TWO judgments, one from the Supreme Court in the Nirbhaya case and that of Bilkis Bano in the Mumbai High Court provide a snapshot of differing standards of justice. The Nirbhaya case had aroused the conscience of India in an unprecedented way, calling into action thousands of young people who had perhaps never earlier joined street protests.  The bravery and courage of the young woman Jyoti, the brutality of the crime against her, now detailed in the judgment, the utter injustice and horror of her death symbolised so much that is rotten in our system, it reflected so many real fears and ex

IT has been widely reported in the press that the Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath plans to carry out a survey of Muslim women to ascertain their keenness to get rid of triple talaq. Muslim women and Muslim women's groups across the country have been campaigning for several years against the practice of triple talaq and have filed several cases in the courts including the Supreme Court against this practice.

A delegation comprising of Brinda Karat, Mariam  Dhawale (AIDWA general secretary), PK Sreemati (treasurer, MP, Lok Sabha), Sudha Sundarararman and S Punyavathi (vice-presidents), Kirti Singh (legal convenor) and Asha Sharma (JMS, general secretary) met the chairperson of  National Human Rights Commission HL Dattu on March 20 and appraised him of the tremendous repression and atrocities committed by the West Bengal Police and state government on the students and youth. The students and youth were protesting against the malpractices in the appointment of primary teachers.

AIDWA strongly condemns the savage hike in the price of non subsidized cooking gas cylinders by Rs 86 per cylinder, brought into immediate effect by the BJP central government on March 1, 2017. This is historically the highest increase in the cost of unsubsidised gas cylinders in the country. The average Indian household, which has either given up the subsidy, or the eligible households which have exceeded their quota of 12 cylinders annually, will now have to pay Rs 737.50 for a single cylinder of gas, up from Rs 651.50 per cylinder as on February 28, 2017.

WOMEN’S groups have been leading a struggle for 33 percent reservation in the local bodies in Nagaland for the past many years. Elections for 32 urban local bodies (ULBs) notified on December 21, 2016 were to be held after a gap of 16 years. Unfortunately some tribal groups opposed reservation for women under the garb of protecting customary laws. Women who filed their nominations were forced to withdraw and a call was given to boycott the elections.