-The Times of India To remove various disadvantages that women face in India, the Union government introduced Gender Responsive Budgeting (or Gender Budgeting) in 2005-06. It meant that high-flying promises on empowering women were to be backed by financial outlays and that a gender perspective was to imbue all policy making. It was always a tough call - from the home, to the workplace and generally in society women are treated like...

-The Hindu Panel made details of incident, witnessed by street-children, part of its report It is almost a month since the Justice Verma Committee came out with its recommendations to make laws more stringent to deal with crimes against women, particularly sexual assault cases. Though the government acted swiftly by bringing out an ordinance to make amendments in criminal laws, it seems to have overlooked some crucial portions of the report which...

-The Hindu “What is important is whether the police are serious about crimes against women” “Increasing the enormity of punishment in cases involving crimes against women will not solve the issue of rising crime against women,” Nobel laureate Amartya Sen said here on Monday, adding that there was no scientific basis to it.  “What is important is whether the police are serious about such crimes, how quickly the matter is tried in a...

-The Hindu With fresh evidence surfacing of his involvement in the Suryanelli gang rape case, P.J. Kurien should step down as Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson, the CPI(M) said on Sunday. In a statement here, the CPI(M) said if he did not step down, he should be removed from the post, in the background of the Supreme Court annulling the Kerala High Court order acquitting 35 accused persons and ordering re-examination of the...

-Economic and Political Weekly The government’s response to the protests led by the youth against the gang rape incident in New Delhi, in the form of an ordinance has not met the aspirations of the many protestors and the woman rights’ organisations. It can in fact be accused of being vindictive, having ignored the thoroughgoing recommendations of the government appointed justice Verma committee's report. Albeena Shakil (albeenashakil@gmail.com) is a women rights’ activist...