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
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
‘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
India’s AI Boom Runs On Women’s Unpaid Care And Cognitive Labour
In colonial data factories, the knowledge of women and young people is being systematically devalued and aspirations never allowed to scale
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
Where Should Survivors Of Gender Violence Go: A Case of Two One Stop Centres in India
The set-up of these support hubs significantly impacts the quality of services they offer
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
‘We Will Keep Up The Fight So There Will Be No More Bhopals’
It is Bhopal’s women who have led the 41-year-long campaign for justice for the survivors of the gas tragedy, not for just clean water and medical care but also labour rights and corporate accountability
BehanVox: The Bhopal Gas Tragedy Lives On
This week in BehanVox: a feminist internet, SC offers relief measures for booth level officers, and more
In The Age Of AI, The Promise Of A Feminist Internet
A digital rights activist talks about the history of the Indian internet, the possibility of feminist AI regulations, and how we can centre the right to pleasure
Bhopal Gas Tragedy: The Disaster Lives On In The Women Of Bhopal 41 Years Later
The industrial catastrophe did not end the morning after it killed and sickened thousands, it continues to destroy lives – through contamination and the physical and mental trauma passed across generations
BehanVox: Who Benefits From India’s New Labour Codes?
This week in BehanVox: Assam passes Bill against polygamy, the barely functional Delhi Commission for Women, and more
Postscript: 41 Years On, Why Bhopal Matters
In Postscript, we reflect on the editorial choices we make and abandon. Plus all things behind the scenes
Postcards #9: From Protest Parties To Riotous Angry Women
This month in Postcards: notes on Maharashtra’s Lok Kala, Shankar’s priceless children’s books, and more
BehanVox: A Marginal Rise In Bihar’s Women MLAs
This week in BehanVox: the strange world of technocapitalism, our Laadli wins, and more
‘Women Are Literally And Figuratively On The Outskirts Of The Startup Economy’
In BehanBox Talkies, we explore ideas through the lens of scholars. In this installment, we interview academic Hemangini Gupta about the myths of meritocracy, flexibility, and innovation in technocapitalism
BehanVox: Delhi’s Annual Ritual Of Lethal Winter Smog
Also in this week’s BehanVox: the absence of Muslim women in Bihar’s politics, Delhi HC’s ruling on intercaste unions, and more
Why Meghalaya’s Women Seed-Guardians Are Resisting Commercial Hybridisation
A women-led community seed bank in rural Meghalaya is using traditional knowledge of seed preservation to prevent the extinction of local strains of climate-resilient seeds
Few Muslim Women Candidates In Bihar Where Women Are A Strong Electoral Force
Parties in Bihar have been frugal in giving tickets to Muslim women. Is it the pressure of coalition politics, they ask
BehanVox: A Tectonic Shift In Women’s Sports
This week in BehanVox: Mexico’s president molested in public, Zohran Mamdani’s all-women transition team, and more
In An Arid Pocket Of Rajasthan, Women Are Conserving Vanishing Grasslands
In a unique initiative, the women are harvesting and saving up grass seeds to ensure that their livelihoods as farmers is protected
BehanVox: The Invisibility Of Care Work
This week in BehanVox: India’s stunning win in the Women’s World Cup semi-final, a new cooperative taxi app, and more
‘We Are Conditioned To Believe Care Work Is Innate To Women’
In BehanBox Talkies, we explore ideas through the lens of scholars. In this installment, we interview economist Neetha N about how caste, patriarchy and capitalism devalue care work in India — and what the state must do
BehanVox: In Bihar, It’s Raining Cash Schemes For Women
This week in BehanVox: Japan’s first woman prime minister, Ladki Bahin Yojana scam, and more
Postscript: Learning To Care About ‘Care’ As India’s Future Of Work
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter with all things behind the scenes. Hello Behans, Last year, three Anganwadi workers from Maharashtra — Rohini Harale, Anjanabai, and Sageetha Jadhav […]
Why Chhattisgarh’s Healthworkers Are Still Protesting, A Year After Promised Change
Lack of clarity and delayed wages has plagued the state’s community healthcare worker programme for over a year now. Workers are leading a fragmented fight in demanding better wages and regularisation into NHM
BehanVox: Keeping Bonbibi Alive
This week in BehanVox: victim blaming in the Bengal rape case, 20 years of the RTI Act, and more
Postcards #8: From Marathi Cinema To A Vigil For Palestine
This month in Postcards: a strangers’ choir, Jyoti Dogra’s transcendent theatre, losing and finding Ghalib, and more
As Climate Change Redraws Sundarbans, Its Women Preserve A Critical Cultural Link
A theatre troupe led by women is holding on to the folk and ritual traditions linked to the Bonbibi cult particular to this fragile delta region
BehanVox: The Grey World Of Data Workers
This week in BehanVox: Karnataka’s menstrual leave policy, AI girlfriends, and more
Living In A Ghost World, These Data Workers Make the Internet Possible
The dispersed nature of their work, opaque AI supply chains and deficient policy have invisibilised millions of digital gig workers in India
BehanVox: How Madhya Pradesh Women Are Uprooting An Invasive Species
This week in BehanVox: caste bias in OpenAI models, Manipuri weightlifter Mirabai Chanu’s silver streak, and more
Once Swallowed By Lantana Menace, Women Are Reclaiming Forests, Lands And Foods
In Mandla, women are using collective action, traditional knowledge, and sheer determination to restore biodiversity, revive food systems, and rebuild livelihoods
BehanVox: What Homes Means To Women, From Kashmir to Karnataka
This week in BehanVox: the anxiety of Kasarkod’s women fishers, Trump’s unproven claims on autism and tylenol, and more
Homes Marked ‘X’, Honnavar’s Women Fishers Live In A State Of Constant Dread
A long campaign against an upcoming port project has disrupted the lives of Kasarkod’s women fishers, leaving them in a constant state of anxiety and uncertainty
In the Line of Fire: How Women in Kashmir Navigate War, Memory and Survival
Home is a fragile and tenuous idea for many Kashmiri women who live in vulnerable districts that can be shelled out of existence in seconds
BehanVox: What Explains Karnataka’s Rush For Port Projects?
This week in BehanVox: why women gig workers struggle to unionise, Delhi’s concerning sex ratio, gender pay gap, and more
Postcards #7: From Faiz’s Love Poems to ‘The Thursday Murder Club’
This month in Postcards: notes about grieving, friendships new and old, hearty khichdi, and more
Platform Work Unions Are Fighting Gender And Caste Bias, Clearing New Paths To Resistance
Gig workers are blending digital tools, community ties and the old spirit of unions to reimagine labour movements without gender and caste biases
How Karnataka’s Aggressive Port Push Is Jeopardising Lands, Livelihoods Of Fishers
Karnataka’s aggressive port expansion displaces fisher communities, destroys livelihoods, and endangers coastal ecosystems, sparking powerful resistance led by women
BehanVox: Yes, Trump’s Tariffs Hurt Women More Than Others
This week in BehanVox: the rise of feminist street theatre, Nepal’s anti-corruption protests, and more
Om Swaha: The Play That Birthed Feminist Street Theatre In India
Excerpt from the book: Walking Out, Speaking Up: Feminist Street Theatre In India
Why Trump’s Tariffs Are A Feminist Issue
Women make up for a significant portion of the workforce in India’s four key US export sectors. From long-term wage cuts to increased debt burden, they will be most affected by the 50% tariffs
BehanVox: Unionising In The Age of Digital Work
This week in BehanVox: the Adivasi women in Odisha reviving natural dyeing, the promise of a woman superhero franchise with ‘Lokah’, and more
Why Unions Find It Hard To Forge Worker Solidarity In Platform Companies
In the platform economy, time is scarce, worker interactions are discouraged, and protests met with punishment. The idea of both union and unity are threatened
Colours From Koraput Forests And The Adivasi Women Reviving Natural Dyeing
A slow and painstaking craft once linked the Adivasi communities of Odisha to their surrounding forests. It nearly died but now a group of young women are piecing it back together
BehanVox: Trump’s Tariffs Are Unravelling The Lives of Women Textile Workers
This week in BehanVox: stories of women bringing water back to a Himalayan villages, an Urban Company workers’ strike in Bengaluru, and more
Postscript: From Detentions to Trade Wars, How We Centred Women’s Stories
In Postscript, we reflect on the editorial choices we make and abandon. Plus all things behind the scenes
BehanVox: The Exodus Of Gurugram’s Domestic Workers
This week in BehanVox: the histories of caste census in India, Karnataka’s historic gig worker legislation, and more
The Women Who Brought Water Back To A Himalayan Village
In Salga, a Himalayan village once crippled by water scarcity, women revived dying springs with spades and science. Yet, they remain excluded from land ownership and decision-making, revealing deep gender gaps in environmental governance
Postcards #6: From Witnessing Charles Bridge in Prague To Watching ‘Ullozhukku’
This month in Postcards: notes about finding community in neighbourhoods, ‘Tees’ and thinking about loved ones, and the courage to hope in a flailing democracy
When Employer Solidarity Failed Gurugram’s Domestic Workers
The few voices that spoke of the flight of threatened Bengali-speaking workers out of cities mostly complained of the inconvenience it caused. No one rallied for us, say workers
‘Census 2027 Should Enumerate Caste Power Alongside Caste Apartheid’
In BehanBox Talkies, we explore ideas through the lens of scholars. In this installment, we interview scholar Trina Vithayathil about the histories of counting castes in India.
BehanVox: The Long Road ASHA Workers Have Travelled Since 2005
This week in BehanVox: a theatrical tribute to a trans actor in Chennai, sanitation workers’ protest, vote chori allegations, and more
Remembering Dayamma: In Grief, Celebration And Protest
In Chennai, a theatre festival paid a moving tribute to a beloved trans elder and stage stalwart, pushing boundaries and transforming the stage into a space of resistance and queer joy
‘Day And Night We See the Problems of ASHA Workers And Women in Our Society’
An ASHA worker and facilitator tells BehanBox about the women frontline workers’ early challenges, gender and caste dynamics at play, and the art of building a movement
BehanVox: Revising The Idea Of An Indian Citizen
This week in BehanVox: how Arunachal’s women healers are saving plants from extinction, China’s crackdown on female erotica writers, and more
Postscript: A Two-Week Pause In Our Programming
In Postscript, we reflect on the editorial choices we make and abandon. Plus all things behind the scenes
How Arunachal’s Women Healers Are Conserving Rare, Endangered Plants
Traditional Adi healing practices are based on the use of medicinal herbs but climate change is driving these plants to extinction. Here is how a few women healers are making a difference
In Bihar’s Border Districts, Bahus From Nepal Fear Loss Of Citizenship After SIR
There is hardly any Bihar village bordering Nepal which does not have a bahu from Nepal. The women are now worried that the ongoing SIR could impact their citizenship rights in India
BehanVox: Sex Workers Fight For Their Rights In Mumbai’s Historic Red Light District
This week in BehanVox: Haryana’s intrusive new IVF mandate, the sexist world of video gaming in China, and more
Postcards #5: From An Ambedkarite Jalsa To James Baldwin’s First Lines
This month in Postcards: notes about Catan, scribbled-out games of FLAMES, crime and companionship in Sarah Paretsky’s world, and more
‘Raids Meant To Scare Us Into Leaving, Clear Kamathipura For Redevelopment’: Sex Workers
Mumbai’s historic red light district sits in a premium locality and the sex workers who live and work here have no documents to establish ownership of property
BehanVox: An ASHA Worker Tells Us What Care And Community Mean To Her
This week in BehanVox: a data-driven analysis of India’s One Stop Centres, mapping Delhi through the lens Dalit-Bahujan queer individuals, and more
Data On Violence – What It Tells Us And How It Can Be Used Effectively
One Stop Centres for victim-survivors of gender violence can use their own data to strengthen response services
‘Our Work Went From Local to Global – That Is ASHA Workers’ Biggest Milestone’
Netradipa, an ASHA worker and union leader from Kolhapur, Maharashtra, recalls stories of how she has gone beyond the call of duty and become a friendly face of a distant health system
BehanVox: Where Is The Money For Heat Action?
This week in BehanVox: a natural farming initiative in Andhra Pradesh, Kolkata rape case, India’s own manosphere, and more
Women Like Bhanumati Are Powering Andhra’s Natural Farming Model
Amid chronic drought, debt, and landlessness, women in Anantapur are using natural farming to reshape agriculture, economies, and gender roles – but face mounting challenges.
Why India’s Heat Plans And Funding Must Go Beyond Crisis Response
Despite rising temperatures, India’s fragmented approach to heat financing leaves informal workers vulnerable and solutions stuck in reactive mode. We spoke to experts to understand the politics and possibilities of a streamlined framework
BehanVox: A Brief History Of Who Governs India’s Forests
This week in BehanVox: stories of women agri entrepreneurs cultivating forest foods in Tamil Nadu, ‘rescue raids’ displace sex workers in Mumbai’s Kamathipura, and more
Postscript: We’re Taking the Historical Route With News Stories. Here’s Why
In Postscript, we reflect on the editorial choices we make and abandon. Plus all things behind the scenes
In Drought-Hit Karur, One Woman Builds A Climate-Resilient Food Forest
As climate change alters agriculture and the lives of people, women like Saroja Kumar lead efforts to craft resilience solutions such as food forests
How India’s Forest Governance Is Increasingly Loaded Against Forest Dwelling Communities
From Uttarakhand to Karnataka, forest officials are violently evicting forest dwelling communities, disregarding their rights to the forests and its resources. The crux of the problem lies in the way India governs its forests
BehanVox: To Find A Hostel Of One’s Own
This week in BehanVox: women in Kochi’s coastal villages contend with tidal flooding, UK parliament votes to decriminalise abortion, and more
Postcards #4: From a Satyashodhak Ceremony In Nagpur To a Quiet Rebellion In An Iranian Film
This month in Postcards: notes on relishing phalse berries, recipes for sukat chutney and pulusu, Celine Song’s cinema, and more
Mapping Tidal Floods: How Women in Coastal Kochi Villages Are Building Climate Resilience
In the flood-prone coastal villages of Kochi, as rising sea levels threaten homes and livelihoods, women are creating community-driven solutions to the climate emergency that the state is only beginning to acknowledge
Number Of Working Women’s Hostels Declining, Funds Underused, Show Government Data
A deep dive into government hostel schemes reveals a drop in numbers, falling funds, and missed opportunities to support women migrants
BehanVox: The Curious Tale of Central Government’s Intercaste Marriage Scheme
This week in BehanVox: India’s gender gap widens, Umar Khalid writes about hope and captivity from Tihar Jail, and more
Intercaste Marriage Support Scheme, Key To Social Change, Is Floundering
It was an incentive to promote social integration and support intercaste couples who often deal with familial and social opposition. Now the Centre has put a stop to the the scheme
BehanVox: Mallipoo, Mupathu, Mupathu! The Lives of Chennai’s Women Flowersellers
This week in BehanVox: a unique survey from Kerala on gender based violence, the comeback of Tamil singer Chinmayi, and more
Inside The Lives, Labour And Trials Of Chennai’s Women Flowersellers
Hawking flowers at almost every street corner, women are the most visible faces of the flower business in Tamil Nadu. But they occupy the last and least profitable rung of the trade even as they battle precarity, heat, exhaustion and eviction
Lessons From Kudumbashree’s Gender Crime Mapping Survey
In Kerala, the grassroots women’s programme for empowerment and livelihood, Kudumbashree, is mapping gender-based violence at the panchayat level. Despite its methodological limitations, it can help design panchayat level interventions
