Sonia Paul is an independent journalist, radio producer and contributing editor at MediaShift.org. She is a senior fellow with the Fund for Investigative Journalism and the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University. She's on Twitter @sonipaul.
Sonia Paul is an independent journalist, radio producer and contributing editor at MediaShift.org. She is a senior fellow with the Fund for Investigative Journalism and the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University. She's on Twitter @sonipaul.
To talk about sexual violence in India without mentioning caste would be like talking about rape during the time of slavery without mentioning slavery. The struggles and centuries-old discrimination and indifference of India’s Dalits floored their American colleagues.
How do you teach girls about something so taboo that no one — not even their mothers — will discuss? In traditional, rural India, instructors use games, films, and conversation to help female students understand what’s going on with their bodies, especially menstruation. And that knowledge can be the start of other changes in how they see their roles in school and beyond.
YouTube took down copies of a highly controversial BBC documentary about the 2012 gang rape in New Delhi Wednesday and Thursday after Indian government officials blocked “India’s Daughter” from airing on television or being excerpted in print. The director has appealed to the prime minister, saying “India should be embracing this film — not blocking it with a knee-jerk hysteria without even seeing it.”
Hindi and Urdu are similar when spoken. But they use different scripts– and have been cultural and religious symbols. Hindi and Urdu are similar when spoken. But they use different scripts– and have been cultural and religious symbols.