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        • Are Stress and Infertility related?Are Stress and Infertility related?
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Surviving The Pandemic: How Sex Workers Are Coping!

Written By: Tasneem Akbari Kutubuddin
June 28, 2020 |
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On a normal day, P. N. Shanthi would earn anywhere between Rs. 500 to 1000. Since the lockdown in March, business for Shanthi has taken a hit just like it has for most of us. On most days she has managed with no food or money. The governments’ Rs. 1000 per month and the rice bag scheme have not met her needs completely and her future post corona remains uncertain, just like it does for most of us. But then Shanthi comes from a stigmatized and marginalized section of the society. She is a sex worker.

Yes, very little thought or help has been rendered to the sex workers and how this section of the society is surviving the lockdown. A ‘business’ which involves 100 percent physical contact is not a chance someone would take on in times of a pandemic like COVID 19. But for Shanthi, it was this business that helped her raise 3 kids, educate them, and help them settle in life. Married off at 16, and a mother of 4 till she was 19, this was not the life she had imagined for herself. After being abandoned by her husband, she was sold off for a meager Rs. 10,000 and brought to Chennai from Kerala, Shanthi was forced into the flesh trade. With nowhere to go, no education or literacy and stuck in a new land, she did not have any opportunity to choose otherwise. This is the story of many such Shanthis all over the country. No one opts to join the sex workers as a choice. Their situations and socio-economic condition leave them with no choice.

 As she indulges in banter with me she opens up slowly about her life story. Today, she is living alone and manages to sustain. But this is not the case for tens of her other colleagues. They are in a worse situation. Some have parents or children to look after. Some have health issues like diabetes, kidney problems, etc. or an ailing family member and with no money for the food itself, medication has become unaffordable and out of reach. She feels for them. She reminisces about the good samaritans (read social workers) in her life that helped put her children into a hostel and give them a good education. And also the help of organizations like ICWO who have reached out to their community over the last 2 decades and helped uplift and inform them of health hazards associated with their trade and given them the training to practice safe sex. They even helped in providing some rations for them during this pandemic.

A.J. Hariharan is the founding secretary of Indian Community Welfare Organisation (I.C.W.O). “Since 1994, ICWO has been doing a considerable amount of work in the field of STD / HIV / AIDS prevention. Yet there are several mountains to climb”, he says. This pandemic is going to last for a while and Hariharan is aware of the perils being faced by the sex workers’ community. But sadly, there is no scheme or alternate employment program for them, and rehabilitating them has never been an easy task.

“We are daily wage workers but we are not recognized for any schemes by the government”, says Shanthi. “People don’t let us rent their houses. We face stigma and discrimination at every step from society. I wish my peers and colleagues were housed together in one locality or housing society. Then we can watch out for each other and take care of each other, and share whatever little we have since no one from the outside will do this with us”.

I will leave it at that.

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Tasneem Akbari Kutubuddin

Tasneem Akbari Kutubuddin has done her masters in Journalism & Communication and has worked as a senior journalist, editor and columnist for leading publications like The Logical Indian, Deccan Chronicle, Worldwide Media Corporation, The Bridge and Provoke.
With Infano, she hopes to create more awareness about women’s health issues. Suffering with Fibromyalgia, a chronic pain condition, she has also been advocating for its awareness through media.

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Indian Army Day: Meet Some Of The Best Women Officers From Indian Army!

Written By: Sonali
January 15, 2021 | 05:12 PM |
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It takes another kind of grit, determination and self-sacrifice to be part of the Indian Armed Forces. Out of the rigorous training that is both physically exhausting and emotionally draining, come outbrave heroes who are prepared to die for this country.

And it is among these brave heroes that we find extraordinary women who are walking shoulder to shoulder with their male officers–fighting for this country and inspiring generations to come.

On Indian Army Day, here is a list of such women who created history in the Indian Army and awed us.

Mitali Madhumita

The first woman to receive the Sena Medal for Gallantry; it is given to soldiers showing exemplary courage in the call of duty.

Madhumita had joined the army in the year 2000 on a short service commission. When she requested the army for a permanent commission, the Ministry of Defence refused to accept her request. She again appealed to the Armed Forces Tribunal in March 2014. They found merit in her case and in February 2015 directed the Ministry of Defence to reinstate her. However, the Ministry of Defence appealed against the Armed Forces Tribunal’s order in the Supreme court of India, stating that Madhumita had enlisted in the army on a short service commission. In 2016 the Supreme Court of India rejected the Ministry of Defence’s plea, and she got a permanent commission in the Indian army.

Priya Jhingan

In September 1992, a young, bold lady Priya Jhingan became India’s first woman to enlist in the Indian Army. She had taken the step as a Law graduate to write to the then Army Chief himself asking him to allow women to prove themselves in the Army.  After a year her wish was granted and with 24 others began her journey in the Armed Forces. Known by cadet number 001, at the Officers’ Training Academy at Chennai, she received her short service commission on 6th March 1993.

She did not get the permission to join the infantry division that she asked to join but instead got to be in the Corps of Judge Advocate General. The post of Judge Advocate General in India is held by a major general who is the Army’s legal and judicial chief. Ten years later she went on release as a Major.

Divya Ajith Kumar

The first woman to get the coveted ‘Sword of Honour’, the highest award given to a cadet of the Officers Training Academy, she beat 244 fellow cadets to achieve it. Captain Divya Ajith Kumar led the Army’s first all-women contingent on Republic Day in 2015 when US President Barack Obama was present as the chief guest.

Anjana Bhaduria

The first woman to win a gold medal in the Indian Army; wanting to be an officer in the Indian Army, this M.Sc. in Microbiology lady responded to an advertisement calling for woman officers to be inducted into the Indian Army through the Women Special Entry Scheme (WSES). Accepted and becoming part of the first batch of training officers at the Academy, she excelled in literally everything that came her way. And by God, she won the gold medal in a training field consisting of both men and women.

On the short service commission, she served with the Army for ten years. Unfortunately, despite her excellent showing, she was allowed to continue beyond this period.

Sophia Qureshi

Achieving the rare distinction of leading a training contingent of the Indian Army at Force 18, the ASEAN Plus Multinational field training exercise held in 2016, this only woman officer at the exercise was selected from a pool of peacekeeping trainers.

She had already achieved the unthinkable when she became the first woman officer to lead a 40-member army contingent at the international military exercise. But that’s not all. She was the only woman commander across all participating countries, including the USA, Japan, South Korea, Russia and China. 

Ganeve Lalji

She is the first woman to be appointed as the aide-de-camp in the Indian Army. This distinction is given to officers who must prove their ability to cope with multiple challenges and hardships. And she proved herself when she became the key aide to the Army Commander, Lieutenant General Rajan Bakshi in 2013.

Shanti Tigga

She was 35 and had two kids when she became the first jawaan in the Indian Army. She beat all her male co-cadets in physical fitness tests when she finished a 1.5 km run 5 seconds sooner than her fellow cadets.

We’re immensely proud of these brave officers who are an inspiration to women all around.

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Sonali

A 'non-9-5 desk job' ambivert geek who chooses her own audience, Sonali loves sharing stories and finding the corners where humanity still exists! She believes that every individual's story is unique and special. She loves writing about the untouched and unspoken segments of society. When not writing, you can find her listening to someone's stories or playing with dogs. Sonali values mental health and encourages people to speak their heart out! Check her thoughts at www.theobstinategirl.com

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