agency

“Only for Families, Madam”: A House for Mrs Kulkarni, Divorcee
An illustration of a woman sitting in an unfurnished house by herself, framed by a window looking out into the night in a city. Around the woman, there are unopened boxes marked ‘FRAGILE’.

The only hitch was that neither the agents nor the landlords who lurked behind those rentable flats were particularly keen on leasing their precious properties to a – what! Divorcee??!! No, no, madam, but this flat is only for families.

By Curated Content
February 15, 2021
“Only for Families, Madam”: A House for Mrs Kulkarni, Divorcee
“I HAVE READ AND AGREE TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS”: INFORMED CONSENT IN THE AGE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
An illustration of a woman typing on a keyboard. From between her fingers and onto the keys, tendrils with leaves spread. The words, ‘protect themselves from the barrage of words and noise’ is superimposed on the keyboard on the left side of the illustration.

Ethical considerations and frameworks for traditional (for the lack of a better term) have had decades of debates, discussions, and revisions to have Boards of Review with similar ethics regulations (although they are still being critiqued).

By Curated Content
October 15, 2020
“I HAVE READ AND AGREE TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS”: INFORMED CONSENT IN THE AGE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
‘हामी भरने’ या ‘मना करने’ का मेरा अधिकार
silhouette of a woman standing alone in a valley

मनुष्यों के बीच के किसी भी तरह के आपसी सम्बन्धों में सहमति का होना, इन सम्बन्धों की मज़बूत नींव की तरह होना चाहिए। हमारे समाज में हम इस ‘सहमति’ देने या ‘ना’ कह पाने के अधिकार पर प्रतिक्रिया के रूप में नयी तरह की हिंसा को देख पा रहे हैं। अधिकारों को प्रयोग करने की इस प्रक्रिया को केवल किसी व्यक्ति द्वारा अपने अधिकारों के प्रयोग के रूप में न देखकर इसे सभी के लिए सामूहिक रूप से किए जा रहे अधिकारों के प्रयोग के रूप में देखा और समझा जाना चाहिए।

By Sumati Panikkar
March 5, 2019
‘हामी भरने’ या ‘मना करने’ का मेरा अधिकार
स्वीकार्यता, स्वतन्त्रता और महिलाओं का हॉस्टल 
Image of a hostel room

आज मुझे लड़कियों के अपने हॉस्टल से निकले हुए तीन वर्ष हो चुके हैं, और मुझे लगता है कि हॉस्टल जीवन में मिली सभी सीखें आज भी मेरे यौनिक जीवन को सही दिशा देने में कारगर साबित हो रही हैं।

By Anonymous
April 1, 2020
स्वीकार्यता, स्वतन्त्रता और महिलाओं का हॉस्टल 
वर्ग, जाति और विकल्प
picture of a group of young girls posing together, in rural India

हमें इस तरह से ढाला गया है कि तथाकथित ‘विकल्प’ जो हमारे संबंधों को परिभाषित करते हैं, वे भी हमारे लिए हुए विकल्प नहीं बल्कि समाज द्वारा सृजित हैं। हालाँकि, जैसा कि हमने देखा है, इन सभी चुनौतियों के बावजूद, महिलाएँ, जब वे खुद को व्यक्तियों के रूप में महत्वपूर्ण मानने लगती हैं, तो वे अपने परिवेश और परिवार के सदस्यों के साथ बातचीत करने की रणनीति तैयार करती हैं।

By Prarthana
June 15, 2019
वर्ग, जाति और विकल्प
एक ख़त मेरे नाम जब मैं १६ की थी
A piece of paper signifying a letter

इसलिए, तुम्हारे आज के स्वः या अवतार के रूप में, मैं तुम्हें अपनी क्षमताओं में विश्वास रखने के लिए प्रोत्साहित करती हूँ, अपने सपनों पर केंद्रित रहना, एक स्वाभाविक मूल्य प्रणाली विकसित करना जो हठधर्मिता से मुक्त हो, हमेशा जिज्ञासु बनी रहना और निरंतर सीखने की अपनी इच्छा का पोषण करना, और अपना जीवन स्वतंत्र रूप से और पूरी तरह से जीना।

By ElsaMarie D'Silva
February 17, 2020
एक ख़त मेरे नाम जब मैं १६ की थी
 Whatever it takes…walking life as single women
A photograph of a woman’s silhouette against a pink and purple sky.

What I am proposing here is to look at being in a relationship and being single together because what is important here is the idea of ‘be-ing’ as opposed to the stereotypes and perceptions attached to our relationship with ‘the One’ or to singlehood.

By Gurpreet Kaur
February 1, 2021
 Whatever it takes…walking life as single women
 Navigating love, loneliness and singlehood
A photograph of an individual’s neck and shoulders, with a focus on the collarbone.

I believe that queer friendships and intimacies are sheer resistance, which not only swallow the despair and pain that might be perpetrated on gender-nonconforming people by their families, but also recognise all the lies about love that have been sold to us.

By Anonymous
February 1, 2021
 Navigating love, loneliness and singlehood
Why singlehood is meaningful: Three voices
A photograph of Kalpana Sharma, Sharda Ugra, and attendees at an event around the book ‘Single by Choice: Happily Unmarried Women’.

By the end of the evening, the room was suffused with the celebration of singlehood, rather than any explanation or apology for it. It appeared that the solitary life was envied and extolled by those who have opted out of it as well as many who haven’t.

By Curated Content
February 15, 2021
Why singlehood is meaningful: Three voices
Why Do We Find Erotica Shameful?
A scene from Sita Sings The Blues. Scott, A. O. “Legendary Breakups: Good (Animated) Women Done Wrong in India.” An illustration of sita lying in bed with hanuman behind her.

Erotica, which according to statistics is largely a women dominated genre, often creates a platform where women across space and time can connect and don’t feel alienated in their sexual needs when they find a heroine with the same desire, or when they read about a plot situation which resonates with their own.

By Tulika Parikh
July 1, 2019
Why Do We Find Erotica Shameful?
Why Do People Watch Porn? Five Women Explain Their Reasons
porn: a blurred image of a women clad in pink lingerie seen behind a fogged glass

India is one of the largest consumers of porn in the world, so much so that Pornhub created a mirror site following Indian government’s ban. Definitely, not all viewers of porn end up committing sexual crimes.

By Curated Content
March 18, 2019
Why Do People Watch Porn? Five Women Explain Their Reasons
Video: How Can Women & Non-Binary People Combat Online Violence?
A screenshot of Feminism in India's video How Can Women & Non-Binary People Combat Online Violence? In the middle is Japleen Pasricha, the founder of Feminism in India. She is wearing a grey-black full-sleeved shirt and her eyes are closed. She has deep brown hair reaching under her shoulders on both sides. Behind her is a wooden cupboard stacked with books, and a poster in blue with a woman holding a sign saying 'SMASH BRAHMINICAL PATRIARCHY'. On her left is an illustration that says, in pink, VOYEURISM and above it, an illustration with white circles on black to denote binoculars and a woman's silhouette at the centre. At the bottom of the screenshot are the subtitles: "(a)nd voyeurism, where someone records you in your private moments without your consent."

Japleen Pasricha, founder of Feminism in India, lays bare the violence women, LGBTQIA+ folks, and historically marginalised communities face in online spaces, ranging from identity theft, bullying, trolling, to having our private photographs and details disseminated without our consent and being blackmailed.

By Feminism in India
May 15, 2021
Video: How Can Women & Non-Binary People Combat Online Violence?
Video: Grown-up Girls
Video Growing Up

They use sports, technology, arts, and media to express themselves and to build the confidence to exercise choice and negotiate decisions about their bodies, health and life.

By Valleri Sharma
April 21, 2023
Video: Grown-up Girls
Video: Explained: Transgender Act and how it affects the community
A screenshot of the video. It shows trans rights activist Kanmani Ray on the right side and on the left, a green-board design with the typography: TRANSGENDER ACT EXPLAINED, CHEATSHEET

Trans rights activist Kanmani Ray succinctly lays down the concerns around the Act, points out how its language reinforces the gender binary and highlights the fact that while seeking to protect the rights of trans people, the Act in fact discriminates against them.

By Curated Content
September 1, 2020
Video: Explained: Transgender Act and how it affects the community
Un/dress codes in sport
A close-up of a green playing field with dividing lines.

Lack of women’s representation in policy-making institutions has allowed men, often with minimal understanding and empathy, to decide what women in sports can or cannot wear. As a result, these policies have ended up undermining women’s comfort as well as agency.

By Isha Saxena and Tariqa Tandon
April 6, 2023
Un/dress codes in sport
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