Citizens for Justice and Peace
MLA Surendra Singh trafficks in hate with impunity Singh has a history of misogynistic and regressive remarks
27-Mar-2019
Some elected officials, conspicuously from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), have constantly been in the news for their regressive remarks on women, reflecting an indoctrinated hatred for women and other genders. Topping this list is BJP MLA Surendra Singh who recently passed a remark on former India National Congress (INC) President Sonia Gandhi. The…
Hope Lost: India’s Transgenders and the Trans Bill 2018 Understand why the now lapsed bill drew such strong criticism
16-Feb-2019
The Transgender Bill 2018, introduced by the Modi government, ostensibly to ‘protect’ the Transgender community has evoked strong reactions from the community as well as progressive minded people throughout India. It is largely seen as a conservative, even devious piece of legislation that will irreversibly harm the Transgender community. In this must watch video, CJP…
Sabrimala Heroines Speak Out Bindu Ammini and Kanakadurga in conversation with Teesta Setalvad
13-Feb-2019
The Sabarimala issue has yet again brought to the fore an age old conflict… one that is between a nation that belongs to all its people and a regressive, Brahminical thought. At such moments in history, the acts of courage of a few people bring about profound change. Bindu Ammini and Kanakadurga are two such…
भंवरी देवी जैसी निडर महिलाओं के संघर्ष की बदौलत ही हम #MeToo तक पहुच पाए हैं मानवाधिकार रक्षक का परिचय
20-Oct-2018
1995 में भंवरी देवी बलात्कार के मामले में चार आरोपियों को बरी करते हुए जयपुर जिला और सत्र अदालत ने कहा था “भारतीय संस्कृति अभी इस हद तक नहीं गिरी है कि गांव का एक भोलाभाला आदमी लोक–लाज की सभी मर्यादाओं को भूलकर, किसी वहशी भेड़िए की तरह औरत पर झपट पड़ने को लालायित हो जाए.”…
Sexual Harassment in the Media Report details facts, costs, and guides for employers and employees
17-Oct-2018
With the #MeToo movement gaining momentum in India, numerous women in the media industry have publicly revealed incidents of sexual harassment and assault. Unfortunately, per a 2018 report on sexual harassment in the media from the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and Women in News (WIN), “sexual harassment in the news media…
SC: Women of all ages can enter Sabrimala Landmark feminist verdict ends Kerala shrine's age old ban on entry of women
28-Sep-2018
In a resounding slap in the face of patriarchy and gender based discrimination, the Supreme Court has put an end to the age old practice of barring entry of women of a menstruating age into the Sabrimala temple. In a landmark judgment, the apex court ruled that women of all age-groups could enter the temple. In…
ABVP members allegedly attack BHU students celebrating Gender Equality Students assaulted while commemorating anniversary of protest against shaming of sexual harassment survivor
24-Sep-2018
Members of the RSS affiliated Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) allegedly attacked students of Banaras Hindu University celebrating the anniversary of gender rights protest that had taken the university by storm last year. They attacked the students on Sunday, the one-year anniversary of the 23 September women’s protest against the shaming of a sexual harassment…
Supreme Court sets the Rainbow Free! Decriminalises sex between consenting adults under Section 377, bestiality remains a crime
06-Sep-2018
In a historic judgement, the Supreme Court of India has granted adult Indian Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex and Asexual (LGBTQIA) people the dignity they have always deserved… the right to love who they love and to not be punished for expressing that love sexually and privately. In doing so, the SC has granted…
NHRC sets up LGBTI Core Group, ropes in activist Harish Iyer 15 member group to advise the commission on harmonising existing laws with needs of the community
14-Aug-2018
Equal Rights activist Harish Iyer has been appointed to the National Human Rights Commission’s (NHRC) Core Group on Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Intersex (LGBTI) issues. This is the first group set up exclusively to look into the concerns and challenges of India’s vibrant rainbow community and marks a step towards greater understanding and acceptance of…
New Cuban constitution sets up legalisation of gay marriage
06-Aug-2018
Cuba’s National Assembly recently unanimously approved a new constitution that defines marriage as “the consensual union of two people regardless of gender,” the Guardian reported, saying that this paved the way for the legalisation of same-sex marriage in the country. There will be a referendum on the new constitution later in 2018. The current constitution…
Portugal’s parliament passes gender change law
20-Jul-2018
Portugal’s parliament recently passed a law permitting citizens aged 16 and above to change their name and gender without requiring a medical report that indicates “identity disruption,” AFP reported. This makes Portugal “the sixth European country to grant the right to self-determination of transgender identity…without the guardianship of a third party and without a diagnosis…
SC to start hearing petitions to read down Section 377 Pleas to decriminalise consensual sex in private between adults of any gender or sexuality
09-Jul-2018
The Indian Supreme Court is all set to start hearing a series of petitions that call for the reading down of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. In these petitions the plea is to decriminalise consensual sex between adults in private. Section 377 that criminalises ‘carnal intercourse against the order of nature’, also affects heterosexual…
Stonewall Uprising: A Rainbow Rebellion, Not a Riot An account of the event that sparked the Gay Rights Revolution in the United States
28-Jun-2018
June 28 marks the anniversary of Stonewall Uprising, one of the most important events in the international LGBTQ movement. It started with a raid by the New York Police Department (NYPD) at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village in New York City in the early hours of the morning in 1969. This was followed by days…
Gender discrimination led to “excess deaths” of girls in India: Study
30-May-2018
According to a study recently published in the online, open-access, peer-reviewed journal Lancet Global Health, annually, there have been 2,39,000 “excess deaths” of girls under five in India. This translates to 2.4 million excess deaths every decade. Excess mortality is the difference between expected mortality rates and observed mortality rates for both genders. Researchers said…
Pakistan approves historic transgender rights bill
18-May-2018
On Tuesday, May 8, Pakistan’s parliament passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, which specifically makes illegal discrimination against transgender people by employers, healthcare providers, transportation providers, educational institutions, and any private businesses or service providers, Al Jazeera reported. The law grants Pakistani citizens the right to identify themselves as female, male, or a mix…