Feministaah

When friends meet up, often the talk leads to the fear of growing old. It is more likely than ever, in this era of good healthcare and extended life spans, that women who are in their fifties now, will be left alone by the time they are seventy. Husbands may be lost to death or divorce, grown-up children may be scattered, wherever career opportunities take them. For some years, when grandkids are small, granny duty is required, particularly if they are abroad. When they grow up too, and move away, many elderly women are left by themselves. At least in India, there is still domestic help available, and at a pinch, relatives and neighbours would rally around in an emergency. If the women are reasonably healthy, and live in a metro city, they form their circle of friends and have some sort of social life—lunches, movies, plays, shopping, travel and so on. However, at the same time, cities are not quite elder friendly--like in the old days, there is no joint family to fall back on-- ...

Taking a giant step back on the issue of women’s rights, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (a woman!) signed into law an   abortion   bill that could punish doctors who perform   abortions   with life imprisonment. She is reported to have said, “Today, I signed into law the Alabama Human Life Protection Act, a bill that was approved by overwhelming majorities in both chambers of the Legislature. To the bill's many supporters, this legislation stands as a powerful testament to Alabamians' deeply held belief that every life is precious and that every life is a sacred gift from God." The highly restrictive law only allows exceptions "to avoid a serious health risk to the unborn child's mother," for ectopic pregnancy and if the "unborn child has a lethal anomaly."  It does not even exempt victims of rape or incest. According to a report by Marisa Iati and Deanna Paul, in  The Washington Post , “S ome bills, like the one ...

It does not matter to anyone in power that out of 8000 odd candidates who stood for the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, only 724 were women and not were elected. In 2014, only 63 women were elected to Parliament, a mere 11.6 per cent (even Pakistan and Bangladesh have a better record). Till the pending Women’s Reservation Bill of 2008 is passed, that promises 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha, the number of women elected representatives will remain dismal, even as in most other areas traditionally dominated by men—like science, finance, industry and defence, women are making impressive progress. There is 33 per cent reservation for women in Panchayats, but it is no secret that many of the women who stand for elections are mere proxies for their male relatives, who wield the real clout.  It is perfectly acceptable to our patriarchal society, that the doors to power are open only to women who are related to influential men, or, have a strong ‘godfather.’ ...

There was a time, when Aunty was a word that expressed affection and respect towards women. All kids call their friends’ parents Aunty and Uncle, instead of the formal Mrs and Mr, or casual first names, like Westerners do. The woman addressed as Aunty didn’t mind, even though she could be in her twenties. Now, Aunty (much more than Uncle) is an insulting word spat out at older women, who are, in the eyes of the one using it, old, unattractive, fuddy-duddy and not worthy of notice.  Or, it is used with a leer to refer to an older lust object, even more contemptuously than cougar (an older woman dating younger men). An old man with a young woman, is, of course, to be admired. It goes without saying that ageism effects women more than it does men. A piece by Faima Bakar in  metro.co.uk  says, “While the sexist term ‘spinster’ has been used to describe older unmarried women, today we found out there’s another equally misogynistic word to replace it. Enter the thornback....

A wonderfully heartwarming tweet by New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda  Ardern  from back in 2014, when she was a Labour MP, has resurfaced, since she is facing unprecedented popularity after her compassionate response to the mosque massacre in Christchurch, that killed fifty people earlier this year. It said, “ Like lots of other people at Wellington airport last night, I got stuck. Flight was finally canned at 10pm along with any hope of a flight the next day. Everyone waiting at the gate looked pretty gutted, but a few in particular. I was lucky enough to grab a rental car, so I doubled back through the airport to try and find the upset looking group from my flight. Turns out that one was due at a wedding, the other a 21st, and the third just wanted to see her family. So we devised a road trip together and agreed to meet after a bit of rest. Within a few minutes of leaving the airport I got a text from someone I knew through work in Auckland. It was his daughter I had ...

Till Ashish Kaul’s     Didda : The Warrior Queen Of Kashmir   landed on the desk, one did not know much about this wonderful character from Indian history, and that’s a shame. When great Indian heroines are mentioned, only the Rani Of Jhansi comes immediately to mind. The contribution of women, is mostly ignored, maybe because history is written by men. The women who make it to stories, written or oral, are the ones romantically linked to a king—Padmavati, Mastani, Mrignayanee, Mumtaz Mahal, Noorjehan (even though this queen ruled in place of the dissolute Emperor Jehangir). There are some names that vaguely pop up—Razia Sultan, Begum Hazrat Mahal and Chand Bibi, but there must have been dozens of others who have been forgotten.  Even when it comes to contemporary history, there are a few accounts of the women involved with the freedom movement, but it’s only now the stories of women who contributed to the Indian Constitution, science, literature...