More Women, Adivasis, Dalits and Muslims Died During COVID-19 First Wave

Unlike the rest of the world, women’s life expectancy fell by more years than men’s and that of marginalised communities fell more sharply in the first year of the pandemic. This skew, say, researchers can be traced to social inequalities


How Fertility Preferences Are Killing Women In India

Pregnancy can exacerbate pre existing health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, autoimmune conditions and cancer. But even women in vulnerable health are often pressured to conceive, especially if they have yet to deliver a son


Blockades Are Putting Lives Of Women, Children At Risk In Manipur’s Relief Camps

The blockades mounted by community vigilantes in Manipur make it hard for critical relief material, especially medicines, to reach relief camps. It is the women and the children who suffer the most


In Koraput’s Villages, Women Are Charting A Map For Sustainable Living

Forests, water-bodies, flowers, tubers and bears have disappeared from the biodiversity rich villages of Koraput because of climate change. The women are trying to draft a map to understand the loss and plan ahead for conservation


How This Young Dalit Union Leader Found Her Place In The Union

Gender based violence, caste discrimination and forced labour practices are rife in Indian garment factories. In Tamil Nadu, Theivanai Maruthai, a young Dalit woman trade union leader is trying to change this


Lack of Knowledge, Agency & Finances: Why Women With Cancer Suffer More

This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center When I first met Amrita Singh at Gadge Maharaj Dharamshala, a subsidised hostel for cancer patients close to the […]


Caring and Fierce, Jailed Adivasi Activist Suneeta Pottam Fights Injustice Everyday In Bastar

She is an Adivasi leader, an activist, a farmer, a migrant labourer and an eager student. But the only descriptor the police have for her is ‘Maoist’


Rape Survivors From Nomadic Tribes Get No State Support, Compensation Or Counselling

Stigmatised and doubted when they report sexual violence, women from NT DNT communities are never informed about the resources the state provides to rape survivors


With Or Without Papers, Indian Beauty Workers Find Work, Freedom In Paris

Indian beauticians occupy a cultural niche in the beauty salons of Paris. This provides vulnerable migrant women an entry into a labour market that is otherwise inhospitable to them


Ignorance and Apathy: Why One Indian Woman Dies of Cervical Cancer Every 7 mins

This story is supported by the Pulitzer CenterThe flow of patients is incessant at the outpatient departments of the Gujarat Cancer Research Institute (GCRI). The tertiary […]


In TN’s Garment Factories, Heat Stress Is Leaving Women Workers Sick, Fatigued

The delivery deadlines of fashion brands and suppliers make no allowance for women who are forced to work in peak summer with poor access to water, sanitation and healthcare


Why Few Informal Workers Know Of A Portal, Meant To Ease Their Access To Welfare Schemes

An offline registration process and better outreach could help, say labour rights activists


Why Not Enough Women Are Benefitting From Odisha’s Rural Employment Boost

Odisha’s scheme to increase workdays under MGNREGA has run into systemic challenges, resulting in poor uptake, especially of women workers


Why Haryana’s Young Women Hope Against Hope For A Government Job

The only way to fob off matrimony and find independence is to ensure that you land a government job, say young women at a Rohtak campus


Why A Workers’ Rights Activist Has Jumped Into The Electoral Fray

Aditi, a member of the Revolutionary Workers’ Party of India, has contested elections multiple times at both local and national levels but has never won. She says that winning was never the point


In Maharashtra, Women Activists Of Anti-BJP Front Join Hands ‘For Democracy’

Women activists from all the parties that allied to forge the Maha Vikas Aghadi are campaigning with a never-before show of solidarity


Govt Teaching Jobs: Contractualisation Is Stifling Women’s Aspirations

Job insecurity, random transfers, non-payment of wages, and lack of benefits are hurting contractual teachers, of whom 55% are women


Women’s Collectives Are Pitching Their Own Manifestos To Parties, Candidates

From women belonging to nomadic tribes to cane-cutters, small social and workers’ groups are presenting their charter of demands to politicians and parties contesting the ongoing elections


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


“My Income Hasn’t Changed In Ten Years, And We Have No Savings”

Whether it is putting off an urgent surgery or making do with 250 gm of fish for her family of four once a month, Lakhya Hira Phukon, like most other poorly-paid ASHA workers, has to balance her domestic budget with extreme care


How Caste Smells: Notes From A South Asian Beauty Salon In London

In a London beauty salon run by women from the subcontinent, links between caste, food and odour echo the arguments in the debate in India over a ‘pure vegetarian’ delivery fleet


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 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


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


How Evictions And Resettlement Upend Women’s Working Lives

In Delhi, evictions get you resettlement housing but in areas with little access to job, services or essential facilities. And it is the women who struggle the most with travel and livelihood options


‘Sandeshkhali Shows That Women Are Not Passive Beneficiaries of Welfare Schemes’

The fact that they are resisting exploitation ruptures the popular political image of marginalised women, says political scientist Proma Raychaudhury


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


‘With UCC, The State Has Become A Father Figure That Sanctions Who We Love’

In a wide-ranging interview on the controversial Uniform Civil Code swiftly pushed through by the Uttarakhand government, feminist legal scholar Surbhi Karwa explains how the law has weaponised the language of women’s rights without actually advancing them


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


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


What Justice for Bilkis Bano Means For Feminist Solidarity

Feminist solidarities come in all forms — legal petitions, street protests, Whatsapp conversations, vigils and signature campaigns – as the Bilkis case shows


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’


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 […]


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


‘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


How Young Girls In Small Towns Learn about Sex In The Absence Of Sex Education

With sex education centred around reproductive biology and not consent or pleasure, young girls in small towns rely on their peers, family and the internet


‘’We Are Being Intimidated For Seeking Job Security And Fair Wages’

There are growing instances of criminalisation of women workers protesting for better work conditions and wages. After ASHA, Anganwadi and Mid-Day Meal workers, this is happening to the communications workers at Dial 112 in Uttar Pradesh


Several Schemes, But Bastar’s Adivasi Women Still Remain Highly Anaemic

The acute anaemia crisis in the state is missing from the poll agenda of Chhattisgarh’s political parties


With No Women Legislators, Mizoram Buckles Up For Assembly Elections

Since it attained statehood, women have made for only 4% of all candidates who have contested in Mizoram’s electoral history


Maratha Women’s Voices Missing In Public Discourse Around Reservation

Even the women who are leading pro-reservation rallies in Maharashtra are using the language of patriarchy


Why Odisha’s Adivasi Women Are Trekking Forests And Hills To Collectivise Against A Mining Project

The Sijimali mining project could end up destroying a fragile ecosystem and an entire way of life, say Adivasi women and they are determined to protect them


Why Women In Maharashtra Are Agitated About Ration-To-Cash Switch

Ration cardholders in various parts of Maharashtra are complaining that they are being denied food grains even before cash transfers have been made to their bank accounts


‘Our Movement Will Continue For ASHA Workers In Other States’: Sunita Rani

After a 73-day protest, Haryana’s ASHA workers were able to negotiate for themselves a Rs 2100 hike in their honorarium. This surpasses what is paid by Kerala, the state that pays ASHA workers the highest amount. But the Haryana ASHA workers union is determined to continue the movement for those working in other states too.


For Women Hawkers In Mumbai’s Flower Market, The Day Begins In Jungles

Despite the enervating humidity of the mid-October night in Mumbai, Bhimabai Zunjure, 40, is deftly working a mound of mango leaves into neat bunches. She sits on the bridge leading to the Dadar flower market, and looks up from her work to only sell the leaves which are in high demand for the ongoing Navratri rituals.


73 Days and Counting, ASHA Workers Continue Their Strike For More Pay In Haryana

The frontline health workers have called for a 24-hour strike outside district offices and homes of political leaders


Chhattisgarh: State With Highest Percentage of Women MLAs Gears Up For Elections

Since its first assembly election as a separate state in 2003, Chhattisgarh has seen a steady increase in the number of women contestants as well as the number of elected women representatives


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 […]


How A Trade Unionist Used Art To Power Her Unique Trade Union Journey

Culture is a powerful medium to collectivise and empower the working class, says the veteran union leader


‘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


How A Dalit Women Led Trade Union Made History

In January 2021, when Jayasre Kathiravel, a 20-year old employee of a garment factory in Tamil Nadu’s Dindigul district was sexually assaulted and murdered by the […]


‘I Am Furious With How State, Politicians Neglect The Poor And Marginalised’

In the bastis of east Mumbai, trade union leader Sangeeta Kamble is an ally and friend of the


Indian Women Have No Say In Their Own Healthcare. Here Is How That Can Be Changed

Guwahati: One evening, my partner and I were comparing notes after work. “I had to explain the prognosis of a female patient to her next-door neighbour,” […]


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


In Their Fight For Space, Female Vendors Deal With Everyday Violence

Violent evictions from streets, abuse and brutality are routine for street vendors. A law to protect their rights suffers from flawed implementation


‘Digital Art Gave Me Control Over My Work As A Queer Disabled Artist’

Digital illustrator Ritika Gupta talks about the significance of the digital medium for neurodivergent artists and why community networks for disabled artists must thrive


Aaram Ki Jagah: Tracing Leisure Spaces For Raghubir Nagar’s Women Vendors

In this, the third in the series ‘Placing Work, Mapping Places’, we explore the many reasons why Raghubir Nagar’s women hawkers associate leisure with the safety of places of worship


‘Queer Affirmative Medical Education Should Begin At School, Not College’

Medical education has remained largely binary, focusing on male/female bodies, heterosexuality and Cis-gendered lives. There are nascent efforts now to make medical education – and the […]


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


‘Life Is Not Over For Trans Persons Over 50, I Want To Use Theatre To Say This’

Theatre can be a powerful, joyful medium for the trans gender community to make its voice heard


Love Should Be A Radical Tool Of Rebellion Against Caste

A trainer who works with marginalised youth groups believes that Dalit women in intercaste relationships do not get the respect they deserve