Avani Bansal - The Womb

Manipur – Will the Central Government Stand In the Witness-Box Please?

Avani Bansal16/12/20240166 views

A victim in a Meitei relief camp in Imphal, who lost her family members during the ethnic tensions between Meiteis and Kukis in Manipur, that has lasted for 18 months since May, 2023 told me – “Imagine two kids fighting, will the father or mother not step-in to stop the fight? Now imagine the children actually killing each other – will the parents still not step-in to prevent the violence? Then why is the Central government not stepping in to stop Manipur state from burning?”

Iraq’s Law Makers Decide To Lower The Consent Age For Girls To 9

Avani Bansal08/12/2024030 views

Are we moving forward or thousands of years back vis-a-vis women’s rights? Iraq’s Parliament is discussing a proposal to reduce the women’s consent age from 18 years to 9 years. This means that, if the law is passed, then women in Iraq could be legally married off at the age of nine years, with equally serious implications on their custody, inheritance, and related personal laws, alongside education and health.

Bharat Mata : Not An Idea Supported By The Constitution

Avani Bansal08/12/2024032 views

The Constitution of India doesn’t provide for a gender for ‘Bharat’. The very first Article of the Indian Constitution states that ‘India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States’ (Article 1). So why not let ‘Bharat’, just be ‘Bharat’, one which as per the Preamble – we, the people of India (‘all’ the people of India), have given to ‘ourselves’? Why add the suffix ‘Mata’, and does this add any value to our understanding or how we relate to our Nation?

Where Are The Women?

Avani Bansal08/12/2024030 views

Amidst the cacophony of loud sloganeering, emotive faces of all ages, sharing the same curious look and glimmer of hope – we have been wading through what seemed like two banks of a river formed by engimatic people, with warm eyes and warmer touch, all to behold Rahul Gandhi, and we would like to believe, the Bharat Yatris too (a term used for all those who have walked the entire stretch of ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ from Kanyakumari to Kashmir), from State after State – Tamil Nadu to Kerala, all the way to Punjab, where we are now – via Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. We started walking on 7th September, 2022 from the Southern most tip of India and have covered 3500 kms on foot thus far, with 15 more days to reach Srinagar.

Marriage, Sex and Consent : The Split Verdict By Delhi High Court In Marital Rape Case

Avani Bansal08/12/2024031 views

Nothing that is ‘imposed’, survives for too long. Marriage as an institution continues to exist, around the world, because a large majority of people ‘choose’ to opt for it. But it is also true that world over, many people are now questioning the institution of marriage and opting instead to remain life-long companions without the shackles or protection of the law.

Legalise Sex Work; Give Us Ticket To Contest Elections : Demand of Women from the Bachhada Community in MP

Avani Bansal08/12/2024024 views

Most women are forced into Prostitution due to Poverty: Women of the Bachhada community seemingly have a choice – either get married or take on sex-work as a profession. Those who choose the former, live a married household life and are not allowed to entertain any clients for sex work. But those whose family conditions leave them with no choice, opt for sex-work and then have practically zero chances of getting married later. In exceptional cases, where a sex worker does find a love interest and if the partner is willing to marry, then there is some hope for their marriage, but that too is usually inter-caste, as men from the same community do not take women who have opted for sex work as their legally wedded wives.

[Hijab row] Uniform v. Religion: Middle path is the Constitution’s answer

Avani Bansal08/12/2024022 views

The Constitution of India, in spirit, shuns extremism of any sort. It provides that right to education, right to equality and right to religion co-exist together and no one of them has a paramount importance in exclusion of others.

Village Women’s Patch Work In Jaisalmer, Rajasthan

Avani Bansal08/12/2024031 views

Jaisalmer Fort in Rajasthan is one of the few ‘living forts’ in India, where several people who once worked for the king who ruled the palace, have built their own restaurants and hotels inside the fort, making it a tourist’s delight.

Gender Gap In Judiciary

Avani Bansal08/12/2024030 views

While we look at the statistics of the dismal number of female judges in India at subordinate judiciary level, High Courts and Supreme Court, we rarely investigate into how the subjective worldview of our own judges with a limited role for women in it, has a deep impact on promoting, and encouraging more women to join judiciary.

In Conversation With Shamim Modi, Social Activist & Politician

Avani Bansal08/12/2024025 views

In this extremely candid and honest conversation, hear about the journey of Ms. Shamim Modi, who was a city girl, but then got engaged passionately in the fight of the Adivasis and workers. From her experiences of working on building a grassroots movement to choosing to enter into electoral politics, Shamim shares very interesting and heart-touching anecdotes from her journey.