4 May, 2010 by Nisha | Topics: Culture Today, Legal Take
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

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27 April, 2010 by avani | Topics: Culture Today
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 [...]

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21 April, 2010 by rachana | Topics: Culture Today
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 [...]

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11 April, 2010 by olivia | Topics: Culture Today
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 [...]

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17 March, 2010 by Sanjukta | Topics: Culture Today
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 [...]

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15 March, 2010 by Nisha | Topics: Culture Today, Legal Take
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.

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12 March, 2010 by Sanjukta | Topics: Culture Today
He is NOT a nice guy, listen to the doctor

One of our friends, Dr. Anand Philip have written this great article on the serious medical consequences faced by a woman livin in an abusive relationship. In his article he had first broken the myth of ‘he is otherwise a nice guy.’ In absolutely unambigous terms he emphasizes that any man who habitually abuses his [...]

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2 March, 2010 by Saurabh | Topics: Culture Today
The Unethical Deal

A friend asked this morning, “Do these things happen in present times also?” Having lived so far in a well-cultured and open-minded family in a metropolitan, isolated background, he had no idea about what happens in a house the very next street to his. And having studied and then worked out of his home for [...]

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12 January, 2010 by Indian Home Maker | Topics: Culture Today, In the News, blog
If someone dislocated your jaw…

If someone dislocated your jaw in one of the many violent beatings they gave you, how would you like to try to live with them and win their love? 23 year old Neha committed suicide on January 1st. Her family alleged that her in laws “used to beat her up…” [Link] “Once she was beaten [...]

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