Coding or scripting is the creation of a set of instructions for a computer application, browser or a robot to perform a particular task. Without coding, even the most basic of digital actions would be impossible to execute. It goes without saying that coding has become fundamental to digital literacy. Ever since the onset of digital revolution,…[Read more]

If you’re a woman, chances are that mansplaining needs no introduction. For those unaware, it is the almost regular, casual event where a man assumes ignorance on a woman’s part and generously explains things to her. She might as well be an expert on the topic, but that becomes irrelevant. In fact, some women have had the pleasure of man…[Read more]

Toys are perhaps our first introduction to gender. There are particular toys for boys and certain others for girls. Boys are given trucks, robots and miniature cars while girls are taught to enjoy play tea sets and dolls. Every experience in the world is culturally categorised as masculine and feminine and children are nudged to take up…[Read more]

Gender equality has plagued our society for aeons and the arena of sports is no different. From body shaming to misogyny, women’s sports is rigged with profound sexism. Women are seen as physically weaker than men and hence are callously brushed aside. This attitude along with male dominance pervades the global sports community and women find it h…[Read more]

Accredited Social Health Activists or ASHAs as popularly called are community health workers who are integral to India’s National Rural Health Mission rolled out in 2005. The aim of this project was to achieve ‘an ASHA in every village’. ASHAs are females chosen from within a locality, who are then trained towards promoting overall health and h…[Read more]

Almost 17 countries in the world have implemented or are considering the implementation of paid menstrual leave. In Japan, the policy was introduced in 1947. Yet the stigma around menstruation discourages women from availing it as it would require informing their managers, most of whom are male. In 2020, Zomato introduced a paid menstrual leave…[Read more]

For ages women have been handed the responsibility of ‘maintaining the house’ which involves cleaning, organising and care-giving. Even today, it is largely a woman’s task irrespective of whether she has a career. What separates domestic chores from any other work is their seemingly unending nature. Beauvoir gives a succinct rendition of house…[Read more]

Conversion therapy is pseudo-scientific process that attempts to convert homosexuals and transgenders to heterosexual cisgenders. The alleged ‘therapy’ includes talks, prayers and even adopts exorcism, physical violence and food deprivation. It inflicts severe harm to the mental health of victims, such as depression, engaging in high risk sex…[Read more]

The pandemic is a testing time for global leadership and disaster management. While heads of several countries still grapple with the issue, women continue to make dynamic contributions towards controlling the crisis at global, national and local levels. At this juncture we see the world finally noticing the true potential of women as leaders. A…[Read more]

Domestic violence is still a prominent concern in India. It is so deeply entrenched in our society that it is normalised and women are often advised to ‘adjust’ and not resist. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in its 2019 report states the majority of cases filed under crimes against women pertain to violence perpetrated by husband and…[Read more]

The digital revolution ushered in an era which changed the way our world functions. The latter half of the twentieth century witnessed a rapid change in functioning as global interactions, be it economic, scientific, medical, social or humanist, migrated to digital platforms. Today, with the pandemic imposing isolation and distancing, the use of…[Read more]

Fatherhood in our society is sketched in terms of stringent patriarchal norms- that it is men’s onus to be breadwinners. While the advent of women into professional careers is no longer a stigma, the same flexibility is not accorded to men who wish to be caregivers at home. The hierarchy between professional and domestic life is the governing f…[Read more]

It is not an exaggeration to say that classrooms shape the world. What a child learns at school will influence individual perception of the world and ultimately behaviour. Just as classrooms are credited with imparting civic responsibilities, health and hygiene awareness and rational thinking, these very portals of education propagate rigid ideas…[Read more]

The pandemic has certainly toppled our lifestyle and derailed human life and perspectives. A lot of us have lost jobs, family members, access to resources and education. The world as we know it has come into question. The pandemic has also become an opportunity for ‘disaster patriarchy’, something that has got feminist really wor…[Read more]

In a society where sex is a taboo and sex education in schools still remains a matter of debate, teenage pregnancies create a furore…provided it is outside wedlock. Given that child marriages are significant contributors towards early pregnancies, societal stigma against such conceptions is not in the light of the numerous health risks involved,…[Read more]

Cooking is a life skill, like swimming and driving. Yet, it remains a gendered activity. The kitchen has been ordained as exclusively a woman’s domain and it remains so in most households. It is baffling the way many men, who have had access to high standards of education, proudly claim ‘I have never poured a glass of water for myself’. This maste…[Read more]

Beauty is a measure of aesthetic sensibility and it pertains more to the perceiver than the perceived. By no means is beauty a definite idea. Just as cultures change over time so do the standards that define beauty. For instance dark skin tone was cherished in medieval India while 21st century C.E. deplores it.
Our current world has misunderstood…[Read more]

Cancer is certainly a harrowing term. Even with the support of family and friends, enduring cancer can be acutely difficult. Lots of cancer survivors recall the painful moment when they were diagnosed as one when their whole world came crashing down. A heavy fear and agony sets into the heart as one’s life appears to collapse right in front of o…[Read more]