Namita Bhandare writes on gender and other social issues and has 25 years of experience in journalism. She has edited books and features in a documentary on sexual violence. She tweets as @namitabhandare
Articles by Namita Bhandare
India’s resounding paralympic success must lead to a wider conversation
The euphoria of India’s spectacular performance at the Paralympics is still to die down, but beyond the medals, I've a simple question: Are we doing enough for people who live with disability?
Published on Sep 22, 2024 08:15 AM IST
Why Kamala Harris is the voice the world needs
Global woman icon? Hardly. Flawed? Definitely. And yet Kamala Harris might just be the voice the world needs right now.
Published on Sep 13, 2024 08:59 PM IST
The death penalty cannot fix India’s rape problem. Here’s why
By unanimous vote, the West Bengal assembly on Tuesday cleared a bill that makes the death penalty mandatory in cases involving rape and murder.
Published on Sep 08, 2024 08:15 AM IST
Neha Dixit on gender, the informal economy and the invisible work of women
I’ve been meaning to talk to Neha Dixit about her wonderful debut book, The Many Lives of Syeda X: The story of an unknown Indian
Published on Sep 01, 2024 08:15 AM IST
What after the Hema panel report? Answer lies with us
If the rot is systemic, the answer cannot be piecemeal — a resignation here, a committee there. We have to stop responding to sexual assault as disparate crimes and see it as part of a larger pattern of power imbalances stacked against women.
Published on Aug 30, 2024 09:26 PM IST
Women@Work: The Malayalam film industry’s dirty, not-so-little, secret
The Hema Committee report on the Malayalam film industry, released this week, is shocking in its account of the rampant sexual exploitation of women.
Published on Aug 25, 2024 08:15 AM IST
This ends now: How to fight rape culture
News of yet another horrific rape and murder, A 31-year-old doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata has led to massive protests.
Published on Aug 18, 2024 08:15 AM IST
Flawed responses to rape underpin Kolkata case
Beyond the details of this crime, there is a horrible sense of déjà vu. Already, they’re calling the 32-year-old postgraduate doctor the “second Nirbhaya” in a sort of lazy shorthand that reminds us that, 12 years later, we are hearing the same story.
Published on Aug 16, 2024 09:26 PM IST
At the most gender equal Olympics, the good, the bad and the downright hideous
As the Paris 2024 Olympics come to a close, our weekly column, Mind The Gap, reflects on the unforgettable moments through a gender lens.
Updated on Aug 12, 2024 11:38 AM IST
Pinned to the mat by rules, Phogat remains a champion
Vinesh Phogat returns to India as a winner. For demanding accountability from a corrupt system. For showing girls that remaining silent is never an option, and that speaking up comes at a price, but it’s a price worth paying.
Updated on Aug 07, 2024 09:22 PM IST
How Manu Bhaker found her groove—and Haryana became a crucible for women athlete
There is more than just one redemption story in Paris. Not just the utterly spell-binding Simone Biles but our very own Manu Bhaker.
Published on Aug 04, 2024 08:15 AM IST
Anti-conversion laws exude fear of independent women
Over seven decades after Independence, after gaining hard-won rights, women are still being infantilised and treated as gullible people incapable of making their own decisions in love and marriage
Published on Aug 02, 2024 09:19 PM IST
Brave new world: Skilling women for modern India
Aspirational India is beckoning a new generation of young women who want skills that go beyond papad and pickle making, tailoring & embroidery, beauty and healthcare.
Published on Jul 28, 2024 08:15 AM IST
At the most gender equal Olympics, women to watch
The most gender equal Olympics gets going in Paris five days from now. Not every woman will return home with a medal, but some through sheer grit are winners.
Published on Jul 21, 2024 08:15 AM IST
A lost opportunity for a forward-looking civil code
Perhaps Uttarakhand’s UCC greatest flaw, when it kicks in by October, is that it infantilises adult women and seeks to curb their independence.
Updated on Jul 19, 2024 09:02 PM IST
Of ghosts, Shah Bano, and the dignity of women
A Supreme Court judgment reaffirming the right of Muslim women to seek maintenance
Published on Jul 14, 2024 08:15 AM IST
Public vigilantism is alive and shockingly well in West Bengal—& other parts
A series of alarming incidents of public vigilantism—the instant meting out of justice to suspected criminals—is not limited to West Bengal.
Published on Jul 07, 2024 08:20 AM IST
Flaws in BNS reflect regressive thinking
The BNS was an opportunity to showcase a modern nation and acknowledge social change. Instead, a much-needed decolonising project has failed to escape a regressive mindset.
Updated on Jul 05, 2024 09:07 PM IST
Dying for love: The shame of modern India
A spike in ‘honour’ killings in Haryana—three reported in the past month—sent me to Hisar to understand how and why parents in modern India continue to kill.
Published on Jun 30, 2024 08:20 AM IST
Male feminist allies: Why every woman needs one
Baba was my feminist ally, the sort of man every woman should have in her corner. Someone who believes in her, thinks twice before questioning her decisions, and remains her most enthusiastic cheerleader.
Updated on Jun 21, 2024 08:59 PM IST
Meet the MP: Geniben the giant killer
In Delhi to attend a Congress Parliamentary Party meeting, Geniben Thakor aka ‘the giant killer’, the only opposition candidate to win a seat in Gujarat.
Updated on Jun 16, 2024 01:05 PM IST
Meet the MP: Iqra Munawwar Hasan
I spoke to Iqra Hasan, one of only 27 Muslim women ever to make it to Parliament, about her plans for Kairana, putting her PhD on hold.
Published on Jun 09, 2024 08:30 AM IST
Missing women MPs in the new Lok Sabha
Despite remaining largely a boys’ club, a new generation of young and feisty women are set to enter Parliament
Published on Jun 07, 2024 10:07 PM IST
General Elections 2024: Through a gender lens darkly
I’m thinking about what the 2024 general elections tells us about attitudes to gender and violence against women.
Published on Jun 02, 2024 02:30 PM IST
Misbehaviour, misogyny and muddying the waters
Did Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s aide, Bibhav Kumar assault Swati Maliwal as she has claimed?
Updated on May 19, 2024 02:48 PM IST
Women voters lead the fight against misogyny
The exclusion of women is one part of the problem. The other is the inclusion and patronage of men accused of serious gender crimes, including rape.
Published on May 10, 2024 11:41 PM IST
Everybody loves women. Especially when they’re out voting
Women are now a force that no political party can afford to ignore. How did this come about and what are parties doing to win their vote? Read on…
Published on Apr 28, 2024 06:13 PM IST
Read food labels, junk false health-gain claims
The revelation that Nestle allegedly adds sugar to its various Cerelac cereals by a Swiss NGO and the International Baby Food Action Network has sparked a storm
Published on Apr 26, 2024 10:10 PM IST
Women are suing governments for failing to protect their right to life
Two recent court judgments, one by the Supreme Court and one by a human rights court in Strasbourg have set precedents for new climate litigation.
Updated on Apr 14, 2024 07:33 PM IST
The missing link in political empowerment of women
If 2024 tells us one thing about sharing power then it is this: The men won’t give it up until they have to. Women will just have to wait.
Published on Apr 12, 2024 11:00 PM IST