‘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 […]
Fact Check: Why Fears That SC Observation Will Widen Gender Pay Gap Are Baseless
The apex court observed recently that a government employee cannot demand pay parity only on grounds of similarity in designation and quantum of work. The bench, […]
A Menstrual Disorder Suffered By Billions of Women Is Still Dismissed Lightly
I always suspected there was something wrong with the way I experience my periods. There were many days that I would feel the onset of PMS […]
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 […]
How Caste Pride Is Driving The Spate Of Child Marriages In TN
In the evening hours of the last week of May, I was getting ready to attend a political meeting when my phone buzzed. It was Poorvaja*, […]
Trans Persons With Disabilities Lack Enabling Social Systems and Healthcare Support
India has laws and support systems for both transgender persons and people with disabilities, but none for those who are both identities – trans persons with […]
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 […]
Insistence On Digital ID Limits Access To Abortion In India, Raises Privacy Concerns
Experts argue that linking digital identities to sensitive health services not only restricts access to reproductive healthcare but also infringes on women’s privacy rights, especially for marginalized groups.
How Punitive Demolition Drives Deepen The Precarity Of Muslim Women
NEW DELHI: On Monday, May 9, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation brought bulldozers and the police to Shaheen Bagh to remove “illegal encroachments”. Residents protested against […]
Abortion Is Legal In India But Rules, Stigma Make It Hard To Access
At 25, and into the fourth year of an abusive marriage, N*, discovered that she was eight weeks into an unwanted pregnancy. She approached a doctor […]
“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 […]
“They Want To Show Us Our ‘Place’. We Will Continue To Show Up” Shahida Banu Takes Head-On Patriarchal Mores
Shahida Banu’s decision to run for the seat of a sarpanch of Kuraj panchayat in Rajsamand district of Rajasthan was met with great resistance from the […]
‘Where Can They Burn Their Pads?’: Caste And Access To Menstrual Products
Lack of information on and access to hygienic practices adversely affects girls and women, especially from marginalized castes and tribes.Only 37% women across India reported experiencing […]
Livelihoods Lost, Jahangirpuri’s Muslim Women Struggle With Economic & Emotional Precarity
On the morning of April 20, Raheema Begum* watched as her family’s only source of livelihood, a cold drink kiosk, was reduced to rubble during the […]
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, […]
In Gujarat’s Poorest Tribal Pocket, A Women’s Agri Collective Shows The Way
Last November, 0ver 100 guests got to sample the tribal cuisine of the Bhil tribe during the annual three-day conference of the Institute of Rural Management […]
India’s New Transgender Portal Is Caught In Red Tape, Apathy and Bias
Roll call is always traumatising for Veronica Tyagi, 19, a trans woman studying zoology at the Lovely Professional University in Phagwara, Punjab. Every time Tyagi responds […]
Health Workers Can Be Critical In The Campaign Against Domestic Violence
In Gujarat, ASHA workers are being trained to detect and address domestic violence in rural communities. Through early detection and referrals to support systems, these women are crucial in providing support for survivors of abuse.
Desire, Sexuality And Choice: Disabled Indian Women And Queer Persons On Their Experiences
When they were 18, Nu, a non-binary person with physical and speech disabilities, recalls apologising often to their dates: “I’m sorry I walk with a crutch. […]
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 […]
Its Nutrition Schemes In A Mess, Stunting And Wasting Are Rampant Among UP’s Children
A slew of initiatives, some dating back to nearly 50 years, have not succeeded in saving the children of Uttar Pradesh from acute malnourishment, shows an […]
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 […]
Women With Disabilities Have To Constantly Negotiate Between Isolation And Intrusion
Barely a month before her 12th grade board exams, Kavya Mukhija (now 23) had to take a week’s sick leave from school. She had contracted a […]
‘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 India Needs A Targetted And Gendered Education-Job Policy for AIDS Orphans
Tinni* is all of 15 but she is weighed down by many anxieties about her future. She meticulously lists these in her diary: How will she […]
Grave Hunger Crisis Stares India’s Most Marginalised: Hunger Watch Report
Two years into the pandemic, approximately more than two-thirds of Indian households surveyed across 14 states reported experiencing some kind of food insecurity, according to the […]
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 […]
‘We Live, Work In Filth And Are Treated Like Filth:’ Punjab’s Dalit Women Caught In Cycle Of Bonded Work
Tej Kaur, a Dalit Sikh , has been cleaning and collecting cow dung for 30 years. Her walk is steady but the strain and struggle of working […]
Tangled In Red Tape, The Disability ID Card Process Is Steeped With Gender Barriers
Khushi, 18, was elated to get admission to her dream Delhi University college to study English literature. Then, the teen, who was diagnosed with a visual […]
Budget For Adivasi, Dalit Schemes Is Too Little, Gender-Skewed: Report
Schemes that directly target Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) have not received enough allocations in the Union Budget announced on February 1, says a […]
Women, Hit Hardest By Pandemic, Needed A More Dynamic Budget Response
Women have emerged as the single largest category of persons disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. The female labour force in January 2022 is 9.4% smaller than it […]
A Colonial Vestige, Why Marital Rape Exception Has Become Untenable
With the Delhi High Court currently considering petitions on criminialising marital rape in India, it is critical to look at the history, politics and ideology of […]
‘We Are Harassed, Beaten’: Adivasi Women Who Demand Forest Land Rights In Gujarat
“Ye pitai khayi hui auratein hain (These are the women who’ve got beaten up).” That is how we are introduced to Nandaben Nayak, Navliben Nayak and […]
Isolated, Bindu Ammini Fights A Lone Battle Against Orthodoxy
“Pinnottilla (won’t backtrack)”. That message in Malayalam on Bindu Ammini’s WhatsApp profile summarises her life so far. The 43-year-old Dalit activist and lecturer of law has […]
Hijab Ban In Udupi College Points To Growing Communal Fissure
For over three weeks now, eight Muslim students of the Government Pre-University College (PUC) for Girls in Udupi, Karnataka, have been sitting outside their classrooms with […]
Bulli Bai: How State Inaction Has Emboldened Cyber Harassment Of Muslim Women
[Trigger Warning: This article contains some disturbing accounts of harassment and violence against women,which might trigger unwelcome and distressing memories or thoughts. We advise readers to […]
“If something happens to me, Hindutva outfits responsible”: A Dalit Woman Journalist Receives Death Threats
“You will suffer the same fate as Gauri Lankesh,” Meena Kotwal, a Dalit woman journalist and founder of the media platform The Mooknayak ,was told over […]
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 […]
Indian Women Are Exercising More Agency But Urban-Rural Gaps Persist
Indian women are exercising more agency as they participate more in decision making within their households, own and operate bank accounts and mobile phones, and own […]
Dalit and Adivasi Students’ Futures At Stake As Scholarship Schemes Cut
Sujata Lilaka (21), a final year nursing student at YMT Ayurvedic Medical College and Hospital in Kharghar in Panvel district of Maharashtra, collapsed on her way […]
Who Gets To Be A Mother? How Disabled Women Are Absent In The Idea of motherhood
A few weeks ago, Hera* and her toddler stared at the wall in awe. The light that gleamed through the broken glass pieces of the bangles […]
A Dalit women’s collective is fighting for the land it toils on, In Gujarat
Around 400 metres off the Gujarat state highway near Vautha village, along the snake-like curves of the Sabarmati river, lie nearly a hundred acres of land […]
‘How will you manage?’ How Disabled Women Are Forced Into Surgical Procedures
Nearly a decade ago, Smitha*, who lives with cerebral palsy, underwent a surgery to remove fibroids from her uterus. The doctors, at the time, asked if […]
Chhattisgarh Government Is Taking Back Covid Incentives Paid To Mitanins
The Mitanins that BehanBox spoke to have either received no or partial payments since January 2020. Worse, in districts where the women received some money, the state has been recovering part of the compensation paid to them.
India’s Laws Fail To Uphold Abortion Rights Of Women With Disabilities
Arpita Roy Sengupta was 22 years old when her parents, much against her wishes, arranged her marriage in 2007 with Alok*, a deaf person like her. […]
“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 […]
Adivasi Women Bear The Brunt Of Slow Community Forest Rights Approvals In Gujarat
It has been years since the women of Bilmarh, a village on a small hillock some 25 km from Ahwa, the district headquarters of Dang district, […]
Adivasi Women Of Hasdeo Arand Lead a 300 Km March to Save their Forests
“We will not leave our forests and lands for Adani,” thundered Mayawati, a 65 yr old Adivasi woman from Fattepur village in Surguja district in northern […]
Mid-Day Meal Renamed PM POSHAN: New Name, Reduced Budgets
The Union Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN), a modified version […]
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 […]
Mass Sterilisation Camps Violate Norms And Fail Women’s Health Needs In Chhattisgarh
On August 26th, 2021, Dr Jibnus Ekta performed tubectomies on 101 women in a span of seven hours between 8 PM and 3 AM, at a […]
“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 […]
Government Data Shows Inconsistencies In Covid Lockdown Payments To Women
On 26th March 2020, the Union Finance Ministry announced a Rs 1.70 Lakh Crore COVID-19 relief package under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY). The […]
Dalit Women Wait To Till Their Lands In Gujarat
“We were happy — we wouldn’t have to work in others’ fields anymore. We were going to be farmers,” says Daksha Ben Babu Bhai Parmar, a […]
How Kerala is A Long Way Off In Gender Affirmative Healthcare For Trans Persons
Anuradha Govindan of Kannur, 38, waited for thirty years to embrace her identity as a transwoman. Before she was able to live the life she wanted, […]
In Their Fight For Light Rights, Gujarat’s Women Face Long Battles
Kanchan Kolipatel is a threat. It may not be apparent from her short build, soft voice or sorrowful brown eyes. For some members of her family though, […]
Women May Own Land In Gujarat But Men Control It
Shankuben Rabari insists she is 40 years old. She has grey hair, a deeply wrinkled face and arms dotted with the green tattoos distinctive to elderly […]
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 […]
Why the UP Population Bill Harms Women And Marginalised Populations
On July 11th, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, announced the Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilisation and Welfare) Bill as part of the state’s population […]
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), […]
Central Government Disbands Scheme For Dalit And Adivasi Girls’ Education
The Union government has discontinued the National Scheme for Incentive to Girl Child for Secondary Education (NSIGSE) a central government scheme aimed to incentivise education among […]
Dams Displaced And Changed Women’s Lives In Gujarat
If it were not for the pandemic, Raju Ben Vasava’s grandchildren would be at school. But, schools are shut, and Raju Ben, 55, is baby-sitting for […]
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
ASHA workers in Kashmir have been instrumental in countering misinformation and addressing vaccine hesitancy. But chronic delays in honorariums have forced many into debt and financial instability.
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 […]
Despite NALSA, Transgender Persons Absent In Government Policies In West Bengal
Silk (28), a transwoman, was in for a shock as she went to cast her vote in Kalyani, in Nadia district of West Bengal in mid-April […]
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 […]
Mamata Banerjee’s Schemes For Adolescent Girls Bear Fruit But Challenges Remain
“I am determined to go for higher studies. Once I get my Kanyashree money, I will use it to go to college,” says Jahira Khatun. Khatun (17), […]
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 […]
“It Is Imperative To Speak Up For Every Political Prisoner”: Labour Rights Activist Nodeep Kaur
“We need new solidarity between farmers and the working class”, asserts Nodeep Kaur. The 24 year old Dalit labour rights activist was in news recently after […]
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 […]
Rising Caesarean Births Increase Inequity For Women Among Different Social Groups
Caesarean births are on the rise in almost all Indian states, according to latest available data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5). In the southern […]
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 […]
Teen Pregnancies Drop In India, Urban Rural Divide Still High
Teen pregnancies declined in most states and UTs of the country but there continues to be a great divide between rural and urban India according to […]
Indian Women Have Greater Voice in Households But Less Property Ownership
More women are engaging in making decisions within their households, are owning and using bank accounts and mobile phones which reflects greater agency that they are […]
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 […]
Transgender Persons Invisible In India’s Prisons
Transgender persons in India’s prison systems remain invisible among all the vulnerable groups, with their rights and dignity as citizens denied, according to a new report […]
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 […]
Menstrual Interventions Vary Across Countries; Still A Long Way To Go
As India announced one of the harshest lockdowns in the world, among the many groups that remained invisible in the government policy announcements were menstruating persons. […]
