RajivSpeak

The heavy military presence and frequent communication blackouts in Jammu and Kashmir are taking a disproportionate toll on female education, reversing years of progress and driving up school dropout rates for girls, according to a recent analysis published in The Conversation . ​Writing for the publication, Shambhavi Siddhi , a PhD candidate in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies at Western University , highlights that while the Indian government cited " women's empowerment " and the eradication of gender discrimination as key motivations for revoking Jammu and Kashmir's semi-autonomous status in August 2019, the reality on the ground has told a vastly different story for young women seeking an education. ​Rising Dropout Rates and Low Literacy ​According to data presented before the Indian parliament in March 2026, the secondary-level dropout rate for girls in the region peaked at 12.6% during the 2023–24 academic year—surpassing India’s national average of 9....

A comprehensive investigative report published by BehanBox and authored by Sarasvati Thuppadolla reveals the pervasive, systemic caste-based discrimination faced by Dalit Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) across rural India. Even though India’s one million ASHA workers were collectively honored by the World Health Organization with the Global Health Leaders Award in 2022 for their pivotal role in reducing maternal and infant mortality, their marginalized caste identity frequently dictates the harsh terms of their acceptance by the communities they serve. 

Currently, I am watching the American serial The Affair . While it offers a very interesting exposure to broken relationships in the United States, in the middle of the tenth episode of the second season its main character, Noah Solloway — divorced from his wife after falling in love with a waitress — has a therapy session with a psychiatrist. Here, Noah, who happens to be a celebrated novelist with two published novels and a third in progress, makes an interesting observation: all great men are not good men.

  In a candid and wide-ranging conversation, three generations of feminist activists from Maharashtra have taken stock of the women's movement in India, tracing its evolution from the labour struggles of the 1970s to the complex, identity-driven challenges of the present day. Hosted by  Gagan Sethi  and  Minar Pimple , the discussion, featured on the podcast  Unmute , brought together veteran activists to reflect on 50 years of mobilization, legal battles, internal debates, and the daunting political landscape that lies ahead.

  In a new episode of the  Unmute Podcast , activist  Deepa Pawar , founder of  Anubhuti Trust  and a voice from India's Nomadic and Denotified Tribes (NT-DNT), laid bare the deep-seated wounds inflicted by colonial-era laws that branded her community as criminals. Speaking with hosts Gagan Sethi, a veteran development practitioner with over 40 years in policy advocacy and minority rights, and Minar Pimple, founder of YUVA and former Amnesty International director, Pawar dismantled the myths of progress that sideline these marginalized groups, urging a reckoning with dignity, citizenship, and mental health in the fight for justice.

  The award-winning documentary film from India, " Amma’s Pride ", has qualified for the 98ᵗʰ Academy Awards® in the  Documentary Short category , emerging as the only Indian trans-centered story to enter this year’s Oscar race. Directed by  Shiva Krish , the film has been steadily gaining global attention by prioritising community engagement and emotional impact rather than conventional promotional strategy.

  An online petition seeking a legal ban on  polygamy  has been floated by Javed Anand, co-editor of  Sabrang  and National Convener of Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy (IMSD), inviting endorsements from citizens, organisations and activists. The petition, titled “Indian Muslims & Secular Progressive Citizens Demand a Legal Ban on Polygamy,” urges the Central and State governments, Parliament and political parties to abolish polygamy through statutory reform, backed by extensive data from the 2025 national study conducted by the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA).

  By Rajiv Shah   A few days ago, I attended a press conference for the release of a study examining the impact of automation on women workers in Ahmedabad’s construction sector. Conducted by  Geeta Thatra  and  Saloni Mundra  for  Aajeevika Bureau  and  Work Fair and Free , the study immediately caught my attention—particularly a passing reference in the presentation to how  Marxist theory  tends to reduce women’s oppression to class relations and economic structures such as private property, production, and wage labour.

Maryam Namazie , a British feminist heading an organisation called Ex-Muslims International , has been frequently sending me e-mail alerts about the activities of her group. The latest one—about the organisation taking strong exception to the persecution of a feminist for wearing a "blasphemous" T-shirt in Morocco —was particularly striking. Namazie's organisation interests me also because it claims on its website that it has affiliations in several countries,  including India .

Following my blog "AAP’s rising star in Gujarat or guardian of patriarchy? The Gopal Italia dilemma", I received an interesting comment from social activist Sudhir Kariyar, who works among tribal workers in Gujarat. The blog discusses how Italia, who won a by-election, wrote a letter to the Gujarat chief minister claiming that, on getting involved in love affair, young girls are being "lured" and "trapped" by wedding mafias across the state, urging the authorities to take legal action against this.

For some strange reason, I closely followed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) during its formative years in Gujarat . I personally knew several of those who had initiated themselves into the new party in the state. These included child rights activist Sukhdev Patel , who was appointed as convener; well-known danseuse and cultural personality Mallika Sarabhai ; senior journalist Nachiketa Desai ; former BJP MLA Kanu Kalsaria ; and Dalit rights leader Jignesh Mevani . My interactions with a few of them suggested that they were all driven by a strong yearning to create an alternative to the BJP, particularly at a time when the Congress appeared to be losing political grip in Gujarat. All of them—except perhaps Kalsaria, who seemed more of a grassroots campaigner for environmental protection—had strong left-of-centre leanings, and were not politicians as we know them today. Having such ideological leanings, they often didn’t even agree with each other on different issues. Not without reason, the ...

I felt a little uneasy when I received an invitation from well-known Gujarati writer Urvish Kothari, issued in the name of Navajeevan News and Prashant Dayal—a distinguished name among Gujarat’s crime reporters. The invitation was for the initiation of the Shiva Journalism Award in memory of Shivani Dayal, Prashant’s wife, who had passed away a few weeks earlier. The invitation suggested that the award, instituted in Shivani’s name, was established against the backdrop of the "challenges and risks" journalists face. It emphasized that journalists would not acquire their "distinct identity" without the support of those standing by their side—"mother, spouse, sister, or daughter."

I didn't know that there could ever be a thing as World Hijab Day until I received an email alert from Maryam Namazie of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain (CEMB), stating that several ex-Muslim women's groups had observed the same day—February 1—as No Hijab Day! According to Namazie, the day "was created on February 1 as a direct response to World Hijab Day" to "illuminate the coercive and oppressive realities of the hijab as a pillar of sex apartheid and a war on women."

Anandiben Patel The other day, I was talking with a group of family friends. The discussion revolved around someone very close to me who had not changed her official name in documents, including her Aadhaar and passport, after her marriage. However, on social media and within her husband's family, she had adopted her husband's surname as a suffix to her own. I mentioned that there is a growing trend—though not yet widespread—where women prefer to retain their maiden names or add their maiden surnames alongside their husband's surname. Another emerging trend is where men choose to add their mother's name, or even their wife's name, to their own. This revelation surprised my family friends.

On 16th November morning, on opening Facebook, I came across a post in Gujarati which said, "The controversial speaker Kajal Hindustani, infamous for her provocative speeches, is scheduled to deliver a lecture on 'The Role of Women in Protecting Indian Culture and Shaping the Future' at Gujarat University in Ahmedabad. Concerned citizens have expressed apprehensions about whether Kajalben will spread hate or incite discord, as per her previous record."  The lecture was to take place on November 16th at 12 noon.

  The Gender Centre at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) has released a  pivotal report  shedding light on the state of women’s empowerment across India. This study focuses on the subnational (district) level in alignment with Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5), which aims to promote gender equality. 

Bollywood actress Poonam Pandey was in news recently for her fake death drama in order to propagate a cervical cancer vaccine. Counterview carried an excellent piece by Dr Amitav Bannerjee on how glitz and glamour was being used for a vaccine which has no basis, pointing out, the average age of those suffering from the deadly disease is 50, while she is 32. An article  in LinkedIn said a multinational corporation was behind the campaign for the vaccine.  Be that as it may, the "campaign" for the vaccine came even as Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget supported the case for vaccine -- imagine! -- for girls aged 6 to 14!  There is reason to wonder: Are Poonam Pandey and Nirmala Sitharaman connected in any way?  I was searching for a Poonam Pandey photo on Google -- and lo, I seem to have found the connection: she is seen on a motorbike with a Ram Temple flag fixed on it. One can now hope to see her propagate for BJP during Lok Sabha po...

  In a submission to the I&B Ministry, the Network of Women in Media, India (NWMI) has raised concerns over the proposed Broadcasting Bill with its potential to control and overregulate broadcast and digital media. NWMI said, the Bill could drastically alter the media landscape in India and exhorted the government to refrain from going ahead with it without exhaustive consultations with all stake-holders.

  Even as the Supreme Court begins hearings in front of a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on “marriage equality”, and the Bar Council of India (BCI) requesting the Apex Court to  leave the issue  for “legislative consideration” i.e., to Parliament, as the hearing would be treated as being against the culture and social religious ethos, a civil society report has insisted that “queer and transgender persons ought to be given the right to have a chosen family not defined by marriage, birth or adoption alone.” Based on a closed door testimony of 31 persons – 23 of them Hindus – the  report , "Apnon ka Bahut Lagta Hai (Our Own Hurt Us the Most)”, published by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties PUCL and the National Network of LBI (Lesbian, Bisexual, Intersex) Women and Transpersons, explores the lives of queer and trans persons amidst continued invocation of ‘sanskar’ (morality) by the state in defence of heterosexual mar...

 Can “annihilation of caste” also break the oppressive shackles of women? A recent lecture by  V Geetha , eminent feminist writer and social historian, has suggested there is no such one-to-one relationship between the two. Belonging to Chennai, Geetha was in Ahmedabad to deliver a lecture “Dravidan and Different? What Women Writers Have to Say”, where she suggested that the powerful Dravidian anti-Brahminical movement in Tamil Nadu hasn’t led to simultaneous liberation of women. In Ahmedabad for the Umashankar Joshi memorial lecture, organised by the Gangotri Trust, Geetha told the audience that the farthest the Dravidian polity went, even as engaging with caste and Brahminism, was under the AIADMK’s chief ministership of J Jayalalitha, who confined herself to “productive welfarism of women.” Answering a query from Counterview, she said, the present DMK government is pursuing the same polity – of “protecting” women and offering welfare measures for them, instead of standing u...