By Manasi Sinha & Pratyush Bibhakar
With the shrinking of public-sphere (due to this prolonged lockdown) which is considered a male bastion in India, a toxic masculinity is increasingly mushrooming in the private-sphere threatening girls and women with a perpetual fear of violence, abuse and rape.
By Rimli Bhattacharya
When we type “Rape cases in Kashmir” on Google, we are welcomed by a barrage of more than thirty such gruesome results within a span of one year. And the most startling factor is that the majority of these rapes have been executed by the Indian security forces.
By Arrow
Women here, tired of explaining all the time to men, crave for someone from the opposite sex to speak on sexual abuse they go through. Yes, he did speak against it and that’s all it took for them to put him on a pedestal.
By Abhiruchi Ranjan
Last year, the self-styled custodians of Hindu patriarchy, Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha wrote to the dalit UPSC topper, Tina Dabi’s parents, reminding them of their social responsibility to persuade her Kashmiri Muslim boyfriend for a “ghar wapsi”. The prospective matrimonial alliance of a popular Hindu woman with a Muslim man was seen by the Mahasabha as a dangerous precedent.
By Javeed Bin Nabi
Why are we unable to give due opportunities and space to women in Kashmir? Once outside the Valley, Kashmiris from our society claim that Kashmiri women are more liberated and freer than women in Pakistan and India. But the truth remains that women in Kashmir remain a soft target for both the gun-wielding soldiers and the vicious and intolerant men of our society, who with each passing day infringe the freedom of women.
By Nasima Islam
While watching the show one day, I was compelled to think what is it that compels a huge mass of Indian audience go “lol” or “rofl” watching the women folk getting abused and made a butt of nonsensical jokes by a male onscreen. How does this not offend, rather entertain, us? Is it that prehistoric patriarchal, misogynist, stronghold on our psyche, which we are yet to do away with, that laughs unconsciously?
By Sanhita Chatterjee
‘Dear Zindagi’ has set a precedent and will hopefully be followed by many such pursuits in order to dent the “narrow domestic” walls built by the patriarchs. Hopefully, someday a woman’s voice won’t sound as odd as it does today.
By Kouser Fathima
One of our neighbours had predicted a bleak future for me because my rotis were never round. I heard one more lady advising other ladies how girls and cattle should be tied before they start nodding their heads.
Cafe Dissensus Everyday 