Feministaah

A theatre production, called   #Womanologues , is a series of monologues by women, under the broad theme of ‘desire’. Among the stories about a deliriously happy divorcee, and a single woman looking for just the right kind of partner, there was a very amusing and startlingly bold story titled   Toral Joshi Tinder ( written by Rahul Patel and performed by Tusharika Rajguru). The eponymous Toral is refreshingly candid about her desires and expects her boyfriend to be good in the sack. When she tires of him, she resorts to the dating app Tinder, and hooks up with a succession of men, with no strings attached. Her work as a tattooist and   mehendi   artiste keeps her financially securey, so what she looks for in relationships is excitement. She is practical enough to settle for a fat guy with a BMW, and even learns to cook for him, but eventually, when the wedding is actually upon her, she realizes the BMW is not enough to keep her happy, the man does not satisf...

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 ...