Formats and Word Count

  1. Reported stories from the ground: 1000-1200 words
  2. Well-researched analytical pieces: 1200-1500 words
  3. Opinion pieces (not rants) backed by facts, figures and research: 800-1200 words
  4. News pieces (local, national and international) – either curated and/or based on reporting and field research: 800-1100 words
  5. Conceptual and easy think pieces on relevant topics that break the monotony of academic language: 800-1000 words
  6. Articles on women’s history, movements and feminist history (both national and international): 1000-1500 words
  7. Personal essays (not to be confused with rants and should also contain some element of social commentary backed by secondary and/or primary research): 800-1000 words.

What We Publish

  • News, politics and current affairs (reportage, analysis and opinion)
  • Book, film, TV shows, pop culture and music reviews
  • Intersectional feminism: i.e. gender, caste, class, sexuality, disability, mental health, etc.
  • Campus issues
  • Sports
  • Politics
  • Law and policy
  • Environment and climate change
  • Positive stories
  • Articles on women’s history and feminist history
  • Media watch (how a particular news incident was reported by mainstream media)
  • Personal narratives
  • Interviews and features of eminent feminist personalities

What We Do Not Publish

  • Academic papers
  • Fiction
  • Poetry
  • Rants

How to submit an article?

  1. If you want to become a contributing guest writer at FII, please introduce yourself and your interest in the pitch you are submitting, send us a short write-up of 250-300 words on what intersectionality or intersectional feminism means to you reflecting on your social position, citing concrete examples from your life. Please also send us one writing sample, preferably published.
  2. Please note that we DO NOT take article submissions in the first go. We’d require the writers to send us a story pitch, a summary of the article you are about to send us.
  3. Please adhere to the below-given structure for sending story pitches:
    • Subject line and time-sensitivity: Give the title of the story in the subject line and mention if the article is time-sensitive. For example: ‘Time Sensitive Submission: What Does The Gap In Vaccine Roll-Out Say About India’s Healthcare System?’ and ‘Submission: Can We Stop Calling It ‘Eve-Teasing’?’ (if not time-sensitive).
    • Headline: Give a tentative, simple title that best describes the story. Please note, that the headline cannot be abstract or contain wordplay or puns — Anything that might obstruct us from getting an idea of what the story is about.
    • Summarise using the 5Ws and 1H: In 200-250 words, break down the article to us using the 5Ws and 1H approach—
      • Who is the story about.
      • What is the particular incident that has led you to write the story? Please mention the category that you see the story getting published under, at FII.
      • When did the incident happen/start or what is the timeline of the theme you are going to write about. 
      • Where is the story/person/theme of your article located.
      • Why do you think it is important to tell this story, especially in the current socio-political scenario.
      • How will you tell the story: This is where you give us the sub-headings/sub-themes you will be covering in your story.
  4. Please note, that the editor might not accept your pitch in one go. Your pitch might be similar to other articles that have been published on FII in the past or might not seem convincing enough to be accepted right away. Usually, in the latter case, the editor will give you suggestions to work into your pitch, before accepting it.
  5. Once the pitch is accepted, the editor and the writer can decide on a timeline within which to deliver the first draft. Again, the first draft, too, will be subjected to editorial scrutiny and will be revised as per the requirements of the website.
  6. Once the article is published, we do not take down the article.

 

Editor’s Note: We have a strong no-appropriation editorial policy. Keeping intersectionality at the heart of it, we’d like the writers to ensure that they speak/write/reflect from their standpoints and refrain from speaking on the lived experiences of people from marginalised communities. This is not to say that we do not value allyship. We encourage writers to write as allies, but through formats such as reportage, interviews and/or features that emphasise on the voices of the marginalised section being written. Feminism in India is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer and strongly encourages Dalit, Bahujan and Adivasi writers, as well as gender non-binary, trans folks and people with disabilities to write on FII.

What to expect after you have submitted your article

  • An editor will be assigned to you who will review your pitch and give feedback if necessary.
  • Once the pitch has been approved, the editor will set a timeline for the first draft submission. Submissions will also be reviewed and feedback will be given if necessary.
  • The editor will inform you approximately when your article will be published and send you the link to the article when it’s live.
  • Your article will be shared on FII’s multiple social media platforms and you will be tagged (depending on social accounts provided by you).
  • Please note due to a high volume of submissions, an editor will take 5-7 business days to get back to you. If you haven’t heard from us post one week of submission, please send us a reminder email.
  • We retain final decision rights over headlines, blurbs, date of publishing, and image use. Our team has spent a great deal of time learning which kinds of headlines and blurbs give FII pieces the best chance of being read, found online, and shared both on social media and within feminist groups.

AI & Plagiarism Policy

What Not To Use AI For

  • Do not write articles using AI from scratch
  • Do not use AI for fact-checking and research
  • Do not use AI to translate or paraphrase other’s work, it is plagiarism
  • Do not use AI to humanise the article 
  • Do not use AI to add or edit out any element from photos, videos and audio. 
  • Do not use AI to proofread, edit or alternate any sensitive or personal information. 
  • Do not use AI to edit any existing internal documents. 

What Can You Use AI For?

  • To proofread and enhance your writing, but inform the editor that AI has been used and specify the tools used. Editor’s oversight is needed. 
  • Writing titles, excerpts, subheadings, social media copies, captions etc, however, they must be reviewed by a human
  • Translation; must be checked by a human editor
  • Shorten the length of the article (must be checked by editors for grammar check and content, for no alteration)
  • Use AI for translation/ transcription of videos
  • Use AI for translation of generic subjects but should be rewritten as per our editorial guidelines
  • Use AI for preparing content for storytelling/ workshops on specific subjects and modify/ check or change according to our editorial needs. 
  • AI can be used for preparing interview questions but editors need to check and customise it if needed. 
  • AI can be used for generating story ideas. 

Submission Guidelines 

  • Inform the editor in what capacity you have used AI and which applications
  • Inform the editors about translation (from English to Hindi or vice versa)

Terms & Conditions

  1. Exclusive material, and republications: In submitting an article you must indicate clearly whether you wish your material to be published exclusively in Feminism in India, or if it has already been submitted/accepted for publication elsewhere. We normally do not republish from blogs or other sources. As a news media publication, we focus on original content.
  2. Copyrights and Republication: Copyright for material that is published exclusively is held jointly by Feminism in India and the authors.
  3. Permission to republish: Authors must refer all requests for republication to Feminism in India, and must not grant such requests without FII’s informed consent.
  4. Publishing articles based on research findings by private entities: If an author wants to publish findings based on studies/research done by the organisations they are/were affiliated with, then we would require a letter/email of consent from the organisation.
  5. Citation: All republished articles must include the following citation: “This article was first published in Feminism in India and is republished here with permission.” The original article must be hyperlinked to Feminism in India.
  6. Takedown Requests: When you submit an article to us, it is with the understanding that the article can be used for publication. Removing an article from the website, once published, impacts both the user experience and the search engine optimisation for the site, and hence, we do not remove articles once published. The exception to this rule would be if there is a legal claim, prior copyright or safety issue whether pertaining to the author, or to the Feminism in India site or team members.
  7. Author name and author bio: With the exception of trans writers, we do not allow any writer to change their name or write under a pseudonym for Feminism In India to ensure complete transparency and to avoid any legal hassles going forward. However, writers wishing to publish personal narratives can choose to write anonymously for us, but that would also require sharing with the FII editorial their actual name and details in the first place, for record-keeping purposes.

We look forward to hearing from you!

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