This week in BehanVox: a natural farming initiative in Andhra Pradesh, Kolkata rape case, India's own manosphere, and more

Amid chronic drought, debt, and landlessness, women in Anantapur are using natural farming to reshape agriculture, economies, and gender roles – but face mounting challenges.

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

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

In Postscript, we reflect on the editorial choices we make and abandon. Plus all things behind the scenes

As climate change alters agriculture and the lives of people, women like Saroja Kumar lead efforts to craft resilience solutions such as food forests

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

This week in BehanVox: women in Kochi's coastal villages contend with tidal flooding, UK parliament votes to decriminalise abortion, and more

This month in Postcards: notes on relishing phalse berries, recipes for sukat chutney and pulusu, Celine Song's cinema, and more

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

A deep dive into government hostel schemes reveals a drop in numbers, falling funds, and missed opportunities to support women migrants

This week in BehanVox: India's gender gap widens, Umar Khalid writes about hope and captivity from Tihar Jail, and more

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

This week in BehanVox: a unique survey from Kerala on gender based violence, the comeback of Tamil singer Chinmayi, and more

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

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

In Postscript, we reflect on the editorial choices we make and abandon. Plus all things behind the scenes

Television media became disinformation outlets with their alarmist and incorrect reporting on the India-Pakistan escalations. Arbitrary enforcement of laws and ineffective self-regulatory bodies contribute to this crisis of credibility

In BehanBox Talkies, we explore ideas through the lens of scholars. In this installment, we interview researcher and writer Aakriti Mandhwani on women’s identity as readers, past and present

This week in BehanVox: how nomadic communities are experiencing heat, Ashoka teacher Ali Khan Mahmudabad gets bail, and more

This month in Postcards: notes about mangoes (and mango pickles), deadlift parties, Jyoti Hedge’s rudra veena, and more

Nomadic tribes are particularly vulnerable to the heat crisis – they are not allowed to access common water sources, live in temporary settlements that trap heat and live mostly off outdoor occupations

Last month, BluSmart, an all-electric ride hailing service abruptly halted its operations. The company was a unique opportunity for its women drivers but lack of labour rights have left them in a lurch

This week in BehanVox: a long-awaited verdict in the Pollachi sexual assault case, the fall of French cinema legend Gérard Depardieu, and more

Our cities were once forests, home to indigenous communities. In 2006, the Forest Rights Act was passed to undo the historic injustices against Adivasi communities but in cities, complex legalities get in the way of their fight for their homes

As beneficiaries become data points on the dashboard, Anganwadi workers in Tamil Nadu grapple with an overload of digital labor, being data collectors building a state’s health repository, and being subjects of surveillance

This week in BehanVox: heat-related productivity losses, the name and symbol behind Operation 'Sindoor', a gender protest against the new Pope, and more

A women’s collective has collated a set of traditional indicators for an impending drought. It not only helps them reorganise farming practices but also prepare families for a crisis now intensified by climate change

This week in BehanVox: Urban Company workers brave the heat, wrestling camps restart in Delhi, the story of Albert Einstein's cousin, and more

Groups left vulnerable by income levels, caste, gender, or living conditions are more impacted by heat hazards and it is important that heat action plans pencil this into their strategies

This week in BehanVox: stories of Dalit women diligently protecting the mangroves, the Ladki Bahan Yojana controversy, pronatalist conventions, and more

When men migrate for work, it is the women who work to conserve the mangroves of disaster-prone coastal Odisha to protect the fragile ecosystem from erosion. But they have no rights over these mangrove lands

Bodily inhibitions deter a lot of women from learning swimming, an essential life skill and a joyous experience. Why not let them learn in whatever attire they want, asks a new breed of coaches in Kerala

This week in BehanVox: A photo story of natural farming practices of Bhil women, spaceflight packed with celebrity women, celluloid battle over 'Phule', and more

This month in Postcards: A home-cooked meal during field reporting, the joy of public baths, cat companions, freedom found in cycles and scooters, and more

In Tamil Nadu, migrant working women struggle to find safe and affordable accommodation in cities. The state-run Thozhi hostel chain offers an alternative but there just are not enough of them

This week in BehanVox: ASHA workers' protest an attendance app, Allahabad High Court's sustained misogyny, and histories of India's women jazz pioneers

Mahua liquor is a traditional brew for many tribal communities. While Madhya Pradesh encourages its production and sale by Scheduled Tribes, the crackdown against NT-DNT communities under the excise act is exceptionally harsh

In Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, the municipal commissioner has introduced a mandatory digital attendance system through a private app. ASHA workers, who are not considered government employees, are also forced to mark attendance thrice a day

This week in BehanVox: a conversation on Dalit History Month, UK's decision to screen 'Adolescence' in schools, and stories of female construction workers struggling to access maternity schemes.

What does Urban Company’s ‘Insta Help’ service mean for India’s unique domestic labour market? We spoke to scholar Sai Amulya Komarraju for answers

Migrant female construction workers in Ahmedabad face immense challenges accessing maternity benefits and healthcare due to lack of documentation, poor living conditions, and exploitation by contractors

Last month, the government released a factsheet of the key findings from the Time Use Survey conducted in 2024. The survey, with crucial data on how women spend their days is also sensitive to errors

Uniforms are a path to social identity and status, but they can become an imposition when detached from women’s social contexts and needs

This week in BehanVox: life on Powai's footpaths, ASHA workers' ongoing strike, and the politics of hope.

This month in Postcards: a feminist march, cookbook for one, and women’s labour powering papal decision making.

Shortages of emergency contraceptive pills and the CM’s call for larger families – there is now a question mark over the state’s acclaimed reproductive health policies

Thrown out of their homes eight months ago in a demolition drive, the women of Jai Bhim Nagar are fighting for their right to housing. They are also reclaiming spaces to keep their cultural identity alive

Since 1959, multiple bills have been introduced to provide legal protection for domestic workers, but all of them have failed. Lack of political will and conflict of interest erode the rights of the most marginalised women in India

In Pardhi bastis, suicide is so common that it is normalised by the community. Constant encounters with institutional violence, bias and poverty leave women with little hope for a better future

From containing viral outbreaks to collecting data for its various projects, ASHA workers are a critical part of Kerala’s lauded public health system. But the state does not value their work enough, say the health workers now on strike

For five years now, Arya Pujari, a trans woman, has been relentlessly pursuing her dream of joining the police. Her struggle ties in with the transgender community’s demand for reservations in government jobs

Climate disasters are wrecking crops and inflicting heavy losses on farmers. Natural farming methods – organic inputs, multi-cropping, and indigenous seeds – is helping Gujarat’s women farmers find a solution to this crisis

Despite 30 years of local resistance, the government has pushed through the approvals for India’s largest port. Behind it lie systemic efforts to dismantle special protection given to an eco-fragile area

Improved soil health is one of the key reasons for promoting natural farming. But women who do most of the work on farms, have limited control over land and are unable to invest successfully in it

Sheila Dikshit was voted back thrice to office; Sushma Swaraj and Atishi came in briefly in times of political turbulence. But each made a place in the capital’s political history with their individual strengths

The manner in which the young garland seller from the NT-DNT community was harassed and ultimately forced to flee the Kumbh Mela shows a disregard for their right to dignity, privacy and a safe workplace

In its election manifestos, the Aam Aadmi Party has always promised better wage and work conditions for the city’s informal workers. But the implementation of existing policies has been inadequate

Ahead of the polls for the Delhi legislative assembly, our data dive exposes how the capital city fares on key parameters

The crises faced by Kathputli Colony’s families, displaced by an interminable redevelopment project, point to the capital city’s struggle to provide affordable housing

In popular culture, Delhi often remains a cliche. You rarely see its informal women workers except as footnotes. We have compiled here a list of films, books and art works where their unseen lives are recorded with veracity and compassion

Our Feminist Elections Newsroom brings the focus back to the people of Delhi – the migrants, contract workers, women who yearn for safety and countless others who build and breathe life into the city.

The government’s push for natural farming is rooted in cow-centric policies. But creating a science-based information ecosystem is key to empowering women farmers

Many villages in this Himalayan state have had their fortunes turned around by all-woman Gram Panchayats.

Sexual and reproductive rights of women do feature in the election agenda of political parties but only those that do not defy established social norms

Pensions and access to healthcare schemes could have benefitted thousands of widows who settle in Vrindavan but isolation, apathy and red tape get in the way

We asked women who we report on and are inspired by to tell us what or who gives them hope, or what they would like to see change in 2025. These are their stories.

Team BehanBox parses through the news and noise of 2024 to find tales of caution, care, and hope.

Vocalist and trainer Shilpa Mudbi talks about art, artist, and appropriation of Dalit music and culture

Dalit women’s leadership not just reshaped the feminist movement but drove powerful alliances. Why then do we still have to answer the question: ‘What is caste?’

Most women interviewed for a study said they had little say in a range of issues from contraception to pre natal care

Analyses of the assembly polls in Maharashtra miss the emergent political agency of women voters by stressing only on women-centric schemes like the Ladki Bahin Yojana

Studies have shown that criminalisation of child marriage and the excessive use of force to prevent have not been effective solutions to the problem. Questions around poverty, education and the adolescent agency also need to be addressed

Women, especially from the Adivasi community, turned out to vote in record numbers and voted for the return of Hemant Soren’s JMM. We look at a slew of reasons that likely influenced their electoral participation and decision

The recent death of a beauty worker with Urban Company has raised questions about the practices at aggregator platforms – the promise of flexibility and freedom comes bundled with exploitative and coercive work conditions

Smaller states in India have a better record of women’s representation in their assembly. In Maharashtra, the gender skew is glaring – few contest, fewer win and those who do often have family backing

Our FEN is back. And here’s why we believe this matters to you as much as it does to us.

The 14th Maharashtra Assembly rammed through 1000 crucial resolutions in the last days but was visibly silent on crucial development issues

The leaders’s campaign is awash with pink in a bid to reach out to women voters and to position himself as their big brother and benefactor

A creative initiative using literature and visual arts hopes to educate and sensitise medical students and practitioners about gender-affirmative care

Four dancers have been booked and 21 have been virtually banned over accusations of ‘obscenity’. Despite court rulings, obscenity laws continue to police women’s bodies

In poll-bound Haryana, women’s political identity has been historically shaped by patriarchal, kinship, and gender norms. But their role in the protest movements of the last few years is making a difference

Does the entrenched notion of masculine solidarity in the military create room for misogynistic behaviour? In view of a recent case, we look at how these attitudes impact the effective application of sexual harassment laws

The findings in the latest labour force survey indicate that the rising aspirations of educated rural women are not matched by opportunities in non-agricultural work

The boundaries of individual and collective blur in this account of her journey, as an individual, woman, and activist and the member of a unique collective

In the face of rising right-wing hostility in western Maharashtra, women academics are pushing back, asserting their right to freedom of speech

Political parties in the state are still reluctant to field women candidates because they do not believe in their winnability in a politically charged environment

Communal polarisation is gathering pace in the state, with right wing organisations resuming campaigns around what they call land jihad. Vishalgad and its Muslim residents are among the latest victims of this hate campaign