Are they members of a Church without caste hierarchy, or are they still Dalits, with all that it implies in Hinduism? Dalit Christians find that despite being a numerical majority in the faith in India, the promise of equality is as distant as before. They're taking their protests to Parliament this winter, reports Padmalatha Ravi.

Schools are meant for making better citizens out of our children but in the Dewas district of Madhya Pradesh, they are forging and reinforcing caste-bondages instead. Inclusive education seems a far cry in the villages of Dewas, reports Shuriah Niazi.

The tenth Mumbai International Flim Festival has just closed. And obviously, the ilm-makers who protested MIFF 2003 have got their message across that they won't tolerate government interference. Now, the films aren't censored any more. Darryl D'Monte reports.

A Supreme Court ruling putting live-in relationships on par with marriages raises difficult questions. Will it pit one woman's right to legal protection against another's? Does it overlook bigamy? Shoma Chatterji reports.

While Mayawati's projects to build parks and statues have drawn derision in the drawing rooms of the stately homes in the country, the people at her rallies are in awe of her. Her work is Dalit power, they feel and will make her immortal. Kulsum Mustafa has more.

A quiet but steady revolution seems to be underway as both government and private individuals and organizations increasingly explore ways to make more data available to the people and in various innovative ways to facilitate application. Shamala Kittane reports.

If charitable giving in India is to rise to the next level, the social sector needs to take more serious note of donors' preference for active involvement in the use of donations, explains Shankar Jaganathan.

Male prostitution, both forced and voluntary, is a reality that is often forgotten in the discourse on gender rights and issues. Tejaswini Pagadala throws light on the lives of male sex workers in the country.

In a temple in Almora, thousands of devotees come every year with petitions on, believe it or not, judicial stamped paper, complete with details of their woes, and offer it to Golu Devta with a hope that justice will dawn, even if the courts have failed. Ramesh Menon reports.

What's in a name? Apparently a lot in a country like ours, where even today regressive practices like identifying a person's caste by his or her surname or identifying a woman by her husband's name continue unabated, writes Navya P K.

Casteism and the state of our civil society were the major issues discussed at the recently held Difficult Dialogues conclave in Goa. It was organised by the South Asia Centre of the London School of Economics India Summit 2016 and the Television Trust for the Environment. Darryl D’Monte, who participated in one of the panel discussions, reports.

A new child-led survey has documented the types of violence children in Maharashtra are exposed to. Alka Gadgil reports the important findings from the survey.

The Social Work Research Centre addresses community problems by building upon people's skills, and placing the solutions in their own hands.

Economic prosperity isn't always a sign of social progress. A new study of gender biases around the country finds the wealthier states have much to answer for.

Indra Chopra looks at the dowry custom cloaked within current-day marriages.

In the workplaces of the times - the call centres of global corporations - Indian expertise is rewarding, but also has significant downsides, says Geeta Seshu.
Part II : Stress in the sunshine sector

In the workplaces of the times - the call centres of global corporations - Indian expertise is rewarding, but also has significant downsides, says Geeta Seshu.
Part I : The global beck and call service

The shortage of girls is more than a sociological concern; it demands that we change the mindset of doctors and clients to create a socio-cultural milieu that is conducive for the girl child’s survival, says Dr. Vibhuti Patel.

Some of the hits of the last few years (post-liberalisation) show a decided nostalgia for a traditional way of life where women are the homemakers, says Shahla Raza.

What is history, and who are its worthy subjects? The Sound and Pictures Archives for Research on Women preserves women's voices from the past and present.

Geeta Seshu recalls the women of 2003, whose lives offered hope for improved rights tomorrow, and also reminded us of the failures we live with today.

Men who think of themselves as allies and supporters of women need to break the culture of silence that surrounds rape, says Radhika Chopra.

The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act must be modified to ensure that women are protected against coercive and sex-selective abortions, says Pavan Nair.

Mental health issues of women are gaining ground in the women’s studies discourse. Vibhuti Patel reports on current developments and advocates progressive directions.

More men must see violence against women as their issue too, says Abhijit Das.

Both legalisation and decriminalisation talk about protecting prostitutes from police harassment, as well as guarding their right of choice. But they have so far failed to address the issue of vulnerability of the women in the sex trade. Asha Ramesh notes different voices in the debate over what the legal stance towards prostitution should be.

A recent report commissioned by the National Human Rights Commission finds that many children and women listing as 'missing' are in fact trafficked. Malvika Kaul reports.

Activists within the Muslim community are demanding reforms to tackle questions of personal law such as dowry, divorce and polygamy. Ashima Kaul reports.

The fleeting attention that is given to the rape of a girl in school hides the systematic harassment and violence that so many are subjected to - an important reason why girls drop out of the education system around the age of puberty. Deepti Priya Mehrotra reports.

The national meet of the RSS women's wing witnessed an interesting exercise in the forging of a gender discourse that ostensibly moves away from the Sangh's patriarchal stance, but also visibly shies away from recognising the social and political dimensions of gender-related issues. Aparna Pallavi reports.

How is older women's access to the city different from that of their younger counterparts? To our surprise, we found that older women's concerns were overlooked not just by city planners while conceptualizing public places, but also in the feminist and academic discourses on public spaces, writes Sonal Makhija.

Stifled by a culture of incredulity, public and private lenders alike have made little progress in supporting women-run businesses, In such a scenario, self-help groups, better able to judge women's plans for themselves, have taken up the slack, but there is still a long road to travel for aspiring businesswomen. Puja Awasthi reports.

A former member of the National Commission for Women, Syeda Hameed records the powerlessness of the institution in her new book, They hang: Twelve women in my portrait gallery. Deepti Priya Mehrotra notes the chilling refusal of the system to defend women against atrocities.

Affluent Indians have found a way around the Centre's ban on pre-natal diagnostic tests for sex selection. Since the law only applies in India they simply travel overseas, to the US in particular, for their tests. And fertility clinics in India and the US have greatly streamlined the procedure. Gagandeep Kaur reports.

At the receiving end of society's expectations and demands, many women find social work a natural calling. While their engagement of society's deepest problems may begin for very personal reasons, it often transcends these beginnings, and has much larger impacts, writes Puja Awasthi.

'Protection' is a two-edged weapon. The very fact that this is the principal focus of the Act for women within marriage or out-of-marriage relationships only reinforces the view that women, by and large, are vulnerable to all kinds of violence in their relationships with men, writes Shoma Chatterji.

A pan-India survey conducted recently by the Bangalore-based Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC) has brought an alarming new phenomenon of premature menopause amongst Indian women to light. Neeta Lal has more.

Dilution or outright waiver of punishment if a rapist offers to marry his victim is an extra-legal step, one that is not written into law anywhere. But it continues to be entertained because the internalisation of stigmatisation is wide-spread, and even the victims believe it. Shoma Chatterji reports.

Qurratulain Hyder did tremendous justice to her craft by giving a powerful expression to the psychological, emotional and social concerns of women. Humayun Zafar Zaidi writes about the Jnanpith award-winning writer who recently passed away.

Women born into a Bedia family remain unmarried. They engage in prostitution in order to provide for the economic needs of their natal family. And Bedia men have developed a strong resistance to any change in their mode of living, writes Anuja Agrawal.

How have SHGs empowered Indian women? What does the Global Gender-Gap Report 2006 say about Indian women? These questions and many more were addressed a recent international conference at Bangalore. Shoma Chatterji has more.

What policies can inspire men to end violence against women? This was the topic of a conference held in New Delhi, recently. The discussion hoped to begin a dialogue on masculinities itself, writes Deepti Priya Mehrotra.

A global investment and action agenda seeks to put adolescent girls at the centre of development initiatives in developing countries. These girls, say the authors of a new report, form a special category, deserving exclusive attention of the state, donors and NGOs. Anuja Agrawal reports.

Things are looking up says a beaming Usha Chaumar, 33, formerly a manual scavenger. "We make pickles, vermicelli and 'papad' (spicy savouries) at home, too, which gets us an additional income of around Rs 2,000 per month." Renu Rakesh has more.

The Maharashtra government recently approved a proposal where a woman in a live-in relationship for a "reasonable period" of time would get the status of a "wife". Ramesh Menon has more.

The Census thinks that prostitutes are not workers, not because they don't work, but because of traditional views that what they do simply should not be counted as work, writes Shoma Chatterji.

Among the steadily growing voices expressing their angst against discrimination, suppression and abuse of women, those of Indian feminist writers are fast gaining in pitch and range. Abha Sharma captures some of these.

The government's move to regulate the retail sale of acid is a welcome one, but for the many hundreds who have been prey to such heinous acts, life continues to be a daily struggle against physical and social odds. Priyanka Nadgir talks to one such survivor.

Threats of rape, kidnap and stripping have become commonplace against women on the Internet. Is it because of the limits of law itself or the fact that very few women seek legal recourse in such matters? Vaishnavi Vittal explores.

At a time when the position of women in India and their struggles in society are at the centre of public attention, it seems apt to invoke the legacy of one who was truly the pioneer of women's studies and activism in the country. Shoma A Chatterji pays tribute to Vina Mazumdar.