A gritty woman in Gujarat is silently taking her fight for empowerment of Muslim women to the political arena.
An entrepreneur who turned to politics, Falguni Rajput, 39, felt she wasn’t getting anywhere despite spending five years as a treasurer in the women’s wing of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Vasai-Virar, Maharashtra.
The Nationalist Congress Party is the only political party in the country to have separate wing for young women that was formerly launched by Rajya Sabha member Supriya Sule. "This is a great opportunity for young women to make their presence felt in politics.
Despite 50 per cent reservation in panchayat bodies, most of the elected woman representatives still get a raw deal, whether it is at the hands of their 'powerful' colleagues, or government officials.
Women civil servants in India have expressed shock at new appraisal rules which require them to reveal details of their menstrual cycles.
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For 20-year-old Pooja of Panelli village in Gujarat, life would have been different had she the freedom to choose the way she wanted to live.
With a population of 170 million, Uttar Pradesh is India's largest state and the world's seventh largest political entity. It now has a government led by Mayawati (51), herself a Dalit and a single woman.
Popular television actress Vani Tripathi has taken to politics seriously and has become the national secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) youth wing. The TV star believes she had the 'courage' to join the political system instead of just being a critic.