In 2025, Feminism in India (FII) continued to strengthen its role as India’s leading feminist media platform, deepening its editorial rigour, expanding its thematic scope, and amplifying marginalised voices across languages, formats, and movements.
Editorial Impact: English
The English Editorial Team published 740+ articles over the year, engaging with some of the most urgent feminist concerns of our time. Through our monthly editorial focus, Mood of the Month (MoTM), the team curated sustained conversations on themes such as gender, AI and digital violence; gender, caste and mental health; and reproductive justice and rights, among others. This framework allowed us to move beyond episodic coverage and offer deeper, more intersectional storytelling.
In March 2025, FII launched its Feminist Glossary in English—a go-to, jargon-free guide that simplifies complex feminist concepts into accessible definitions supported by real-world examples. Covering feminist theory, SRHR, queer politics, and feminist histories, the glossary was recognised beyond our platform. It was featured in the Hindustan Times newsletter Mind the Gap, curated by journalist Namita Bhandare—marking a critical moment of mainstream validation for feminist knowledge-making.
That same month, FII was also featured on HerKey’s list of the Top 20 Companies in Diversity (SMEs/Startups), recognising our organisational commitment to equity and inclusion.
The English team also expanded its long-form editorial offerings. This included a six-part column by former intern Juhi Sanduja, “Scripts of the Mothers: Reclaiming Matriarchal Knowledge,” which explored matriarchal rituals, symbols, and histories from prehistory to pre-colonial archives. For Pride Month (15 June–15 July), FII co-published a series of pieces on the intersection of gender, sexuality, and disability, in collaboration with Q’Able, to foreground voices often erased from mainstream Pride narratives.
Editorial Impact: Hindi
The Hindi Editorial Team published 516 articles in 2025, remaining one of the most prolific and impactful feminist Hindi-language newsrooms in the country. Coverage spanned multiple MoTM themes—including gender, AI and digital violence and 16 Days of Activism, as well as stories produced under the Laadli Media Fellowship and other editorial initiatives.
In March 2025, the Hindi team also published the Feminist Glossary in Hindi, translating complex feminist frameworks into accessible language for a much wider readership and reinforcing FII’s commitment to feminist knowledge in Indian languages.
The year was also marked by significant professional recognition for the Hindi editorial team:
- Malabika Dhar, Associate Editor (Hindi), was selected for CREA’s Feminist Leadership, Movement Building and Rights Institute (FLMBaRI – Hindi), and for a gender-transformative leadership programme by ICRW and Women in Global Health India.
- Savita, Assistant Editor (Hindi), was selected for the Himal Nature Storytelling Fellowship by Voices of Rural India.
- Priti Kharwar, Staff Writer (Hindi), won the Laadli Media Award 2025 for her story “मनोरंजन की दुनिया में एलजीबीटीक्यू+ समुदाय की मौजूदगी, वास्तविक समस्याएं और चुनौतियां”. She was also selected for the Laadli Media Fellowship 2025.
- Rakhi, Staff Writer (Hindi), was selected for CREA’s Sexuality, Gender and Rights – A Study programme.
Fellowships, Awards, and Professional Recognition
Across languages and roles, FII’s editorial strength was reflected in the selection of multiple team members for national fellowships and recognitions. Ananya Ray (English Associate Editor), Malabika Dhar (Hindi Associate Editor), Akshita Prasad (English Digital Editor and Staff Writer), and Priti Kharwar (Staff Writer) were all selected for the Laadli Media Fellowship 2025.
Additionally, Priti Kharwar and Akshita Prasad received Jury Appreciation Citations in the Web Feature category (Hindi and English, respectively) at the Laadli Awards—underscoring FII’s credibility across linguistic and editorial formats.
Leadership, Public Engagement, and Movement Influence
In 2025, FII’s founder, Japleen Pasricha, continued to play a critical role in shaping national conversations on gender justice, media ethics, digital safety, and reproductive rights—bringing together research, practice, and movement-building across forums, institutions, and grassroots spaces.
Throughout the year, Japleen was invited to speak on multiple national platforms on technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV), including panels organised by UNDP, The Dialogue, Centre for Social Research (Trust and Safety India Conference, co-organised with Girl Effect India), and NGO Sakshi, where she presented findings from her long-standing research as well as FII’s campaign #DigitalHifazat. She also spoke on panels addressing masculinities, domestic violence, and the gender digital divide, including sessions organised by Veera Foundation, NGO Sakshi, and CDPP and DEF in Hyderabad.
Japleen’s work at the intersection of reproductive justice and media ethics was recognised through multiple invitations to speak and facilitate. She was part of panels and consultations on safe abortion access, including convenings by Pratigya and the Mash Foundation, CommonHealth (Goa), and the Coalition for Advancing Abortion Rights and Justice. She also conducted targeted trainings and sessions for The YP Foundation, Feminist Leadership Hub (co-organised by One Future Collective and Fair Share of Women Leaders), and youth leaders working on ethical and sensitive abortion reporting.
Capacity-building and narrative leadership remained central to her work. Japleen facilitated storytelling, communications, and feminist media workshops for organisations such as Pravah, Voices of Rural India, and Breakthrough India, working closely with youth leaders, fellows, and practitioners to strengthen feminist narrative-building from the ground up.
Japleen Pasricha was awarded the Change Maker 2025 Award by the NGO Democratic Sangha in Hyderabad for her steadfast commitment to feminist journalism, building platforms that serve as essential spaces for marginalised voices, and pushing public conversations on gender equality and gender justice.
She also represented FII at key sectoral convenings, including the Media Viability Conference organised by Ideosync Media, #IFRC2025 (Funding Beyond Programmes), where she conducted a Masterclass on writing grant proposals, and discussions on safer dating practices with ACTS and Tinder.
The year also marked important organisational milestones. FII marked its 11th anniversary in August 2025, underscoring its sustained relevance and impact as a feminist media platform.
Campaigns, Collaborations, and Partnerships
In 2025, FII continued to prioritise collaboration as a feminist practice. We partnered with organisations and institutions, including Q’Able, ATE Chandra Foundation, Commutiny, and Tinder India, to co-create research, content, and campaigns that addressed stigma and systemic exclusion.
A key collaboration this year was ‘Notice the Unseen’, a survey on safe online dating conducted with Tinder India, which contributed to public conversations on digital safety, consent, and dating cultures in India.
Capacity Building, Research, and Knowledge Sharing
FII invested deeply in strengthening editorial practices and ethical journalism. The Editorial and Social Media teams participated in Solutions Journalism workshops led by Swati Sanyal Tarafdar. As a result, Ananya Ray and Malabika Dhar each published solutions-focused pieces on the Kanyashree scheme in West Bengal and on MGNREGA implementation in the Sundarbans, respectively. Ananya’s article was also featured on the International Solutions Journalism Tracker.
FII also participated in fact-checking workshops under the Shakti Collective, and republished verified gender-related fact-check stories in both English and Hindi, reinforcing our commitment to responsible journalism.
Our editorial team actively contributed to academic and policy conversations:
- Ananya Ray presented her research paper, “From the Editor’s Desk: Addressing the Media Ethics of GBV Reportage in India Through a Feminist Editorial Perspective”, at an international conference jointly organised by CHRIST University and Florida State University.
- Vishal Sharma, Assistant Editor (English), represented FII at multiple national dialogues, including the Pride & Policy Workshop hosted by the High Commission of Canada and YLAC, a Match Group roundtable on Digital Safety & Inclusion for LGBTQIA+ communities, and the Journalism Connect: Rewiring Trust in Media conference organised by Goethe-Institut and Deutsche Welle.
- In December 2025, Ananya Ray also conducted “The Story Lab: Learn to Report for the Internet”—a workshop on intersectional feminist journalism for young journalists in Kolkata under the Guliestaan Project.
Social Media and Community Engagement
In 2025, FII’s social media platforms saw a significant rise in engagement, sparking thoughtful conversations, debate, and collective reflection within our community. These interactions pushed us to reimagine how feminist media can be more participatory, responsive, and rooted in dialogue.
FII produced a video shedding light on the harsh realities and systemic discrimination faced by those living near Delhi’s Ghazipur landfill, which garnered massive views and recognition. FII’s former team members Shahinda Syed and Devika Dinesh created a 4-part Gendering Conflict video series, which explored how war, occupation, and instability disproportionately impact women
The FII community grew substantially, with more than 22K subscribers on YouTube, over 90K followers on Facebook, 53K followers on X, over 173K followers on Instagram, and more than 25K followers on LinkedIn.
We remain deeply encouraged by the consistent support of our readers, contributors, and community members. Every share, comment, and conversation strengthens feminist media. If you engaged with our work in any way this year, this impact is yours as much as it is ours.
However, in our times of right-wing authoritarianism and AI advancements that are changing the landscape of journalism, feminist media houses like ours are experiencing funding shortages. FII’s journalism remains free and accessible to all, and we intend to keep it that way. We would appreciate your support. Support FII’s feminist journalism by making a donation.
Also read: FII’s Year In Review 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015 and 2014.
About the author(s)
Feminism In India is an award-winning digital intersectional feminist media organisation to learn, educate and develop a feminist sensibility and unravel the F-word among the youth in India.
