Awaz-e-Khwateen

    Rutba Iqbal / Awaz e Khwateen On the evening of May 27, 2014 the nation was jostled by the double rape and lynching of two young girls in Katra Sahadatganj, Uttar Pradesh. The young girls, 12 and 14 years old were cousins, they had ventured out into an open field that served as their bathroom. The girls were found hanging from a mango tree, brutally raped. The double rape exposed the caste violence prevelant in India but it also gave us a hint about the threat women from marginalized communities face while performing the most normal bodily function. Nearly half the world’s population who lack access to improved sanitation conditions reside in India, according to a 2015 UNICEF/WHO report. Almost half a billion Indians defecate in the open and about 300 million women and girls in India have no access to bathroom, making them vulnerable to sexual violence. WaterAid, an international non-governmental organisation listed lack of safe toilets among top five killers of women world

Rutba Iqbal / Awaz e Khwateen All of us have heard a story of some relative or friend who started having fits and their family went to all kinds of babas and tantrics to get the spirit out of their loved one. We are all left wondering, in this day and age, taking a scientific approach is the best idea yet we see people getting ostracized for a treatable and manageable illness, in this case - Epilepsy. Awaz-e-Khwateen sat down with Dr. Manjari Tripathi - Professor Department of Neurology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi to educate people and help them understand more about the disease, its symptoms, and treatment. “Epilepsy affects people of all ages irrespective of gender, but women suffer more owing to the stigma around the disease. In Indian communities, girls with epilepsy are seen as social pariahs, people associate incompetency with the disease, assuming girls with epilepsy cannot be good wives or mothers. Thus, creating a lot of hurdles for the marriage of t

  Awaz e Khwateen Lakhimi Baruah was born in the heartland of Upper Assam, a place called Jorhat. Life tested Baruah from the beginning. She lost her mother the day she was born. During her early teenage years, she lost her father as well.  Young Lakhimi was raised by her relatives. She had to drop out from college due to financial constraints in her family. Lakhimi did not give up on her education, she went on to complete her graduation even after getting married, while working in a bank. She started a Mahila Samiti in 1983 at Dakshin Sarbaibandha area of Jorhat district, where she worked with a large number of economically and educationally backward women. Years of hardship had taught Lakhimi the importance of financial independence. She had only one vision to make women from underprivileged backgrounds financially independent. Lakhimi was aware of how deprived and illiterate women barely manage to benefit from banking services. Lakhimi saw poor women queue up for a loan for hours. A

Rutba Iqbal /  Awaz e Khwateen Thousands of lives lost, many rendered homeless and many more left to fend for themselves. This is the story of countless Afghans. The 2021 Fragile States Index claimed that Afghanistan was one of the most unstable countries in the world. Not just this, the country is also at the highest risk of terrorism worldwide according to the Global Terrorism Index of 2020.  Afghanistan's history has long been mired in political conflict and turmoil. The United States' invasion of Afghanistan, the so-called ‘war on terror’, ended in August 2021 as Taliban re-established their rule over the country. This takeover shocked the world. Interestingly, this was not unprecedented as the Central Afghan Government never held control over the majority of the 408 districts in the country. As the chaos unfolded and the Taliban began strengthening their grip over the country, critics questioned the Taliban government’s legitimacy and their extremist history. The group

Rutba Iqbal / Awaz e Khwateen Maulana Abul Kalam Azad declared education a fundamental right of every human being irrespective of their gender, color, caste and creed. Speaking at All India Education on January 16, 1948, Maulana Abul Kalam had said, "We must not for a moment forget, it is a birthright of every individual to receive at least the basic education without which he cannot fully discharge his duties as a citizen." Father of Indian Institute Technology (IITs) When Azad assumed the charge of the Ministry of Education in 1947, he observed the lack of infrastructure and facilities in the technical field. Kalam recognized that for India to compete with the world post-independence, scientific and technical advancement was imperative. With this vision he led India to a revolution in the field of higher studies. Kalam expressed his wish to have an educational system in India at par with the world, so the students do not have to travel across continents to study further

Rutba Iqbal / Awaz e Khwateen Who would you want by your side if there’s a terrorist attack near you? You’d place your bets on a strong male officer to get you out of the situation safely. Sanjukta Parashar is here to prove you wrong. Her name is enough to strike terror across Bodo militants across the Assam region. Her courage and integrity make her a formidable police officer, take a look at the life of this dynamic lady.   She is enough to strike fear in the heart of criminals Sanjukta Parashar is an IPS officer of the 2006 batch. She was first posted as the Assistant Commandant of Makum in the year 2008. Sanjukta was posted as Superintendent of Police in Bodo infested Sonitpur district of Assam in 2014 when the insurgency was at its peak. Sanjukta holds an impeccable record of killing 16 terrorists and arresting 64 in her term of 30 months. It is safe to say that many of us sleep peacefully knowing women like her are holding the reigns of our national security. Sanjukta has s

Rutba Iqbal / Awaz e Khwateen   Bhupen Hazarika, popularly known as the ‘Bard of Brahmaputra’ held the nation in a spell with his melodious voice. His music has carried themes of love and romance, but his work is also a serious commentary on social and political issues. His extremely popular song 'Dil Hoom Hoom Kare' is often played in context of heartbreaks or its recent renditions carrying sensual undertones, all this while missing the connotations of helplessness and subjugation in women. Beginning with the song 'O Ganga Behti Ho Kyun' , Bhupen Hazarika implores the river Ganga to take action and give up her pacifist stance. As we know that The River Ganga is a symbol of faith, hope and culture in the Hindu tradition. She is also the source of livelihood to the Indian subcontinent, her extensive basin accounts for one-fourth of India's water resources and is home to more than 407 million Indians, or some one-third of India's population. This religious, cu

Awaz e Khwateen Sadiya from Manipur has brought glory to her entire family by topping the girl’s list of National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) in Manipur. The test was conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on September 12, 2021. The results were declared on November 1, 2021. This year particularly girls have made history with their exceptional results. Ph. Sadiya has made strides as she is the first girl from her village to top the list of selected candidates from her State.   Leading the way with change Hailing from a small village Mayang Imphal Bengoon in district Imphal West Sadiya always felt deeply for the lack of healthcare facilities around her. In an exclusive interview with Awaz-e-Khwateen she revealed that there were almost no female doctors in her village. This drove her to work harder and be the change she wanted to see. Sadiya wants to be a gynaecologist and serve the women of her village after completing her MBBS.   Father's support key to suc