The case of missing i-Pills in Chennai
Termed as “India’s Health Capital”, Chennai is one of the country’s most throbbing capitals, yet it does not have the access to i-Pills (emergency contraceptive pills). Women have been protesting the unavailability of i-Pills in Chennai for quite some time now. Pharmacies and other stores tell the customers that these pills are “out of stock” and will be made available soon; however, this has been going on for some time now. Upon further digging, it was found that the Tamil Nadu government has banned these pills on the grounds that they are abortion pills. However, according to various obstetricians and gynaecologists, this pill is only for contraception and is useless if the pregnancy has already taken place.
Search Engine Giants Aim to Save the Girl Child
Yahoo, Google and Microsoft have decided to come up with a mechanism that will automatically block all information through which it can be possible to determine the sex of an unborn child. These companies have designed a system and a total of 22 keywords have been fed to it. Anyone who searches any of these 22 keywords will get no information. These keywords have been picked after careful observation and research and this mechanism will help in stopping people from determining the sex of their unborn child.
Mahasweta’s Draupadi Comes Under Fire for Sedition
Based on Bengali writer, Mahasweta Devi’s famous play, Draupadi was performed by the students of Central University of Haryana (CUH) at Mahendragarh. Now the students and teachers who took part in the play are under the threat of facing sedition charges. These charges were placed by the student-wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) called Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). According to ABVP’s stance, the play’s contents were anti-national and put Indian soldiers in a bad light. ABVP has filed a police complaint against everyone who took part in the play and has demanded charges of sedition to be placed on them.
Hillary-Donald Debate and Deep-rooted Misogyny
In global feminist news, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump came face to face Monday, 26th September to debate about important issues and challenges faced by the United States of America and how both of them strategize to deal with them. However, on the contrary, the world saw how a grown up man could not contain his emotions and temperamental issues and lashed out at his fellow presidential candidate – who happens to be a woman – from time to time. The debate has become an example of deep-rooted misogyny and gender discrimination in perhaps in of the world’s most progressive countries.
Other Important Feminist News
The struggle of Saudi women in fighting misogyny is not a secret. In a recent turn of events, thousands of Saudi citizens have signed the petition to end male guardianship of women. As per the Saudi law, a woman cannot travel, marry or seek employment without the permission of her male guardian. Supporters of the petition have declared that women have every right to be treated as an equal citizen as men and this petition is a step towards that equality.
Justin Trudeau and Emma Watson – both prominent feminists – have recently met and discussed women right’s issues in Canada. Emma discussed her U.N campaign called He For She campaign, which is about gender equality, with Trudeau and both talked about how this campaign can make a difference for women around the world.
What We’re Reading
Sonam Kapoor comments on how “she didn’t wake up like this” and the false beauty standards created by the fashion industry, attached to the flawlessness of female celebrities.
How the Bisexual Awareness Week matters and what significance it carries in educating the masses regarding the LGBT community.
Ann Freidman takes a dig at the stereotype that women are less funny than men in Are beautiful, funny women really that hard to find?
How female actors are stereotyped in the cinema industry across the world and the right kind of representation that women in media deserve and what will happen if the role is reversed.
How the science and tech industry is influenced due to gender stereotyping, as explained by Livio De La Cruz.
What We’re Watching
Udaari – a Pakistani drama serial – has caught our attention this week. Based on the concept of child sexual abuse and gender stereotyping, this concept resonates well with the Indian society as well. Udaari is a must watch show for everyone who wants to see media smashing patriarchy in a localized manner.
This Week in FII
Sheryl Sebastian writes about the 7 Historic Indian Women in STEM that we need to know about.
Parched – the movie – is making headlines globally due to its feminist and groundbreaking content. Poonam Singh reviews the movie and its impact on the cinema culture.
Workplace harassment is a very common phenomenon and an underreporting one as well. Nupur Preeti Alok describes it in a very personal experience and how it is not her burden to bear.
Srishti Agnihotri writes about The Survivor’s Guide on How to Navigate the Criminal Justice System.
Poonam Singh writes about On Women’s Bodies, Safety and Honour in an attempt to highlight the flaws attached to reporting and dealing of crimes against women in India.
Hira Naaz sums up perfectly how Men’s Rights Activists are deceptive in their perception of feminism and deep-rooted misogyny.
Featured Image Credit: Creative Commons
