Women
Making women out of men: Mystifying queer desires, staging queerness in Siraj’s Māyā Mridanga
Māyā Mridanga infinitely problematises the nature vs. nurture debate that is central to sexuality studies. The novel seems to suggest that a certain kind of male body – feminine, smooth, shapely – is the ideal raw material for making a chhokra out of a biological man. Ustaad Jhaksa, whose life the novel documents[2], repeatedly emphasises on this act of nurturing, moulding and pruning of a feminine male body for which he has fatherly affection as well as a lover’s lust.
By Kaustav Bakshi
Love, Lust and PDA
I extend my support and solidarity to people, across the spectrum of gender and sexuality, who want to break closed doors and walls to establish safe spaces where one can love freely, without inhibitions; people who seek to re-define love and intimacy in their own independent, non-patriarchal terms.
By Anannya Chatterjee
January 2, 2020
Loitering while Female…
When one travels as a woman or indeed as someone who is not an upper caste, middle or upper class,…
By Shilpa Phadke
November 1, 2014
Issue In Focus: Is ‘Dhanda’ (Sex Business) Work? – I
Sex work is adult consensual provision of sexual services for money. What part of this definition challenges the notion of work? A service provided for money? A service provided by adults for money? A service provided consensually by adults for money? None of the above.
By Meena Saraswathi Seshu and Aarthi Pai
April 5, 2016
Interview: Shilpa Phadke
Shilpa believes loitering, just being, just hanging out in public places, is about ‘claiming the city with your body’. One of the co-authors of the book, ‘Why Loiter: Women and Risk on Mumbai’s Streets’ published in 2011, Shilpa has authored several essays and journals on issues of feminist parenting, gender and the politics of space, the right to take risks and related thoughts and concepts.
By Shikha Aleya
January 2, 2020
March 1, 2014
Interview: Adsa Fatima
Adsa Fatima is a feminist, trainer and resource person working with Sama Resource Group for Women and Health. In this interview, she shares her insights on issues of privacy, safety and inclusion in the context of reproductive health, sexuality and rights, and the family and social environment that influence individual choices and decisions
By Shikha Aleya
September 2, 2019
Interview – Raj Mariwala
Self-care is influenced by the environment we inhabit, the way we relate to others, the way we negotiate with other living beings or structures. Self-care is also interlinked with other types of care – whether that is in community resources, psychosocial support, engagement with medical and health care institutions, and of course in collective agency and solidarity.
By Shikha Aleya
July 5, 2021
Interview – Raj Mariwala
Self-care is influenced by the environment we inhabit, the way we relate to others, the way we negotiate with other living beings or structures. Self-care is also interlinked with other types of care – whether that is in community resources, psychosocial support, engagement with medical and health care institutions, and of course in collective agency and solidarity.
By Shikha Aleya
January 3, 2023
Humanitarian crisis, women and health: A perspective from Nepal
A humanitarian crisis situation has different impacts at the individual and community level and is also differently experienced by different…
By Pabitra Neupane
How the popular media fails representation of women
Being a journalism student once, and having a network of seniors and batch mates who came from a journalism background,…
By Anshul Tewari
October 15, 2014
How Pakistani and Indian Women in Three Countries Confront Marital Economic Abuse
From not being allowed to work to having their earnings exploited, many women confront economic abuse, a recognised form of domestic abuse.
By Curated Content
How Not To Talk About ‘Women’s Safety’ In Public Spaces
The only thing this language achieves (and maybe it is also the goal), is to create enough panic so that women themselves police and restrict their own mobility and whereabouts, and keep themselves away from public spaces whenever possible.
By Curated Content
April 15, 2020