The sex-selection killing fields
The sex ratio of children aged 0 and 6 in India has fallen further in the last decade to 914 girls per 1,000 boys. Why are government and civil society campaigns making so little difference?
No honour in murder
Youngsters in certain parts of India today cannot choose their partners. If they still do and the choice violates arbitrary, extra-legal norms set down by caste panchayats, the consequence can be death. Isn't it time we built a popular movement against the medieval practice of honour killings, asks Ammu Joseph
Warped media coverage portrays Goa as a rape capital
Sensational reporting of incidents of rape and murder of foreign tourists in Goa overshadows the fact that Goa has a much better track record when it comes to giving women their social and economic due than many other states. It also gives the false impression that this is the single biggest problem the state faces, says Frederick Noronha
Our women, their women: Sexual violence in Goa
Concerns about the large number of rapes of tourists in the tourist haven of Goa are prompted by fears that these will drive away tourists and give Goa a bad name. But the bigger issues -- of rape itself, whoever is the victim, of changing attitudes that excuse rape in some situations, of making sexual assault unacceptable -- have not been addressed
Whatever happened to our freedom?
In a gender-equitable democratic polity, matters of dress, behaviour, mobility and personal life choices are no less important than people’s rights to livelihood, dignity and empowered citizenship. The attack on women in a Mangalore pub must be seen as an attack on the hard-won freedom and autonomy of Indian women
Izzat ka mamla hai: The doomed love story of Rizwanur-Priyanka
The indictment of the police by the CBI in the Rizwanur Rehman case in Kolkata reveals the complicity of State and society in maintaining and perpetuating regressive socio-cultural prejudices in the name of family honour and religious belief
Sixty years of women's struggles for freedom?
It's probably the best time to be Indian in the last few hundred years. But, says Mari Marcel Thekaekara on International Women's Day, the many forms of gender violence make it seem as if things are worse for women today than they used to be
Violence against women on the rise in literate Kerala
Why does a state that boasts India's highest literacy levels and excellent social development indicators see a 300% increase in violence against women? Possibly because literacy and education do not change mindsets. In a deeply patriarchal society, education teaches women only to be good wives and mothers. A special report from Kerala as the fortnight-long Campaign Against Violence Against Women begins on November 25
The trade-off between protection and freedom
Following the recent debate over banning women from working nightshifts, women's groups need to ask why it is that women can only be protected by curbing their freedom. If women want to step out of the 'private' sphere into the 'public' sphere, must they give up all expectation of protection from sexual violence by the State?
Model law
Laws drafted in dusty government offices are often vague and full of loopholes. The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 is a clear and concise piece of legislation that demonstrates the value of involving stakeholders in the drafting of a law