Women & Mental Health – Bell Bajao! for Behl Sisters
The case of the Noida sisters is one of great tragedy, especially for the contemporary Indian society. Several articles and publications are exploring the reasons as to why two well educated adult women would abandon society and self preservation in the solitary confinement of their home. HT CITY has criticized the general apathy among neighbours [...]
The Crime of Ignorance/Neglect
MSC STUDENTS SUICIDE Engineer denies marital discord Mumbai: An engineer from Andheri, arrested for abetting his wifes suicide, told police officials on Friday that there were no problems in their marriage. Liyakat Sayyed (32),the accused,was employed with a private firm in Chakala while his wife,Kadambari Bhosale,was doing her MSc. Kadambari hanged herself from a ceiling [...]
Of Scantily Clad 'Women' and 'Cement'
Find out, what’s in an ad?
Place value for WOMEN
The face of women in Indian society is getting a 360 degree make over (…)
Going through death to give birth
Yet a large number of societies and parents continue the practice of early marriage for several reasons including blind faith in culture or religion, hopes of financial and social gains, relieving their own responsibilities towards the child based on her gender and so on. In my view, the continuation of the practice is rooted in social acceptance of slavery of women. Internalization of servility and acceptance of the correctness of the practice is more likely to be successful if women are tamed early, as early as possible. Girl children and young adult women are easy to terrorize and therefore easier to be kept under control and by the time they could be expected to have developed some courage to protest, they are likely to be pregnant and socially isolated as a result of lacks of education and interaction with their peer groups. They are forced to accept their condition as their destiny. Many states and their governments, despite being signatories to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, continue to turn a blind eye to the practice.
The article was first published by the Yemen Times: http://www.yementimes.com/defaultdet.aspx?SUB_ID=22147
Should women work or stay at home?
Till the 20th century a suitable age to marry a girl was considered to be between 18 years and 21 years. By this age a girl could only finish her school and, maybe just manage to get a diploma degree. The main focus after her marriage was to give birth to children. Her entire life [...]
Survivor Unveils – A 55 word fiction on Domestic Violence
Note: 55 Fictions is precise form of micro-fiction that refers to the works of fiction limited to a maximum of fifty-five words. ~ This is an an attempt to focus light on a survival story of a young girl and her hardships that turn into her power which made her much stronger finally! ~survivor unveils [...]
What does it mean to really help, make a change
A year ago My maid is an illiterate woman from Bihar, Muslim by religion, but with relatively fair IQ for her being and upbringing. She is single-handed bringing up her 5 kids and taken steps to ensure no more babies all by herself. In response to her act, the husband went absconding for good 2 [...]
Much talk about Hijab: Still a sign of oppression
It has been a while that I wanted to write about the much talked about tradition of wearing a Hijab or Burqa. The context was set even better when I saw this short Spanish film by Xavi Sala about Hijab in Europe and the discrimination young Muslim women face in a so-called “free” Europe. See [...]
Regulation of Disabled Women’s Sexuality
In general, women’s voices for their specific rights in the disability rights movement in India are hardly present. Voices of disabled women is almost absent in the mainstream women’s rights movement. The politics of ‘normal’ or ‘able’ bodies and minds is further complicates disabled women’s identity. Societal norms with regard to the ‘ideal’ womanhood and the ‘ideal body’ render physically disabled and mentally challenged women invisible. They become objects to be hidden, never to be seen, heard or felt. Since feminism is a politics of the oppressed against being pushed to the margins, disability, in my view, is a feminist issue. As an oppressed group, disabled women and men face challenges related to educational and training opportunity, inclusion, occupational attainment, economic status, and social outlets. But disabled women face particular issues of reproductive rights; control over their bodies; physical, sexual and emotional violence; and sexual rights and representations, which are considered taboo topics by the disability movement. It is important, therefore, that feminisms in India change towards inclusiveness and support the disabled women in rejecting the traditional subservient and invisible role. There is a need for a new emancipatory politics for the disabled women, which is led by the disabled women from the centre of the Indian women’s movement.
