Gender and Sexuality

Beyond mere Recognition: The Jane Kaushik judgment and the next frontier of transgender equality

In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court acknowledged the dignity and rights of employment of transgender individuals, ordered monetary compensation for a transwoman teacher who had been terminated from her position, and ordered that a model Equal Opportunity Policy be made mandatory in all institutions, going further than the Constitution's promise of equality in private employment

One woman against a thousand superstitions, Birubala Rabha’s battle against the superstition of ‘Witch-Hunting’

Though this pioneering feminist activist breathed her last on May 13, 2024, her work with the Thakurvilla Mahila Samiti and Missiom Birubala has been recognized internationally and May 13 has been declared Anti-Superstition Day in Assam

Rape is aggression, domination, consent must be instant specific, not dictated by morality tests: Bombay High Court

In a landmark judgement delivered on May 6, Maksud Gaffur Sheikh v. State of Maharashtra, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay HC reaffirmed the legal sanctity of continuing and specific consent and rejected character assassination of survivors/victims in rape trials

Nainital on communal edge after 75-year-old Muslim man booked for alleged rape of minor girl

Communal tensions flare in Haldwani, Nainital after a 75-year-old Muslim man is booked for alleged rape of a minor, a BJP leader and right-wings’ ultimatum targeting Muslim-run businesses sparks communal tensions in the state, leading to attacks on shops, staff, and a mosque, while police inaction persists despite video evidence, and no FIR is filed against the perpetrators of the violence and assault

Beed to Delhi: Lawyer beaten in Maharashtra, judge threatened in Delhi—what the path for justice means for women practioners in today’s India

From a brutal assault in rural Maharashtra to death threats in a Delhi courtroom, the message is chillingly clear: women who uphold the law are not safe

Extremists assaulted Muslim woman; hijab stripped of in broad daylight in Bengaluru and Muzaffarnagar

Two shocking incidents of moral policing and harassment involving members of the Muslim community emerged this week. In Muzaffarnagar, a Muslim woman was assaulted and forcibly stripped of her hijab, while in Bengaluru, a young woman was harassed for being in an interfaith relationship with a Hindu man. Both incidents, captured on video, highlight a disturbing rise in intolerance and moral policing, particularly targeting interfaith relationships

When Courts Fail Survivors: How patriarchy shapes justice in sexual offence against women cases

The Supreme Court critiques multiple High Court judgments for perpetuating misogynistic notions and trivialising sexual violence and child trafficking through legally flawed and insensitive reasoning

Women in remote villages mobilise to check fast spread of alcoholism

Due to a combination of factors, there has been...

Surviving Communal Wrath: Women who have defied the silence, demanded accountability from the state

On Women’s Day 2025, March 8, we honour the survivors who became warriors - documenting atrocities, challenging power, and demanding justice in the face of unspeakable brutalities

IMSD condemns the assassination of the world’s first openly gay Imam

“No God, gods, goddesses, prophets or saints may be invoked to justify the killing and/or terrorising of fellow human beings”.

When marriage is tyranny: Justice Shakdher’s judgment reads down the marital rape exception as a constitutional imperative

In contrast to the verdict delivered by Justice Hari Shankar, his brother judge hearing the matter, Justice Shakhder’s judgement in the May 2022 case hearing the constitutional challenge to the exception to marital rape provision under Section 375, strikes it down as anti-constitutional. The matter will now go before the Supreme Court where the constitutional challenge lies pending for two years

Trending

Related VIDEOS

ALL STORIES

ALL STORIES

Nearly 50 lakh names flagged for deletion in West Bengal, state government announces Rs. 2 Lakh relief for SIR-linked deaths, CM Mamta Banerjee launches ‘May I Help You’ block camps

The SIR flagged almost 50 lakh names in West Bengal as potentially removable from the voters’ list, triggering a wave of anxiety among the electors, 39 deaths the state links to “SIR panic,” the TMC government has announced compensation and block-level help camps from December 12 to assist affected residents

Supreme Court restores Article 21 safeguards, calls 24-month UAPA custody without charge sheet illegal; sets aside Gauhati HC’s reliance on Sec 43D(7)

Bench rules that default bail is an indefeasible right and cannot be denied on grounds of nationality or alleged illegal entry

SC secures return of pregnant woman and child deported to Bangladesh, says ‘law must bend to humanity’

Union concedes to humanitarian repatriation; Supreme Court questions due process, sets next hearing on status of four remaining deportees

Babri Mosque Demolition: When the Indian State succumbed to majoritarian propaganda

Reassertion of obliterated historical facts has always been a project of the powerful majority and this crucial piece, once again, exclusively in SabrangIndia, counters this propaganda

From Suspected Foreigner to Recognised Citizen: Aklima’s fight for dignity and Indian citizenship

Widowed, landless, and displaced, Aklima Sarkar fought three years to reclaim her citizenship in Assam

Punjab & Haryana High Court refuses anticipatory bail to journalist accused of provocative, communal statements against Purvanchal community

Justice Sumeet Goel cites prima facie digital evidence, seriousness of hate-motivated speech, and the need for custodial interrogation

Six Days Behind Bars After Bail: Patna High Court orders ₹2 lakh relief, flags state-wide pattern of illegal detention

Court rejects “festival holiday” defence, directs IG Prisons to fix systemic lapses and ensure jail superintendents comply with court orders

The Politics of Processions: How the Sanatan Ekta Padyatra amplified hate speech in plain sight

As the Sanatan Ekta Padyatra traversed 422 village panchayats across three states, it carried not merely religious symbolism but explicit political messaging. Calls for a Hindu Rashtra, vilification of Muslim communities, and assertions of majoritarian dominance raise serious questions under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita’s provisions on promoting enmity, inciting violence, and disturbing public tranquillity. Yet, as the aftermath shows, ranging from protests in Datia to a clash in Vrindavan, the legal system’s response has been fragmented and cautious. This report interrogates that legal vacuum, situating the padyatra within established precedents of hate-speech jurisprudence and the enduring gap between statutory safeguards and ground-level enforcement.