We’ve had quite a week. What with Aamir Khan expressing his wife’s fear about raising her son in India and getting brickbats for it, to today, when everyone is talking about one of Nirbhaya’s most brutal rapists walking away scot-free next month, Thanksgiving sure does seem grim. But while the negatives are there for all to see, as a woman in India, this year was also a big positive. From changing laws in the country to individuals who redefined the rules, the feminist in us, who stands for equality, is rejoicing.
1. Supreme Court says married women have a right to property despite living separately: A recent development by the SC clarifies that as per The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, a married women is entitled to her property and assets irrespective of them living together or not. The clarification is a welcome change for women all over India who are often left without any support post marital discord.
2. MTV India aired a lesbian love story: After that entire saas bahu saga, we finally have a lesbian love story that caters to a large part of our population. Sans the drama and stereotypes, the MTV series, I Kissed a Girl is a great step towards sensitising the population towards the LGBT community.
3. India gets its first transgender police officer in Tamil Nadu: Breaking a new barrier, for the first time in India, we got a transgender police officer. Yashini battled all odds to get the post and we sure think this is a new high for transgender women across the country.
4. India will soon have women fighter pilots in combat positions: While women were a part of the Armed Forces in the 90s, they were never given any kind of combat roles. They could fly transport aircrafts and helicopters in the Air Force, but could not streak across the skies in fighter jets. “We are now planning to induct them into the fighter stream to meet the aspirations of young women of India,” said Air Chief Marshal Raha, last month.
5. A life-saving bindi worked miracles in rural India: Hundreds of women in rural India who don’t have access to iodine in their daily diet can now turn to The Life Saving Dot, aka bindis. Created by Grey For Good, the bindis slowly release a small amount of iodine in the body over the course of the day. Hundreds of women in villages can now be healthier at a fraction of the cost.
6. New mothers get some relief at work: After a few private companies (like Flipkart) came forward to offer improved maternity benefits to their women employees, the Ministry of Labour and Employment is planning to enhance maternity leave benefits from three months to six months along with virtually double bonus payments to employees and making gratuity portable between jobs.
7. Bollywood redefined its stereotypical heroine: In the recent past, Bollywood sure moved away from hero-centric films, but with the release of Dum Laga Ke Haisha earlier this year, it addressed size issues in a positive manner too. Played by Bhumi Pednekar, Sandhya, a small town girl from Haridwar, is extremely talented but is always made to feel inferior because of her plus size. The movie shows her gaining her confidence back, while simultaneously giving a confidence booster to plus size women everywhere.
8. Shaadi.com gave a kick to the dowry system: In May this year, Shaadi.com came out with a Dowry Calculator. When you used the calculator, expecting to get a dowry amount based on your profession, you were met with a slot machine calculator on which the numbers kept changing until it settled on 91202. This was the number of dowry deaths reported in India between 2001 and 2012. A great way to spread some more awareness about one of India’s biggest social evils.
9. Acid attack victim Reshma Quereshi changed all the rules: Acid attacks are increasing by the day, and in a society where we tend to blame the survivors rather than the criminal, Reshma Quereshi sure changed the rules. This acid attack survivor made headlines as she starred in a beauty vlog that not only taught women how to apply a red lipstick but also spoke about how, just like a red lipstick, even acid was freely available everywhere. The campaign supported by Make Love Not Scars urged the government to regulate the sale of acid.
10. PM Narendra Modi launched the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign: In an effort to end discrimination against the girl child, Narendra Modi launched the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign to combat the abysmally low child sex ratio of 918 girls for 1000 boys. We sincerely hope that this effort by the Prime Minister leads us to a country where gender equality becomes a basic right, and not something that we continue fighting for.
