Battling Transphobia: Providing Healthcare to All

“Inside every man there is a potential woman and inside every woman resides a potential man.”
― John Maxwell Taylor

Gender variant people mark their existence in India since various centuries, these communities have several indigenous identities mostly based on their geographic location they are known as Hijras (north), Shivshakti (Andhra Pradesh) and Arvani’s (Tamil Nadu). Historically, they were considered as a downtrodden class and due to this they have been away from the mainstream employment opportunities. Majority of the community has to resort to begging, dancing and sex work which makes them prone to harassment and subjects to violent assaults. If we look at the current statistics provided by NACO and the research conducted by government STI clinics it can be found that more than 45% of TG population who go for a medical checkup has HIV. Also, other diseases such as syphilis and genital warts were found to be in large number amongst the community. Hence it is necessary that they should be provided with rights with regard to healthcare.

Fairy Tales and Feminism: Refashioning Mother India

This article is written by Smriti Patel.

“Men have sight, women insight.”

-Victor Hugo

INTRODUCTION: Diversity, Difference and Feminism.

In the early 1960’s, the Suffrage movement was formed to help women become equal to men by campaigning against a series of issues such as abortion, glass ceilings, equal pay, and sexual harassment[1].

Virginia Woolf

““Does your mother work?” “No, she’s a housewife.”” This statement is just an example of what was heard in and before the feminist movement and in the 1960’s. Since then, women’s roles have changed dramatically, instead of being “just a wife”, or “just a mother”, now women can be both and have jobs outside the house[2]. However, women are still considered a subordinate group because not only do women have different physical characteristics than men, but they experience all of the other signs of a subordinate group as well such as receiving unequal treatment, and having to struggle for equality.