By Tara Awasthi (TW: Mention of Gender-based violence/Rape) On 13th July, 2022, The World Economic Forum released the 17th edition of its Global Gender Gap Report, and feminist organisations, collectives, and concerns across the country were quick to take notice. …

By Aradhana Choudhury I Mumkin Staff — In 2017, Gethin Chamberlain published a groundbreaking photo essay that described the emergence of modern-day child brides across Africa, fueled by climate disaster, as posited by the Brides of the Sun reporting project. …

By Mridula Sharma A few months back, one of my peers mentioned that her gender identity provided her with a privilege that she felt was denied to men. As a woman, she realised early on that she wasn’t penalised in the same way as the men in her class were…

By Debarati Choudhury It was around noon when my father got the call, some relatives were coming by our place in the evening. I volunteered to get a couple of snacks ready, as I would do for anyone visiting our home. Standing in the kitchen, however, I wondered if I…

In the Eye of the Beholder: The Politics, Culture, and Economics of Beauty — By Malavika Parthasarathy As a child, I was embarrassed by my frizzy hair. I was routinely subjected to unflattering haircuts that bestowed me with the dreaded triangle-head. I would have done anything in the world for silky, smooth, straight hair and wished that it would one day magically turn straight…

From questioning the cis-gendered understanding of genital cutting/mutilation to analysing the shock-and-representation used by the media, writer, Nisha Kumari analyses her first-hand experience of reading about FGC/M in the media. By Nisha Kumari Mumkin is my first encounter with Female Genital Cutting/Mutilation. I had heard of circumcision or Khatna among…

An Essay by Shivangi Garg on queering digital spaces Two years back, as a 19-year-old queer, I had been banned on Tinder. The reason the platform provided was that I had violated community guidelines. It had left me distraught. I felt saddened by my abrupt departure as I had lost…

Politics of silence, Politics of speaking-out — By Mridula Sharma Imagine. You are invited to attend an Indian wedding ceremony on a weekend. The invitation card solicits your presence at 2 PM in an expensive banquet hall. Clad in clothes ‘appropriate’ for an expensive wedding, you leave your house with your parents. Inside the venue is a buffet, and you find yourself asking the person behind one of the counters whether the peach coloured drink is a shake or a juice. Suddenly, you feel someone’s fingers brush past your hips.

Experiences of sexual harassment during fieldwork Is the process of fieldwork in social sciences research gendered? What does it mean to be a woman researcher, working independently in the field? By Debarati Choudhury (She/Her) This is my story, as a woman student researcher, working in rural Telangana in 2017. The fieldwork was a part of my experiential learning programme with my Institute. We were placed in a small village in Mahabubnagar district and my…