“ As a result of our efforts violence against women was decreasing in villages here. But ever since this new menace of ashlilta on phone ( porn available on mobile phone) became easily accessible, problems have been increasing. In fact things have come to such a pass that even some new marriages are breaking down as a result of[Read More…]
By Ariel Gold and Medea Benjamin One week after Brittney Spears sent shockwaves across the world by relaying the conditions she has lived under for the past 13 years, a Los Angeles judge has denied her request to have her father removed from her conservatorship. Despite testifying that under her father’s care, she has not been allowed to marry, or[Read More…]
This morning, I woke up to two beep sounds of my instagram notification the vibration felt like a thunderbolt ringing my lousy brain cells in bleak mid-dawn. I immediately unlocked my phone, the notification panel was all jammed with posts on a trending campaign #notallmen. By the time I flipped my quilt, partially hanging on the edge of my bed[Read More…]
Given the more than 60 Democratic and Republican votes lined up, the Senate is poised to move forward with a new bill that would change the way the military handles sexual assault and other felony crimes by service members. Sponsored by Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Joni Ernst (R-IA), the new law would assign decision-making on sexual-assault cases and a host of other[Read More…]
Public Statement on the Sexual Assault and Abduction of a Young Woman Activist at Tikri Border We deeply mourn the death of a 26-year old activist from APDR (Sreerampur) in West Bengal, who passed away on 30th April, 2021 at Bahadurgarh in Haryana. She was deeply inspired by the farmers’ movement and had gone to express her solidarity at the[Read More…]
Women against Sexual Violence and State Repression (WSS) stands firmly and unconditionally with survivors from various movement spaces, who have come forward with their testimonies of sexual assault, harassment and other forms of interpersonal violence on social media from Trolley Times, Swaraj Abhiyan and SFS. We are thankful to these survivors for finding the courage to share their traumatic experiences. Those[Read More…]
“Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going.” Rita Mae Brown The words that we weave each day, with the flavour of our thoughts, become the defining factor of our individuality. It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that language is the flagship of human civilization, an[Read More…]
Why I am not a Hindu woman: a personal story by Wandana Sonalkar, New Delhi: Women Unlimited, 2021, pp 169. Wandana Sonalkar is a self-proclaimed atheist and in this autobiographical account titled ‘Why I am not a Hindu Woman’, Sonalkar critically reflects on her position on why she has chosen to renounce her religion. This work adds to the[Read More…]
Pakistan rights campaigners have accused the country’s Prime Minister Imran Khan of “baffling ignorance” after the former cricketer linked how women dress to cause a rise in rape cases. In a weekend interview on live television, Oxford-educated Imran Khan said an increase in rapes indicated the “consequences in any society where vulgarity is on the rise.” “The incidents of rape[Read More…]
Of late, a new importance is being accorded to “social media.” The so-called “social media” is allegedly playing an extremely negative role in spread of “socially-approved” abuses targeting weaker sections, particularly minorities and women. Now, is there really such a “social media” or this is just a hype? And aren’t we erring in according it a little too much importance?[Read More…]
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has pulled Turkey out of an international accord designed to protect women, according to an official notice. The Council of Europe accord, better known as the Istanbul Convention, pledged to prevent, prosecute and eliminate domestic violence and promote equality. Turkey signed it in 2011, but femicide has surged there regardless in recent years. No reason was[Read More…]
In The German Ideology, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels stated: “The ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling ideas, i.e. the class which is the ruling material force of society, is at the same time its ruling intellectual force.” With the advent of neoliberalism, we have witnessed a process of ideological re-construction in which every attempt[Read More…]
In order to understand the edicts of a religion in an objective fashion, one has to look at the norms of the times the religion was offered. Islam was offered in a tribal-mercantile milieu. Women in the tribal age were treated as children, to be chastised when necessary. Islam, reflecting its mercantile face, eased their situation by ordaining that[Read More…]
8th March, 2021: Through the Feminist Week of Resistance and Reflections (7th to 14th March), marking International Women’s Day and remembering Savitribai Phule, National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) is committed to amplifying the voices of women and persons of marginalized genders, speaking from the intersections of other diverse identities and social locations as well. On Day 1, we reflect[Read More…]
On the occasion of Women’s Day, it might appear surprising to see an essay on Dog. Believe me, I had no interest in dogs till some of my close ones started taking interest in some street dogs. And I have no idea when I too was[Read More…]
Nearly 60 years have passed since the dowry abolition system legislation was passed in India but we still have the cruel reality of 20 dowry deaths a day in the country ( dowry killings, or women pushed by dowry related cruelty towards suicide). Each one of these deaths is a hugely tragic story, and it is being repeated 7000 times[Read More…]
‘Enough is enough. Your words, scandalise and lower the authority of the Court…..Propriety demands that you step down from the post of CJI without a moment of delay” – An open to letter Chief Justice of India by 4000 Women Activists. Once, while teaching the batch of law graduates (a class where ratio of female students was higher), I came[Read More…]
Adam and Eve descended together on this planet. They coexisted and evolved through time, struggling for domination and power constantly. Then why, after thousands of years of cohabitation women are still waiting to be empowered by the gender which arrived at the same time as them. In the race of the two sexes, have women been left behind or to[Read More…]
A man walks to the police station in Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh, with a severed head of his 17 years old daughter. He admitted openly that he disliked her relationship with another person. The poor girl did not have the option to ‘debate’ or discuss it with her father. This is not the first incident and cases after cases happening and[Read More…]
Just days before International Women’s Day, 4000+ eminent and concerned citizens, women’s rights and progressive groups raise a strong collective voice Deeply distressed by the regressive statements of the CJI asking a rapist to marry the victim and condoning marital rape in court on 01 March 2021, over 4000+ concerned citizens, from representatives of India’s women’s movements, progressive groups and feminists,[Read More…]
‘Dumb dolls’ may soon be adorning board meetings of Japan’s ruling party. As per a news report, in response to criticisms that its board is dominated by men, Japan’s ruling conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has condescended to allow 5 female lawmakers to join its board meetings provided they keep their mouths shut and do not talk during the meetings.[Read More…]
Violence against women has been a universal phenomenon in the East and the West. In the West measures have been taken against it. They have met a certain degree of success. In the East and Africa, identification of the problem has just begun in the last two decades and little by way of effective measures against it has been done.[Read More…]
To Indian ladies above 15: ‘Think before you marry’ – By section 375 exception 2 of IPC When I searched for the status of marital rape in India, the first link that popped up had content that was both bizarre as well as mind wobbling – ‘It says Section 375 of IPC considers the forced sex in marriages as a[Read More…]
“There is a global epidemic of violence against women – both within conflict zones and within societies at peace – and it is still treated as a lesser crime and lower priority” had said Angelina Jolie, actress and then UN Ambassador for refugees more than five years ago. With the onslaught of the pandemic and global public health emergency and[Read More…]
Across ages, we have seen a persistent gender-based discrimination in India. This discrimination manifests in the form of gender-based violence (40% of women have experienced domestic violence), trafficking of women, sexual abuse (42% of girls have been sexually abused), etc. A low sex ratio also (940 females for 1000 males) indicates the prevalence of evil forms of patriarchy. India’s daughters[Read More…]
Prefatory Note Before I begin with the issues that are properly the concern of this article, I would like to make some clarifications. Firstly, with this article, I would like to present my ideological and political stand on intellectual property, which, baldly put, is that it is not, and should not be treated as, property. Intellectual production takes place on[Read More…]
…so goes an old common blessing given to an Indian bride, talks of gender equality notwithstanding. While the small family norm slogan of ‘hum do, hamare do’ (we two, ours two) has rubbed in well the penchant for begetting at least one son has not waned. Many modern Indian women find their womanhood incomplete without begetting a son. I know[Read More…]
Feminism arose as a counterpose to patriarchy. Dalit feminism can presuppose both Dalit patriarchy and ‘Brahmin’ feminism. Before we venture into defining Dalit patriarchy we must be clear about what patriarchy is and how does it sustain. Sans theoretical sophistication, patriarchy is a social institution benefiting men and harmful to women. Counterposing this, feminism is an ideology/movement that stands for[Read More…]
Adolescence or teenage is that critical phase when one transitions from childhood to adulthood. It is marked by important biological changes and the onset of puberty. This ‘growing up’ is also about experiencing the joys and challenges of youth. However, for many girls especially those living in rural India, growing up in patriarchal socio-cultural set ups also signifies the[Read More…]
The political left, and much of mainstream feminism, is characterized by an analysis of how systems and institutions shape our choices, a critique of capitalist media, and a commitment to a scientific/materialist worldview. But when faced with radical feminism’s compelling critiques of patriarchy, leftists and many feminists routinely abandon those principles. Radical feminist critiques of prostitution, pornography, and transgender ideology[Read More…]
Unjust social system that subordinates, discriminates or is oppressive to women.The society is where men hold the control and make all the rules and women stay home and care for the kids. Especially in India, Patriarchy is a socially-constructed system where males have primary power. I think it affects many aspects of life, from political leadership, business management, religious institutions,[Read More…]
Of late, I am coming across on the strange discussion on “ Dalit Patriarchy “ . I see a lot of confusion around this concept and this write up tries to delve deeper into the validity, rationality and viability of the concept on the established principles of creating an ideology. Feminism is considered as- “ the advocacy of women’s rights on[Read More…]
A particular scene in Paatal Lok, which is a series in Amazon Prime used a racist and a sexist remark on a Khasi woman calling her a “Nepali whore” (in Hindi). This was followed by uproar and petitions from Nepalies across India demanding to mute that particular line followed by an apology for the same[i]. This recent incident further triggers[Read More…]
“It seemed that there was a need for a book that laid out the problem of patriarchy in plain language.” (Robert Jensen) While we’ve never met in person, Robert Jensen and I have known each other (in that internet kind of way) for decades. We have friends in common, often wrote on similar topics for the same websites, and even[Read More…]
Each year on November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is commemorated. A commemoration in essence is an opportunity to reflect on the challenges, prove that progress can be made and celebrate victories. It is also a reminder of the obligations and the responsibility we all must own at both the private and the public[Read More…]
The Indian women farmer, almost never publicly acknowledged, reviled by superstition and patriarchy, and increasingly troubled by entrenched social and cultural mores and taboos bears the real burden of farm labour. Nearly 98 million Indian women have agricultural jobs, but around 63% of them, or 61.6 million women, are agricultural labourers, dependent on the farms of others, according to 2011[Read More…]
Nikita Azad is back with #HappyToBleed campaign once again. Last year, on November 21, 2015, #HappyToBleed campaign was launched as a counter attack against the sexist statement given by Devaswom chief Prayar Gopalakrishnan who had stated that women will be allowed to enter the famous Sabarimala temple in Kerala only after a machine to “check the purity of women”. Countercurrents.org[Read More…]
When a marriage is no longer sacrosanct, can assisting in getting a divorce be called profane?
Recently, I was tagged on Facebook to participate in something called the “80s Music Challenge.” I excitedly agreed but such social media shenanigans did not come without an ugly lesson. You see, when I contemplated which songs to post, I encountered many that contained horribly insensitive and misogynistic lyrics — by performers like Public Enemy, Van Halen, Beastie Boys, Ice[Read More…]
Over the last decade, a shift in approach towards domestic violence has taken place and several legal reforms have been directed to assist the survivors. The Protection of Women Against Domestic Violence Act is one of such law that has been enacted in the year 2005 to provide civil remedies to the survivors besides criminalizing domestic violence. While these legal[Read More…]
In a rule of law jurisdiction, the story of a victim of gang rape being raped by the same accused against whom court proceedings continue, might be outlandish. But, in India today, these are the common stories that confront anyone willing to see reality: A Dalit gang rape survivor has allegedly been gang raped again by the same five accused[Read More…]
There was a small news item in the Times of India dated 3rd July, 2016.It related to Bhopal .It read , ” 3 peons breach MPs-2 child norm ,sacked.” It stated that they were removed from service at Damoh District Court as the year long enquiry determined that they had more than two children.It went to to say that more peons would[Read More…]
The allegations came recently in newspapers that two transsexuals are brutally attacked by the police in Kochi. This is the current situation of transgender life in Kerala albeit the existence of the transgender policy the state triumphs. They are being faced discrimination continuously in various forms. Apropos to this incident the allegation is charged against those who should actually assure[Read More…]
Over the years, I’ve written a fair amount of autobiographical pieces but it’s only recently that I’ve begun to re-explore some of these episodes from a more critical, radical perspective. With that in mind, to follow is yet another revised memoir-of-sorts. Even though I grew up in a “tough” neighborhood and trained myself in hand-to-hand combat, I’ve never been eager[Read More…]
Hilary Wainwright, of the Transnational Institute and co-editor of Red Pepper magazine, made a lasting impression on the Commons Transition/P2P Foundation team with her panel presentation at the recent Commons Collaborative Economies event in Barcelona. During her presentation, Wainwright shared her insights on the hidden commons of care. “Women have been creating a Commons for a long time: the domestic[Read More…]
What the Women and Child Development Minister Ms. Maneka Gandhi, admitted on the floor of the Lok Sabha was startling, between 2012 and 2014, around 25,000 women either committed suicide or were killed due to dowry harassment; this vindicates the claim of women’s movement in India. Taunts, mental and physical abuse and ultimate death by murder or ‘forced-to-commit-suicide’ is an open fact of the Indian society
By J Nigam and Shalu Nigam Mature men and some women in mysterious black coats, a weary face listening, though with little attention, to these two segments arguing, fighting, abusing and shouting, and an allegorical lady justice with blindfolds balancing some scales- that’s a courtroom in my eyes as a four year old child! Though I had barely opened my[Read More…]
Being female in this world means having been robbed of the potential for human choice by men who love to hate us. One does not make choices in freedom. Instead, one conforms in body type and behavior and values to become an object of male sexual desire, which requires an abandonment of a wide-ranging capacity for choice… Andrea Dworkin[Read More…]
On achieving independence in 1947, it was expected and believed that India will become a nation wherein there will be no place for any kind of seclusion, exclusion and suppression in the name of caste, religion, sex or language. With the same objective, the founding fathers of our nation gave us a Constitution which guarantees the values of equality, equity[Read More…]
Punjab is a predominantly patriarchal agrarian society . Men head the family and women playing a subordinate role . Sikhism and Hinduism are the major religions , with Muslims and Christians as Minorties . What are Punjabis thoughts on Sex , Sexuality , Transgender and Homosexuality ? Punjabi people are deeply religious and religion dictates sexual attitudes . Kam /[Read More…]
A communal organization derives its ideology, base and support from religion and tradition, that is, from the past or the existing social order, and functions as a bridge between religion and politics. Tradition is the continuation of the ‘glorious past’ as perceived, and projected, by the ideologies of such organizations, which may or may not bear any resemblance to historical[Read More…]
There is a fine line between prevention and normalisation of any entity. When an event manifests itself through the acceptance of society , passively as an everyday occurrence or something that is unavoidable, it already is nurturing a dysfunctional repressed violent idea. One of the celebrated deviant normalcy in the Indian society is that of a Rape. What imparts it[Read More…]
By Shobha Aggarwal & Dr. P.S. Sahni “If there are two daughters born in the home, and the third child born is also a daughter, then she is told, now I want a son, so get another wife. Even if the fault is with the man, the entire burden of the fault is on the woman’s head, and so our[Read More…]
There is a long history of social critics and progressive thinkers offering critiques of human society. Among those who are better known, Karl Marx offered a critique of capitalism, anarchists have critiqued the state, Mohandas K. Gandhi offered a critique of industrial society, Sigmund Freud and Herbert Marcuse offered critiques of civilization, and feminists have critiqued patriarchy. In addition, critiques[Read More…]
Nationhood Undefined 
The Little Talked About Covid-19 ‘Variants’: Vaccine Mismanagement Will Have Dire Repercussions 
A Tribute to Communist Revolutionary Comrade T. Nagi Redddy 
Deconstructing Assam – Mizoram Border Clash 
Failed Empire? 
We Cannot Go on Like This: Merkel Says on Tackling Climate Crisis After Floods 
Heatwave in U.S.: From Coast to Coast, Millions Affected 
Saangla Tragedy A Wake-up Call For Safety of Himalyan Travellers 
Afghanistan, Failure and Second Thoughts 
68th Anniversary of the Moncada Attack 
Vaccination among women 11% lower than in men in Madhya Pradesh 
Sarpatta Parambarai – A straw drawn from the Children of Ghetto 
After the Apocalypse – America’s Role in a World Transformed 
Corruption of Police Devastates Human Lives 
Cartoon by K.P.Sasi 
The Existential Question of Our Age 
Why Landslides Are Becoming More Frequent and Destructive 
Sharks With NO Water 
The case for ecocentric socialism: Part 1 
Letter from drone war whistleblower Daniel Hale to Judge Liam O’Grady 
Expanding the buffet of choices for preventing HIV 
Medical Complicity With Torture In Israel 
Sidhu’s Politics & Congress! 
Periyar was not against Hindi as a language but opposed imposition of an alien culture on Dravidian people 
Just the Right Time to Bring Overdue Panchayati Raj Reforms 
A Question of Strategy – Farmers Stir and Its Foes 
Don’t Cry For Lifta: Palestinians Will Endure 
Cuba is an example of resistance, says Mexican president while wants to replace OAS 
Khori Gaon residents: Victims not ‘encroachers’ 
Disturbing Trend on the Rise of Harassment Against Asian-Americans 
The Evolving Debate on COVID-19 Origin and Its Missing Component 
Lonely and Old : The challenge of India’s seniors 
Brief notes on the African Sultans of Mediaeval Bengal 
Tibet and Xinjiyang: Cultural Revolution From Above 
Greenwashing the Tokyo Olympic Games 
Voices from the Covid Battlefield – Episode Four 
Right of Conquest – a racist doctrine 
Remembering Comrade Arvind 
New Studies on High Risks of Wireless Devices and Non-Ionizing Radiation 
Apocalypse 
Dear Authors and Readers of Countercurrents, You may all know Sheshu Babu an author for CC for long time. Most of our old authors may have received at least one thoughtful comment from him. In the early days, he used to read all CC articles and post a thoughtful comment for each article. Then one day, another CC author Emily[Read More…]
