Diversion Of Forests Hits Adivasi Women The Hardest. Here Is Why
In 15 of the 86 constituencies where the general elections will be held tomorrow, more than 30% of voters are impacted by the Forest Rights Act. We look at how the loss of forests impacts the lives and livelihoods of Adivasi women
Those Killed Include Innocents, Say Adivasis Of Recent Anti-Naxal Operation In Bastar
A fortnight before polling in Bastar, security forces killed 13 persons in what it called the biggest anti-Naxal operation since 2017. But at least two of those were Adivasi villagers, one of them a young deaf girl
Rural Jobs Scheme Has Yet To Benefit The Most Marginalised Women Of Maharashtra
Our investigation across eight villages showed just one project available under MGNREGS, forcing women to migrate as far as Odisha in search of work
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
How Young Women In India Are Carving Space For Themselves In Politics
They don’t helicopter into villages and vamoose. We speak to young women who are political newcomers on how they ensure constant interaction with people
In Govt’s Maternal Health Scheme, Big Gap Between Intent And Reality
Initiatives to make the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana more effective has not quite worked out the way it should, we find
Justice And Normalcy Are Far Dreams For Us, Say Hate Crimes Survivors
These are stories of women whose lives and livelihoods remain ruptured months after they faced sectarian violence
Why Repealing Assam Muslim Marriage Act May Do Little To Empower Women
It will not curb child marriage but may complicate registrations, say experts
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
Cost Of Maternal Healthcare Is Pushing Families Into Debt Trap In Maharashtra
Few women in impoverished packets of rural Maharashtra are aware of government welfare schemes or do not have the documents to access them
In A Forest Amidst Mumbai’s Concrete Jungle, Adivasi Women Are Demanding Their Right To Shelter And Dignity
An ambitious road project is likely to swallow many Adivasi homes in Aarey forest, already the site of many other development projects
Why This Year’s Interim Gender Budget Is Riddled with Ambiguity
The lack of clarity on exclusion of schemes in previous years, arbitrary increases in scheme allocations, and mismatch in scheme performance and corresponding allocations are concerns
Budget 2024: Empty Declarations, Insufficient Allocations For Key Schemes
Schemes aimed at women did not get the big push they needed, we find
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
As Ram Mandir Euphoria Peaks, I, A Young Muslim Woman, Am Filled With Dread
In the public discourse around the Mandir, the Muslim voice has been absent. Here is why the community has chosen numbness over articulation
Why A Dalit Woman Is Demanding A Cremation Ground For Dalits In Her Village
In rural Maharashtra, landless Dalit families often struggle to find space to cremate their dead. Pramila Zombade wants that to change
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
How ASHA Workers’ Overwhelming Workload Impacts India’s Healthcare System
The relentless cycle of field and paperwork is affecting their mental health, leaving them prone to errors
Why Maharashtra’s Anganwadi Workers Stir Is Spiralling Into A Livelihood Crisis
Faced with termination and loss of salary, striking Anganwadi workers in the state are living in fear and anxiety
Why Adivasis Of Hasdeo Aranya Are Back On The Streets, Again
Protests to protect one of India’s largest forested corridors has been ongoing for over the past one decade
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
Their Roles Ambiguous, ASHA Workers Fight For The Right To Contest Elections
There is state pressure to dissuade frontline health workers from fighting for political office even though they are still hired as ‘honorary volunteers’
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
When Women Became The Main Spectacle In Manipur’s Civil Conflict
Sangi Duhlian is constantly browsing her phone for updates on the Gaza war on social media. She is anxious and triggered by the war in the […]
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 […]
Why The Digital Dream Soured Quickly For Anganwadi Workers
Anganwadi workers says their role has gone from deliverers of schemes to being data collectors for the government
“50, Fat and Frumpy: Our bodies deserve respect”
In conversation with playwright Jyoti Dogra, whose new play Maas discusses patriarchy, capitalism and our bodies
Freedom, Enterprise And Sisterhood: What Women Find At Chaityabhumi
The annual Mahaparinirvan Din means many things for the women who throng the annual event in Mumbai to mark Dr.Ambedkar’s life and work
Kabaddi Means More Than A Game For Women Wage Workers Of Rural Maharashtra
A unique sports event gives women from poor homes the chance to defy gender norms and find sisterhood in play
Why I Want To Put Begamati Zubaan, The Vivid Urdu Of Zenanas, On Stage
Women’s Urdu was pungent, it drew from the world around, and it makes for great theatre
‘Data Breach Affects Women More, Has Chilling Effect On Their Online Participation’
Data breaches not only violate digital boundaries, but also have real-world consequences that disproportionately affect women and marginalised groups, says Radhika Roy of the Internet Freedom Foundation
After Recent Elections, Women’s Share Increases In 4 State Assemblies
Two in five women fielded by major parties won in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Rajasthan and Telangana elections
Why Bastar’s Young Adivasi Women Struggle For A University Education
It is difficult for young Adivasis to leave home and head for neighbouring towns or far metros to join universities. For the women, these challenges are multiplied by fear of the city and social biases
Despite New Statehood, Female Representation In Telangana Lags Behind
In the south, Telangana has one of the lowest shares of female MLAs, doing worse than its sibling state Andhra Pradesh
Why The Adivasi Protest Against Mining In Gadchiroli Shows No Sign Of Flagging
Intensification of mining activity has upset the tribal groups for whom the Surjagarh Hill, forest and water bodies are sacred
Women Win In Tougher Poll Fights In Rajasthan, Yet Don’t Get Enough Chances
In the last two decades of their rivalry in Rajasthan, only around 10% of the candidates picked by the BJP and Congress have been women
Why Homi, 15, Has No Option But Work At A Mine In Rajasthan, 7 Days A Week
Rural women have few work options in the state and poverty does not allow them to study either
Why Lives And Deaths Of Trans Persons Remain Underreported, Undocumented
Procedural issues around self-identification mean that the real numbers are rarely reflected in official data, show studies
For These Women Running Public Toilets In Mumbai, The Workday Lasts 15 Exhausting Hours
On World Toilet Day, here are the stories of two women who struggle to keep sanitation complexes in the slums of Mumbai clean and safe
In Rural Madhya Pradesh, Women Struggle To Access Govt Schemes Aimed At Them
The Madhya Pradesh government is going all out to woo women with special schemes. But how do the women see this outreach, we ask
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
Malnutrition, Poor Rural Public Health Infrastructure Behind Infant and Maternal Deaths In Maharashtra
Sunita Sahebrao Dandekar (28), a Dalit woman from Kharvad village in Hingoli district in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra had to be rushed to Dr. Shankarrao […]
‘Buses Don’t Stop For Us, We Are Shamed For Free Travel’: Delhi’s Women Commuters
Up to 80% women complain that buses drive past them and they have to frequently deal with snide remarks about freeloading
Does the size of an organisation have any link to the share of women it employs?
Key Highlights Firms with a larger number of total employees had a higher proportion of female workers For every 1 percent additional workers firms hire, the […]
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
What Beauty Parlours In Jharkhand Villages Tell Us About Gender, Caste And Hope
Parlours are small pockets of rebellion and assertion where girls and young women find solidarity in small towns and villages
How Assam’s Human-Elephant Conflict Is Impacting Women’s Physical And Mental Health
When entire fields and homes are flattened by elephant movement, it is the women, as primary caregivers, who deal with acute anxiety and deprivation
We’re Humiliated, Denied Reduced Bus Fares For Women, Say Trans women In Maharashtra
Every time they ask for the concessional tickets for women on state buses, trans women are asked to furnish gender and identity proof
‘Anything Can Happen’. Why Kuki Women In Assam’s Camps Fear Returning To Manipur
Resources are sparse at this refugee camp in Silchar but women from Manipur who have sheltered here with their families do not want to return home yet
How The Amendments to Karnataka Factories Act Will Impact Women Garment Workers
Karnataka’s Factories Act amendments raise concerns about worker welfare, women’s rights, and need for international standard compliance
Anger, Anxiety, Loneliness: How Haryana’s Communal Violence Looks Through The Gender Lens
Poverty, injustice and insecurity have added to the vulnerability of the women affected by the communal violence in Haryana
Women Waste Pickers Jeopardise Their Lives For As Little As Rs 100 A Day
In July, a woman rag picker died as her foot caught in a waste truck during a desperate scramble to find valuable scrap. Her story reveals the highly hazardous conditions in which waste pickers work for a pittance
Gender Based Violence Among Adivasis Comes From Long Years Of Paternalist, Upper Caste Administration
‘Modern’ institutions like schools, colleges, hospitals, media and the district and state administrations have played a big role in shaping the gender dynamics among Adivasis
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.
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
Punjab’s Free Bus Scheme Has Changed Women’s Lives But Its Future Is Shaky
The number of women commuters has doubled but with no funds, public bus networks are stretched, leading to overcrowding and disrupted schedules
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
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
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
Sleep And Night Time Economy In A Street Vendor Neighbourhood
What are the peculiarities of sleep and rest in the life of a female street vendor who works in a market that opens before dawn? Can alternate ideas of urban planning help reimagine her life, ease her anxieties? We return to Delhi’s Raghubir Nagar for answers
Women Bear The Biggest Cost Of Climate Disasters In Coastal Bangladesh
Frequent cyclones and erratic floods are increasing saltwater contamination, leading to health hazards and distressing living conditions
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
Despite growing climate risk, livestock insurance is out of women farmers’ reach
Government policies oblivious to gender and caste inequities leave women livestock farmers from lowered communities without economic safety nets.
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
Five Years On, Odisha’s Transgender Persons Yet To Get Land Under State Scheme
A range of issues – state apathy, knotty conditions, local hostility – hobble the programme
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
Homes Razed, Tughlaqabad’s Women Agitate For Rehabilitation Rights
The bulldozers arrived with no notice, women allege, leaving them stranded without shelter or belongings
Why Punjab, Not Kerala Or Gujarat, Has A ‘Missing’ Women Problem
Data debunks false claims about ‘missing women’, the real problem lies elsewhere
How Familial Hostility, Binary Laws Hinder Property Rights Of Transgender Persons
Gendered laws and emotional issues between transgender persons and their often estranged families are problem areas
Jaharveer Mela In Mathura Is An Assertion of Dalit Faith, Cultural Identity
The Jaharveer festival is an important event in the life of Mathura’s Valmikis, marking their distinct culture and identity
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
Seen-Unseen
In cities like Lucknow and Varanasi, multiple barriers prevent queer women from accessing safe mental healthcare. Some of them turn to their community for comfort.
A data story on female child marriage in India
The authors use a novel dataset based on NFHS-5 to present data highlights on child marriage in parliamentary constituencies across India. They trace the prevalence of female child marriage and the extent to which the situation has improved in certain states over the years. They discuss the issue of underreporting and the need for a holistic approach in empowering women to ensure a reduction in female child marriage rates.
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.
The 19th Century Woman Who Challenged the Image of Indian Coupledom
Historian Uma Chakravarti on Pandita Ramabai’s radical photographs of conjugality and its discontents.
‘Untouchable’ After Birth, Uttarakhand’s New Mothers Are Left In Stressful Isolation
At a time when women urgently need rest, support and monitoring, ritual segregation can be dangerous
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
Long shadows in the sunset
With limited support structures, India’s LGBTQIA+ community has to work harder to plan for ageing and infirmity
Why Women Stringers Are Missing From Telugu Media In Small Towns
The job is too ‘dangerous’, ‘dirty’ for women, say male-dominated newsrooms
Indian Insurers Are Denying Health Cover For Intellectual, Developmental Disabilities
Despite clear guidelines, insurance companies in India exclude those with intellectual and developmental disabilities from coverage
No Place Like Home
Transgender persons in India constantly negotiate their identities with the spaces they grow up in, live in, or move through in search of a home within and outside.
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. […]
Women Bear The Emotional Burden Of Kashmir’s Infertility Crisis
Aiman Bhat, 39, describes herself as hanth, a pejorative in Kashmiri for childless women. She is an accomplished young woman with a doctorate in humanities but […]
Three Lessons On Equality From Supreme Court’s Hijab Verdict
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
How India’s Falling Maternal Death Rate Masks Acute Regional, Social Disparities
The steady fall in India’s maternal mortality rate over the last two decades glosses over significant variations between states, districts and social groups, show data. Poverty, […]
Why Surrogates Are Still Passive Deliverers Of Service, With Few Rights
India’s new laws on surrogacy, meant to prevent exploitative practices, still do not fully recognise the surrogate’s rights to full economic, medical, legal, and physical protection, […]
How Forced Evictions Are Pushing Women To The Edge Of Precarity
For two years now Shabana Khatoon has been living under a tarpaulin sheet near the Dhobi Ghat in south Delhi’s Jamia Nagar. For 20 years, this […]
Why Courts Must Stop Fixating On The ‘Modesty’ Of Survivors Of Sexual Violence
The use of the archaic idea of feminine “modesty” in the interpretation of the penal laws on sexual violence is regressive because it undermines the violation […]
Why Delhi’s Sex Ratio Ranks Among The Worst In India
The sex ratio of the National Capital Territory of Delhi has been consistently skewed over three decades, shows a BehanBox analysis. The reason for this lies […]
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 […]
‘Over 80% Of Nomadic Homes Have No Toilets, 70% None Near Them’
With no attention paid to their sanitation needs, India’s nomadic communities are forced to either defecate in the open or struggle for access to unsafe and […]
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 […]
Why India’s Abortion Law Still Lacks Principles Of Reproductive Justice
India’s abortion law has evolved over 50 years to become seemingly progressive but it is still not rooted in the idea of reproductive justice, say historians […]
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 […]
Explainer: Patriarchal Rules Continue To Decide Parenthood In Official Documents
After her undergraduate studies, Tara* decided to take an education loan to pursue a Master’s degree. In her loan application forms she named her mother as […]