Gender

A collection of articles on gender published on The India Forum.

Where is the Data on the 'Misuse' of 498-A?

The popular discourse around the notion that laws enacted to protect women are being ‘grossly misused’ seems to have reached a fever pitch. The Supreme Court, itself, in the past has called it “legal…
▶11-Mar-2025
Ruchira Goswami

No Country for (Married) Women

'A culture where the rights of women and sexual and gender minorities can be wholly erased without even having to defend such a move clearly shows where the centre of power lies, and how it…
▶10-Mar-2025
Kunal Ambasta

Dowry Murders: Lingering Tragedy, Emerging Hope

The strongest dowry murder rates in India correlate with skewed sex ratios – mainly in the North. These rates have fallen fastest where bride shortages are most severe. Hopefully, this signals a…
▶27-Feb-2025
Peter Mayer

A Free Ticket Can Be a Ticket to Freedom

While fare-free schemes for urban public transport ease financial barriers on mobility, their real impact is in empowering women through better city access. An analysis of Delhi’s free bus scheme…
▶16-Feb-2025
Nishant, Archana Singh

Is the Rise in Female Work Participation due to an Odd Set of Instructions to Enumerators?

Given the high degree of informality in the Indian economy, national employment surveys have drawn up complex instructions to capture all those who work. This however also comes with the risk that…
▶10-Feb-2025
Aloke Kar, PC Mohanan

Stepping Out to Work

Gender-sensitive public infrastructure that enables women to balance care and market activities, is essential for work outside the home. Including a gender perspective in village-level infrastructure…
▶29-Jan-2025
Akash Sawarkar, Savita Kulkarni, Rajani Mathur
Book
Behind the Rise in Women’s Work-II

The Rise in Female Labour and Work Force Participation Rates

The increasing participation of women in work in recent years as revealed by official surveys, especially in 2023-24, appears to arise from definitional changes that now include groups of women as…
▶16-Jan-2025
Avanindra Nath Thakur, Priyanshi Chaudhary
Book
Behind the Rise in Women’s Work-I

What Does Self-Employment Mean for Women in India?

Contrary to official claims that we have “an equitable, vibrant labour market where women play a leading role”, there has been a decline in real incomes of self-employed women and falling real wages…
▶14-Jan-2025
Jayati Ghosh

Can Marriage Law Reforms Enhance Women’s Agency?

Indian women’s agency is primarily influenced by marital status and caste, rather than religion or education. This suggests that legal reforms alone, like the Uniform Civil Code, might not be enough…
▶05-Nov-2024
Sreeparna Chattopadhyay, Joyita Roy Chowdhury

Feminisation of Public Employment in India

A trend of feminisation of public employment is being observed in India. This could help achieve gender parity in employment and achieve higher human development levels. But high job quality is also…
▶28-Oct-2024
Dipa Sinha