SCARLET SCARF

KISS OF FREEDOM  By: Disha Mashelkar The picture is used only as a representation Moral policing and Indian- patriarchy society’s values are seen embarking their fiefdom in our country once again! Nearly 100 of youngsters hugged and kissed at Kerala’s Marine Drive, to mark their protest against the Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha (BJYM) activist’s act of vandalism, against a restaurant in Kozhikode (Kerala) on the argument that boys and girls are frequenting it to hug and kiss. As the events at the Marine Drive unfolded, a post on the “Kiss of Love” campaign Facebook page read: “Love is put behind bars while hatred roams freely.” The incident continued to meet with arrests and thousands of activists of Shiv-Sena, Bajrang Dal and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and conservative Muslim political outfits such the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and the Sunni Yuvajana Sanghom (SYS), besides district-level workers of the Kerala Students’ Union (KSU),...

Beauty hand-cuffed by Beast by: Disha Mashelkar When Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), India’s leading educational hubs; Vice-chancellor was quoted saying that girl students had been denied access to the Maulana Azad library because “boys will flood the library if girls are allowed and there isn’t enough space” it sparked a cacophony of arguments in the media. Voices from leading News channels questioned on the freedom Indian women enjoys in the 21 st century.  The very day, the news found ranting was the failure of sterilisation of women in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh which killed 8 of them. (11 November 2014)  Two different news stories with one victim! ‘Women’ The unwanted shackles placed on women by the Indian society are not ready to douse the flames of injustice caused at them time and again. The morning newspapers are flooded with news items ranging from domestic violence, sexual assault, rape, molestation and many draconian crimes that gnaw at women.  ...