Latest Stories from Sahil
The necessity of menstrual leave policies in India
By being vocal against the notion of a period leave, the Indian Minister of Women and Child Development has started the conversation about why they are a necessity for the countryβs women workforce. A storm of debate on menstrual leave erupted last week after Minister of Women and Child Development, Smriti Irani, stated during the winter session of the Indian Parliament that βmenstruation is not a disabilityβ. Her words have sparked...
The Uttar Pradesh state is threatening womenβs safety and freedoms
Having recently revoked its own scheme of banning late evening coaching classes for girls, the Uttar Pradesh state of India continues to show worrying signs of patriarchal moral policing. When the Uttar Pradesh government recently prohibited girls from attending coaching classes after 8pm in the name of security, it stirred a furor across India. While the administration claimed it was shielding women under the βSafe Cityβ project, womenβs rights...
Has Indian press freedom reached its breaking point?
With two new UAPA arrests of journalists, Indian reporters bear the worst burns of a government's crusade to silence dissent. In the early hours of Tuesday, October 3rd, Delhi Police raided the residences of more than 46 journalists associated with the news outlet NewsClick accusing them of siphoning funds. Two among them, NewsClick editor Prabir Purkayastha and administrator Amit Chakravarty, were arrested under the draconian βUnlawful Activities (Prevention) Actβ (UAPA). This...
Opinion β India’s External Affairs Manager is discriminating against religious minorities
As Indiaβs External Affairs Minister tauntsΒ to βshow him discriminationβ when questioned on minorities' status, the ground zero reality on the subject is haunting.Β At an event at Hudson Institute, S. Jaishankar, the External Affairs Minister of India, when questioned about the diminishing rights of minorities in India under the policies and agendas of the incumbent government, cleverly dodges the real question.Β He did so by answering about how key markers forΒ good...
Opinion β Authentic queer representation is still vital
For a community that faces discrimination both online and offline, genuine portrayal of queer joy in shows such as Heartstopper and Red White & Royal Blue deserves to be praised. Given how difficult everyday living is, many of us take to cinema or television to escape. For the queer community, a group often faced with disproportionate hostility, representation on screen can mean more than just a distraction from the real...
Understanding the specifics of the discomfort index
The level of discomfort a person feels in varying levels of heat and humidity is known as the βdiscomfort indexβ. Increasing global temperatures are contributing to stress, job losses, and an alarming rise in gender-based violence. A meteorological term used in line with weather forecasting, the 'discomfort index', is a measure for heat-driven stress and anxiety. This index is mostly concerned with our feelings and emotional responses toward discomfort and how...
Opinion – Queerphobiaβs rise is affecting the Indian internet
With the beginning of the marriage equality hearings in the Supreme Court, the Indian queer community has had to face rising queerphobia online, ranging from dehumanization to death threats. I havenβt had a single day of peace on social media since April 18th. This date began one of the most arduous hearings in the Indian Supreme Court's history of handling queer issues: whether marriage equality should be sanctified under the law...
Opinion β Why BTS leader RMβs thoughts on colonialism are so important
βIn the West, people just don't get itβ, Kim Nam-Joon, leader of world's biggest music group, BTS, exclaims when asked if the cult of perfection and over-achievementΒ are Korean cultural traits. Hereβs our attempt at an explanation. βKorea is a country that has been invaded, razed to the ground, torn in two. Just 70 years ago, there was nothing. We were getting aid from the IMF and the UN. But now,...
Opinion β Sam Smith reaction proves androgyny is selective
βNo fat peopleβ is a comment I have often seen on Grindr profiles plastered in their bios as if some shining medal of glory - fatphobia inside the queer community is not uncommon. Sam Smith's new music video is a victim of the same. It was never easy to proudly attach the adjective βfatβ to myself. The term has long been used as a slur, a curse word, and a sign...
Opinion – The Elephant Whisperer is necessary and urgent
Netflixβs latest nature documentary follows the story of Raghu, an elephant in India. It highlights problems within our conservation efforts and the important of nurturing our natural world. Each time we visit my maternal grandparent's house in Talcher, we pass through the districts of Dhenkanal, down the road that connects the district of Cuttack to the district of Angul in Odisha. Passing through, amongst the many visits that we do...
