The danger of cheering the Telangana police

December 16th marks seven years since the brutal Delhi gang rape. Nirbhaya- or “fearless”- was the name the young intern  was given by an anguished nation for the two weeks she survived after the horrific attack. As she battled for life, an entire country prayed with her family. We prayed for her recovery, we prayed for justice…

Breaking the Silence: 5 Years after Nirbhaya

Watch here: Five years ago a country wept when a young Delhi girl battled for and lost her life after being brutally gang raped in the heart of the city. The Nirbhaya Act strengthening punishment for sexual predators and expanding the definition of abuse was the outcome of that anger and grief. Today, women -…

Triple Talaq and Marital Rape: Politics and Patriarchy Trump Gender Justice

A week is a long time in politics. If there were ever any doubt about this, the government’s contradictory positions on gender justice over the span of seven days between August 22 and August 29 have laid them to rest. On August 22, women all over India celebrated the Supreme Court’s verdict declaring triple talaq illegal…

The Anatomy of a Protest

Freedom, enshrined in the constitution of India and safety for India's women from sexual assault at home or outside. The brutal gang-rape and eventual death of a 23-year-old girl on her way from a movie in the evening on Sunday evening in December triggered an awakening that took many by surprise. Perhaps the simplest explanation…

Weapons Of War: The Women Of Bastar

Weapons of War is my news documentary on women who have become collateral damage of a bloody conflict between Maoist insurgents and the state. Weapons of war exposes the ugly reality of brutal sexual abuse that Bastar's impoverished tribal women are subjected to, and the constant intimidation of those who try to bring them justice.…

How Breastfeeding Women Are Abused In Bastar – And Other Horror Stories

"Without emotion, as though she were talking about the weather, Manju (name changed) tells us how she and six other women in her village (Kunna in Bastar’s Sukma district) were subjected to “inspection” by a police party that came through their hamlet chasing a group of Naxals. Fearing harassment, torture, arrest or death, each time forces approach,…