workers, Vijay’s stardom in Tamil Nadu, and more
Postscript #13: Doing Democracy, The Feminist Way
In Postscript, we reflect on the editorial choices we make and abandon. Plus all things behind the scenes. This week: inside our Feminist Election Newsroom
Why TN’s Cash Transfer For Carework Should Be A Small Step To A Big Change
The KMUT scheme reaches 1.31 crore women with a monthly cash transfer as a partial recompense for unpaid carework. How does it transform their lives?
BehanVox: The Logical Discrepancy Of SIR
This week in BehanVox: the delimitation push, love in the time of caste, and more
Postcards #14: Playlists And Photo Albums
This month in Postcards: Asha Bhonsle serenades, Hans Zimmer soars, and more
‘No Process, No Consultation, No Scrutiny’: The Perils Of Linking Delimitation With Women’s Reservation
The bills are a “smoke screen” that give the government discretionary powers to change the nature of our electoral democracy, says Maansi Verma, founder of Maadhyam
Love That Must Bloom Under Debility, Duress
‘Mhow’ by Kailash Wankhede talks of the radical possibilities of solidarity and consciousness in intercaste unions
BehanVox: Life Of An Internet Discourse
This week in BehanVox: feminist analysis of Keralam and Assam’s manifestos, women’s reservation bill re-enters the Parliament, and more
When Fluency Arrives From the ‘Wrong’ Room
A kitchen carries labour, repetition, time, and care but it can also carry thought. Public culture shouldn’t find it this hard to let a woman sound completely at home in her own mind
BehanVox: Poll Season Is Upon Us
This week in BehanVox: an interview with Kenyan data workers, SIR-led gender skew, and more. Plus: come join our FEN!
‘Data Work Under Big Tech Is A Form Of Modern Slavery’
Activists Joan Kinyua and Michael Geoffrey Asia about mental health and PTSD, unionising challenges in Kenya, and the racial logic that sustains the modern tech economy
BehanVox: Marching Towards Erasure
This week in BehanVox: resistance against the new Trans Bill, notes from an ASHA worker in Kashmir, and more
‘I Do This As A Sadaqa-e-Jariyah (Continuous Charity)’: An ASHA Worker’s Story From Kashmir
Shaheena Bano talks about navigating political uncertainties, curbs on mobility, public apathy, and a health department that does not dignify her work
In Andhra’s Shrimp Factories, Tariff Threats Have Left Women Workers Acutely Vulnerable
In Bhimavaram, a massive hub for shrimp exports, the continuing uncertainty over US trade tariffs has left a devastating impact on the lives of women workers
BehanVox: A Story of Coming Out Ft. New Trans Bill
Subscribe to our weekly newsletter that brings you top stories, gender news from the world, and our team’s reading recommendations. Hello Behans! The conflict in West Asia […]
Postcards #13: The Untold Stories Of Women’s History Month
This month in Postcards: from Delhi to Chennai, women leaders talk about solidarity, friendship, and struggles that deserve to be documented
BehanVox: No Fuel, Long Queues, But ‘All Is Well’
This week in BehanVox: inside the chikankaari industry, asylum for Iranian women’s football, and more
Handicrafts as ‘Empowerment’: The Double-Edged Reality of Chikankaari
Chikankaari has provided income to millions of women, but it systematically avoids changing the things that actually constitute empowerment: control over production and bargaining power
For Women, A Shaved Head Is Often A Mark Of Protest, Both Political And Personal
For women, tonsure is often a declaration of protest, autonomy and resistance to patriarchal beauty norms
BehanVox: All Eyes On West Asia
This week in BehanVox: notes from a Bahujan social worker, a woman leader’s history from the 1940s, and more
‘We Feared Nothing, We Focussed On Protecting The People And The Movement’
In the 1940s, the left led a historic armed agrarian struggle against the tyranny of the oppressive feudal structures in the Nizam dominions in Telangana. Mallu […]
When Field Workers Only Remain In The Field: The Unfairness Of A Bahujan Social Worker’s Place
Social work in India is commonly associated with altruism, moral duty and ‘social upliftment’ but it often masks the unequal power structures within which it is practised.
BehanVox: The View Beyond The AI Summit
This week in BehanVox: the Kerala Story 2 controversy, gig workers’ childcare needs, and more. Plus: we’re hiring!
Postscript #12: Counting Absences and Presence
In Postscript, we reflect on the editorial choices we make and abandon. Plus all things behind the scenes. This week: how we see ‘data’ and ‘evidence’
‘We Need To Remove The Halo Around AI And The Myth Of Ungovernability’
In BehanBox Talkies, we explore ideas through the lens of scholars. In this instalment, researchers Anita Gurumurthy and Nandini Chami talk about the AI Impact Summit, the Big Tech monopoly, and what regulations overlook
BehanVox: The AI Summit That Could Have Been
This week in BehanBox: budget concerns among SC and ST communities, a casteist boycott in Odisha, and more
Postcards #12: The Many Hues of Love
This month in Postcards: Music that lives within us, hope in saturated tones, lessons from the intertidal and more.
While SC/ST Budget Allocations Rise Marginally, Caste Realities Remains Unaddressed
Even as SC/ST allocations nominally rise in the Union Budget 2026-27, most funds remain non-targeted, underutilised, and inaccessible to the communities they claim to support
When Work Became A Right: The Social Life of MGNREGA
The imperilled Act made it easier for ordinary people to make claims on the State, to negotiate with local power structures, form friendships and networks on worksites
BehanVox: Love, Actually
This week in BehanVox: the care work behind AI machines, Lakhpati didi promises, and more
‘Society Fills Us With Fear, But Love Is A Kind Of Crazy Courage’
Desire must always have a room to bloom, says this stirring Valentine’s day read, an excerpt from the book ‘Love, Sex and India: The Agents of Ishq Anthology’
Budget 2026: Women and Marginalised Groups Have Been Shortchanged Again
Overall allocations towards women and girls and their utilisations do not seem to show any qualitative change
BehanVox: Sabka Saath, Kiska Vikaas?
This week in BehanVox: the Epstein list grows, life after bail for Bhima Koregaon accused, and more
Labour In Budget 2026-27: Focus Shifts From Rural Women To Urban Men
Cuts to the MGNREGA funds impact the most vulnerable – rural women in the informal work sector from mostly poor states
‘The Money Is Little But The Respect ASHA Workers Get Makes Me Happy’
An ASHA worker from Assam talks about the pandemic years, support from family, and the trials of being a caregiver for her family and community
BehanVox: Budget 2026 | What Will India Bet On?
This week in BehanVox: inside India’s nuclear tech utopia, Savarna anxiety over UGC bill, and more
Postscript #11: ASHA Work And The Moral Language Of ‘Seva’
In Postscript, we reflect on the editorial choices we make and abandon. Plus all things behind the scenes. This week: an excerpt on women’s unfree labour
‘SHANTI for who?’ Nuclear Energy, Climate Change and Marginality in India
In BehanBox Talkies, we explore ideas through the lens of scholars. In this installment, Dr. Misria Shaik Ali talks about India’s history of nuclear energy regulation, the realities of radioactive contamination, and the new SHANTI Act
BehanVox: To Be A Gig Worker In Delhi’s Toxic Air
This week in BehanVox: digital exiles, AR Rahman’s ‘communal’ remark, and more
Postcards #11: People’s Movements And Hunger Strikes For Palestine
This month in Postcards: remembering the mellifluous Nirmala Devi, how to slowmaxx romance, and poetry in times of violence
Choking At Work: How Delhi’s Air Is Harming Women Gig Workers
Gig workers are compelled to take on tasks even during severe pollution episodes, without hazard pay, adjusted shifts or protection gear
Beyond The Courts: Taunts, Trauma and the Weight of Waiting for this Irular Family
The jobs they were denied, the insults they learned to ignore, the fear that their children learned and resisted – an Irula family is still dealing with the aftermath of a terrible injustice
BehanVox: The 10-Minute Delivery Promise, Undone
This week in BehanVox: an Irula family’s fight for justice, Gauri Lankesh’s murder accused wins Maharashtra civic polls, and more
‘I Hope The World Sees More Of What We, ASHA Workers, Are Doing, And What We Can Do’
She dreamt of becoming a nurse, but it would take decades for Mini to realise a version of her childhood dream – when she became an […]
Why An Irula Family In Tamil Nadu Had To Wait 14 Years For Justice
In 2011, an Irula family, a highly vulnerable tribe in Tamil Nadu, was subject to rape and extreme violence by the police. Its efforts to find redressal have run into the wall of apathy and a judiciary that refuses to move
BehanVox: Fighting For The Right To Decent Work
This week in BehanVox: AI misogyny, gig worker strike, MGNREGA’s repeal impacting women and Adivasi farmers, and more
For Adivasis, MGNREGA’s Undoing Will Have Devastating Consequences
The new framework rests on conditions that do not exist in most tribal regions, and this will lead to systematic exclusion—quiet, but deeply consequential
How MGNREGA’s Repeal Will Hit Women Farmers Harder
The dismantling of the rural livelihood scheme will impact legal guarantee of employment, fair wages and accessible work – all critical for women’s rights
Postscript #10: Our Year In Recap
Our last edition of Postscript! We reflect on the editorial choices we make and abandon. Plus all things behind the scenes
BehanBox Wishlist 2025: The Stories That Could Have Been
A bucket list of stories that we will carry with us in 2026
‘In This Land of Buildings and Bulldozers, We Create Our Own Place’, Say Women of Demolished Bastis
As large infrastructure projects like the Coastal Road destroy livelihoods and homes in Mumbai bastis, affected women resist.
BehanVox: The Death Of The World’s Largest Employment Guarantee Programme
This week in BehanVox: Nitish Kumar’s boorish act, platform workers’ exposure to air pollution, 250 years of Jane Austen, and more
Postcards #10: Sisterhoods And Broken Hearts
This month in Postcards: notes on time travelling to Indus Valley, the magic of used books, and more
‘The GRAMG Bill Codifies The Stealthy Ways In Which NREGA Was Being Undermined’
Dipa Sinha, an economist, explains the perils of centralisation and funding constraints under the new VB-GRAMG Bill
BehanVox: Crime, Punishment, And Power Of Kerala Actor Assault Case
This week in BehanVox: Bhopal’s women lead the 41-year-long campaign for justice, Donald Trump targets female journalists, and more






















































