Work on gender in the development and social sector has traditionally engaged with women and girls. It was only in the mid-90s that some NGOs started working with men and boys on issues of gender. One of the first entry points for this was population control and reproductive health where they were encouraged to use condoms and to accompany their pregnant wives to healthcare centres.
When Muskan said “Hamare yahaan yeh sab chalta hi nahi hai” (These things aren’t allowed in our areas), we couldn’t help but notice that she said it for feeling love as well as anger.
Sahiba learns from Google, calls it her teacher and navigates her everyday—from getting things done to finding about her mental health—on Google. Her questions about the self and measures to take care of that self made everyone on the Zoom call think ‘Main kab badi huyi?’ (When did I grow up?).
In feminist organisations and within the academic discourse, we sit with the term ‘safe space’ quite often and roll it in our mouth to reiterate how multifarious and ever changing that term is.
“Tumhari chahat kya hai? Tum kya chahti ho?” (What do you desire?) When was the last time we asked an adolescent what they think about their desires? How can we see their lives from their perspective?
A young girl employs a clever strategy to get her family’s support for higher education. But she soon discovers that her father is one step ahead of her and thus unravels this love–hate relationship between a father and daughter.
“Chhoti Bahuuu! Arre o Chhoti Bahu!”—is all one hears in the house from dawn to the end of day. Once a mischievous student, Sundari wears many different hats at home, in public, and at work, but there’s one that wears her out.
In the second “Hostel Diary”, Vikas recounts pursuing a crush during his time in Jodhpur with a bittersweetness that can only be afforded by young desire. Although he desperately wants to maintain his “good boy” image, the thrills of Hike Messaging and secret rendezvous might just be too tempting to resist.
As Vikas walks from his own Khatri Hostel to the Oswal Hostel for high speed movie downloads using a newly installed Jio tower, he observes how caste, class and gender divide access to spaces in the city, offline and online.
All education and science is forgotten when a young, unmarried girl misses her period. As doctors, teachers, family members and friends intervene and interpret, conjectures are made and confusion and fear abound.
