“When a stranger does it, he doesn’t know me, I don’t know him. He’s not doing it to me as a person, personally. With your husband, it becomes personal. You say, this man knows me. He knows my feelings. He knows me intimately and then to do this to me – it’s such a personal abuse.”1 Gravity of Domestic Violence[Read More...]
In 2012, the spirit of India was violently shaken by the heinous Delhi gang rape. People took to the streets demanding justice for the girl we named Nirbhaya – “the fearless”. The Government amended the rape law bringing in a stricter, more formidable Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 (Nirbhaya Act) on laws related to sexual offences. In 2019, according to[Read More...]
To Indian ladies above 15: ‘Think before you marry’ – By section 375 exception 2 of IPC When I searched for the status of marital rape in India, the first link that popped up had content that was both bizarre as well as mind wobbling – ‘It says Section 375 of IPC considers the forced sex in marriages as a[Read More...]
Abstract– As we come closer to new Termination Of Pregnancy Act (MTP Act) 2020, a look at the MTP act 1971 can help us understand the importance of abortion laws in relation to women’s reproductive rights better. Unsafe abortions claim many lives in India even with such strong legislation. Can the MTP Bill 2020 with its increase time limit help[Read More...]
“There is a global epidemic of violence against women – both within conflict zones and within societies at peace – and it is still treated as a lesser crime and lower priority” had said Angelina Jolie, actress and then UN Ambassador for refugees more than five years ago. With the onslaught of the pandemic and global public health emergency and[Read More...]
Transgender health access has been widely neglected by governments and legislative bodies in India. While a bill is passed now and then to reaffirm action, the system has failed to tackle key issues that lead to the lack of healthcare utilization by transgender people. These issues have their roots in stigmatization and the resultant social and economic marginalization of the[Read More...]
© Reuters A trans individual’s fight for survival begins from their adolescence. Majority of them are relinquished by their families, denied formal schooling, and have severely confined access to employment opportunities. They are constrained into begging and sex work to make an earning. Additionally, there is a perennial verbal and sexual maltreatment in the community. Even quality medical care[Read More...]
Across ages, we have seen a persistent gender-based discrimination in India. This discrimination manifests in the form of gender-based violence (40% of women have experienced domestic violence), trafficking of women, sexual abuse (42% of girls have been sexually abused), etc. A low sex ratio also (940 females for 1000 males) indicates the prevalence of evil forms of patriarchy. India’s daughters[Read More...]
The Covid-19 pandemic has caused hardships among people, and even more so, for the most marginalised groups in the society. At a time when even the more privileged groups began scouring stores for food and medicines, one could realize the plight of the transgender community seeking rations and medicines only to face discrimination and harassment. As always, shopkeepers sent them[Read More...]
Touted as one of the biggest milestones in the movement by the LGBTQA community for equal rights, the abrogation of section 377 of the Indian penal code in 2018 by the Supreme Court was considered as a landmark judgment with an expectation that the situation of those people will considerably improve. However, even after 2 years of the judgement, the[Read More...]
