People Savvy, Tech Savvy: Different Faces Of Panchayat Women

Penalised For Pregnancy: Job Loss And Heartburn

Zakia Jafri's Long, Pain-filled Journey For Justice

At Ground Zero, Istanbul's Gezi Park

India's Surrogacy Services: Misplaced Priorities,Disturbing Silences

Activist Alicia Partnoy, Survivor Extraordinaire

That Call For Help: How Effective Are Helplines?

For Tripura's Tribal Women Leaders People Come First

Why Do Men Keep Us Out Of Politics, Asks Divya

Travel Unlimited: Clubs That Get Women To Pack Their Bags

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India
People Savvy, Tech Savvy: Different Faces Of Panchayat Women
Abha Sharma

Amri Bai, a simple woman in her fifties, had never had the opportunity to deal with the world until she became the Ward Panch of Kesuli Gram Panchayat. Once a shy housewife whose life revolved around the home and family, she is a changed woman now, thanks to the confidence her position in the panchayat has given her. If Amri represents one face of women's grassroots leadership in Rajasthan then Rakhi Paliwal is the other face, albeit a contrasting one. An aspiring law student, this Upsarpanch (deputy village head) is trying to transform her Upli Oden panchayat with the click of a mouse. Both women are shining examples of political empowerment in Rajsamand district although they are entirely different people - Amri is traditional and rustic whereas Rekha is tech savvy and modern. What they have in common, though, is an ambition to bring about change in the lives of the people they represent.

'There have been times when the District Collector has immediately responded to queries posted on my Facebook page… It is true the elders are not net savvy but even in villages, youngsters using the internet update their family on welfare issues.'

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India
Penalised For Pregnancy: Job Loss And Heartburn
Sharmistha Choudhury

When Kolkata-based Reema Paul (name changed) switched jobs, lured by a better salary and brighter prospects, she happily signed the contract that set down certain terms and conditions for her first year at a branch of one of India's top electronic chain of stores. It was a mere formality, she thought, and with her experience and zest for success, she knew she would have few problems in her new job. Little did Soma know that very soon she would be on her way out, not because her work had been found unsatisfactory or because she had been guilty of some grave misconduct, but simply because she had 'dared' to get pregnant. When a heavily pregnant Reema applied for leave, she was asked to hand in her resignation letter as the contract stated she would not be granted leave in her first year at the company. Mothers and motherhood have been traditionally and, often patronisingly, glorified in our country. Yet, despite the provisions of the Maternity Benefit Act of 1961, pregnant women in employment continue to get a raw deal.

'My contract stated that I would not be allowed any leave for the first year but how was I to imagine I would be penalised for my pregnancy? I always thought that women employees in the organised sector were entitled to maternity leave.'

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India
Zakia Jafri's Long, Pain-filled Journey For Justice
Humra Quraishi

Zakia Jafri has come to symbolise the unfinished quest for justice in Chief Minister Narendra Modi's Gujarat. Her husband, Ahsan Jafri, trade unionist, senior Congress Party politician, writer and poet, was brutally murdered by a riotous mob in the Gulberg Society pogrom conducted during the riots that tore through Gujarat in 2002. The intervening years have seen Zakia get transformed from being a home-maker to a public figure. Today, she can address media conferences and protest meetings. She is also familiar with court procedures having filed many petitions. What keeps this woman, now in her seventies, going?

"Early the next morning, on February 28, neighbours started pouring into our home and kept asking for my husband. They felt and looked noticeably relaxed once they saw him."

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Turkey
At Ground Zero, Istanbul's Gezi Park
Pamela Philipose

Istanbul, strewn with the architectural marvels of the centuries, mesmerises you with its beauty as it straddles the simmering deep azure of the Bosphorus under the umbrella of the sky. The struggle to save Gezi Park, adjoining the historic Taksim Square that commemorates the birth of the Turkish Republic, was in many ways an attempt by many ordinary people to keep alive a vision of the city that they believe has been bequeathed to them by history. The young women and men who courageously camped at Gezi Park - a small spread of Chinar, Magnolia and other trees among the concrete behemoths that ring it - knew well that their lives were in danger. They had over the last weeks faced pepper gas, water canons, tear gas, sound grenades and bullets, both plastic and real. Some among them died, many more were wounded, yet they continued their protest against the Recep Tayyip Erdogan government's bulldozers and armed police in strikingly creative and tenacious ways. A report from ground zero.

"As women and as residents of Istanbul, we want access to our streets and parks. We want our city to be protected against vested interests. The Gezi Park struggle symbolises this desire."

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India's Surrogacy Services: Misplaced Priorities,Disturbing Silences
Sunita Reddy

The Home Ministry's recent guidelines that ban foreign gay couples from seeking surrogacy services in India is yet another example of misplaced perspectives when it comes to regulating the hugely popular assisted reproductive method even though real issues like the protection of the rights of surrogate women and children still remain overlooked. India has been dubbed the surrogacy capital of the world - it is a booming US$ 2.3 billion industry - but there is still no specific law in place to lay down the ground rules. Clinics have evolved their own operating norms and they certainly do not have the rights of surrogates on their agenda. For undergoing nine months of pain and isolation from her family, a surrogate is paid a mere Rs 2-3 lakh and this 'good' sum is given only after the baby has been successfully handed over to the parents. What about covering threats such as long-term medical risks in case of a tricky childbirth or ensuring postnatal care? And what about safeguarding the rights of the newborn, particularly when parents belong to a foreign country or end up with a broken marriage before the child is born? An opinion piece by an Assistant Professor from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

Given the reality of fragile marital relationships there is no assurance that the 'commissioned' child will be received willingly by prospective parents. In such cases, the law resorts to imposing custody so one can only imagine the kind of care the child will receive while growing up.

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