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
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
This week in BehanVox: a democratic experiment, radical feminist ideas in Telugu magazines, and more
They argued against unpaid carework, rules of wifely conduct, and the tyranny of faith
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
This week in BehanVox: killer heatwaves across the country, an ASHA worker talks about caste discrimination, and more
Women form the backbone of Indian agriculture, yet remain unrecognised as farmers. Without land titles, they are excluded from vital schemes and support, exposing a deep gap between policy and reality
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
Women lose out on wages and political identity as they navigate a Kafkaesque, patriarchal SIR process in West Bengal
Despite visible gains in representation, women in West Bengal’s Assembly remain sidelined from real power—underrepresented in key committees, excluded from leadership roles, and further marginalised by caste and community divides.
This week in BehanVox: protests and detentions of Noida workers, Vijay’s stardom in Tamil Nadu, and more
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
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?
This week in BehanVox: the delimitation push, love in the time of caste, and more
This month in Postcards: Asha Bhonsle serenades, Hans Zimmer soars, and more
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
‘Mhow’ by Kailash Wankhede talks of the radical possibilities of solidarity and consciousness in intercaste unions
The SIR exercise left queer voters with two options – revisit the natal homes they fled early to find relevant documents or give up on their right to vote
The SIR, which relies on the presentation of documents and legacy linkage, has disproportionately excluded women from Muslim, SC and ST communities, reveals new gender-disaggregated data
This week in BehanVox: feminist analysis of Keralam and Assam’s manifestos, women’s reservation bill re-enters the Parliament, and more
Women, whose homes and businesses were decimated by a landslide two years ago, are running a vociferous campaign to have their debts waived
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
This week in BehanVox: an interview with Kenyan data workers, SIR-led gender skew, and more. Plus: come join our FEN!
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
This week in BehanVox: resistance against the new Trans Bill, notes from an ASHA worker in Kashmir, and more
Shaheena Bano talks about navigating political uncertainties, curbs on mobility, public apathy, and a health department that does not dignify her work
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
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 […]
This month in Postcards: from Delhi to Chennai, women leaders talk about solidarity, friendship, and struggles that deserve to be documented
I would not have come out had I not had my hand held metaphorically by the dozens of trans people. This community, its very existence and the embrace of its solidarity now stands threatened.
‘Capital expenditure’, ‘development’, ‘welfare delivery’ but not ‘care work’ or ‘domestic workers’. Care remains a hidden infrastructure in the Budget, receiving platitudes and not long-term reforms, experts say
This week in BehanVox: inside the chikankaari industry, asylum for Iranian women’s football, and more
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, tonsure is often a declaration of protest, autonomy and resistance to patriarchal beauty norms
This week in BehanVox: notes from a Bahujan social worker, a woman leader’s history from the 1940s, and more
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 […]
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.
This week in BehanVox: the Kerala Story 2 controversy, gig workers’ childcare needs, and more. Plus: we’re hiring!
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’
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
This week in BehanBox: budget concerns among SC and ST communities, a casteist boycott in Odisha, and more
This month in Postcards: Music that lives within us, hope in saturated tones, lessons from the intertidal and more.
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
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
This week in BehanVox: the care work behind AI machines, Lakhpati didi promises, and more
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’
Overall allocations towards women and girls and their utilisations do not seem to show any qualitative change
In colonial data factories, the knowledge of women and young people is being systematically devalued and aspirations never allowed to scale
This week in BehanVox: the Epstein list grows, life after bail for Bhima Koregaon accused, and more
Cuts to the MGNREGA funds impact the most vulnerable – rural women in the informal work sector from mostly poor states
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
This week in BehanVox: inside India’s nuclear tech utopia, Savarna anxiety over UGC bill, and more
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
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
This week in BehanVox: digital exiles, AR Rahman’s ‘communal’ remark, and more
This month in Postcards: remembering the mellifluous Nirmala Devi, how to slowmaxx romance, and poetry in times of violence
Gig workers are compelled to take on tasks even during severe pollution episodes, without hazard pay, adjusted shifts or protection gear
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
This week in BehanVox: an Irula family’s fight for justice, Gauri Lankesh’s murder accused wins Maharashtra civic polls, and more
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 […]
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
This week in BehanVox: AI misogyny, gig worker strike, MGNREGA’s repeal impacting women and Adivasi farmers, and more
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
The dismantling of the rural livelihood scheme will impact legal guarantee of employment, fair wages and accessible work – all critical for women’s rights
Our last edition of Postscript! We reflect on the editorial choices we make and abandon. Plus all things behind the scenes
A bucket list of stories that we will carry with us in 2026
As large infrastructure projects like the Coastal Road destroy livelihoods and homes in Mumbai bastis, affected women resist.
This week in BehanVox: Nitish Kumar’s boorish act, platform workers’ exposure to air pollution, 250 years of Jane Austen, and more
This month in Postcards: notes on time travelling to Indus Valley, the magic of used books, and more
Dipa Sinha, an economist, explains the perils of centralisation and funding constraints under the new VB-GRAMG Bill
The set-up of these support hubs significantly impacts the quality of services they offer
This week in BehanVox: Bhopal’s women lead the 41-year-long campaign for justice, Donald Trump targets female journalists, and more
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
This week in BehanVox: a feminist internet, SC offers relief measures for booth level officers, and more
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
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
This week in BehanVox: Assam passes Bill against polygamy, the barely functional Delhi Commission for Women, and more
In Postscript, we reflect on the editorial choices we make and abandon. Plus all things behind the scenes
This month in Postcards: notes on Maharashtra’s Lok Kala, Shankar’s priceless children’s books, and more
This week in BehanVox: the strange world of technocapitalism, our Laadli wins, and more
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
Also in this week’s BehanVox: the absence of Muslim women in Bihar’s politics, Delhi HC’s ruling on intercaste unions, and more
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
Parties in Bihar have been frugal in giving tickets to Muslim women. Is it the pressure of coalition politics, they ask
This week in BehanVox: Mexico’s president molested in public, Zohran Mamdani’s all-women transition team, and more
In a unique initiative, the women are harvesting and saving up grass seeds to ensure that their livelihoods as farmers is protected
This week in BehanVox: India’s stunning win in the Women’s World Cup semi-final, a new cooperative taxi app, and more
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
This week in BehanVox: Japan’s first woman prime minister, Ladki Bahin Yojana scam, and more
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 […]
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
This week in BehanVox: victim blaming in the Bengal rape case, 20 years of the RTI Act, and more
This month in Postcards: a strangers’ choir, Jyoti Dogra’s transcendent theatre, losing and finding Ghalib, and more
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
This week in BehanVox: Karnataka’s menstrual leave policy, AI girlfriends, and more
The dispersed nature of their work, opaque AI supply chains and deficient policy have invisibilised millions of digital gig workers in India
This week in BehanVox: caste bias in OpenAI models, Manipuri weightlifter Mirabai Chanu’s silver streak, and more
In Mandla, women are using collective action, traditional knowledge, and sheer determination to restore biodiversity, revive food systems, and rebuild livelihoods
This week in BehanVox: the anxiety of Kasarkod’s women fishers, Trump’s unproven claims on autism and tylenol, and more
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
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
This week in BehanVox: why women gig workers struggle to unionise, Delhi’s concerning sex ratio, gender pay gap, and more
This month in Postcards: notes about grieving, friendships new and old, hearty khichdi, and more
Gig workers are blending digital tools, community ties and the old spirit of unions to reimagine labour movements without gender and caste biases
