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The Price of Defiance: The Women's Story

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Today, on the occasion of the 78th Independence Day of India, the women of this nation are angry. Raging, exhausted, crying, frustrated, overwhelmed- they go through all these emotions as the nation celebrates another milestone. What is the reason for this rage and why is it necessary? The country was just recovering from the sentiment of a lost medal at the Paris Olympics when another incident chokes its people. It's been over a decade since the gruesome rape case of Nirbhaya but sadly nothing has changed. And whose fault is it? Surely, it is easy to blame the victims. But a deeper look at both these incidents will tell you that this is the price that a woman has to pay for being vocal; vocal for her rights, vocal for equality, vocal for justice. It is the price of standing against a system that has tried to oppress women for centuries. The narrative is the same, the characters are different each time. Each time a woman believes she deserves better, the country deserves better she...
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Eat Pray Love

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It was a lazy Saturday evening and I planned to binge-watch some movies on Netflix. One of the suggestions that Netlfix offered (courtesy: algorithm) was Eat Pray Love ( 2010). Perhaps it was the title that caught my attention and I decided to go for it.  Halfway through the movie, I knew I was in love with Julia Robert's character, Elizabeth (Liz as she referred to by her friends). The resemblance that I found with her character is unimaginable. Being in love is not easy. It is a constant delirium of how much to give in and how much to withhold. As someone who has fallen in love and out of it it is quite daunting to see what Liz was going through. Liz's journey was emblematic of what many women in an unhappy relationship go through. However, Liz taking a break from her monotonous life and exploring Paris, India and later Bali is a reminder of what Woolf says about women being financially idenpendent and having a space of their own to create fiction. She was able to do this bec...
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Location: India
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Indoo ki Jawani: Review

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It was in 1974 that D.K Baruah proclaimed, "India is Indira. Indira is India". Almost 50 years later the film Indoo ki Jawani (2020) works on almost similar premises. While registering on a dating app Indoo's friend misspells her name and hence she is addressed as India throughout the film by her date. Though the film is a romantic comedy the political underpinnings of this film cannot be negated. Indira (Kiara Advani) is an overt nationalist and does not shy away from displaying her allegiance towards the country. It is well established that she is a virgin and is contrasted with her friend, Sonal (Mallika Dua) who acts as a foil and she is depicted as someone with a colorful taste and as the one who has a voracious appetite for sex. Indira's body also becomes a site of her being "guarded" from any foreign invasion even though she has been greedily stared at by men of all age groups.  She perhaps also represents India as a country that has been under attac...
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Introduction

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You probably must have heard my name. I have a degree from the world's best Institute. But when has that mattered to you.  Yes, I am a slut, a whore. Isn't that what you would rather call me? No, I didn't do the dishes today I was kinda busy.  Oh yes! And I am the witch, And I have manipulated too many, With my charms. Call it magic! I wear the brightest shade of red lipstick, Have always enjoyed that attention. Ah! those perverted glances. I grab them by the balls, you see. Eyeballs, silly. Yes, I am all those things, You can possibly call me. Now let's talk business.
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Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl Review

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Saw this movie on Independence Day along with my sister. We, as women, are constantly battling sexism in our professional lives. You do not necessarily need to be a pilot to understand the gravity of the situation. Roughly after 20 years in which the film’s timeline is set, women are still trying to prove their mettle and that they are at par with their male counterparts. The biases are so subtle at times that men might not even realize that they are the cause of distress to someone else, and the film makes you conscious of that fact. But let me at first clarify that I will not be focusing on the factual correctness of the film as the film has been caught in myriads of controversies since its release. It is possible that the directors and the producers have taken certain creative liberties but m y focus here is entirely on the content and ways the film has portrayed a woman in a man's world. So, what does freedom mean to the women of the twenty-first century? Have we even attained ...
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Feminism

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 You worship your mother, For you, she is the epitome of feminism. How many times have you asked her,  About her dreams and ambitions? If you would have, she would have told you, That having you was not her first choice. That perhaps she wanted to be a dancer, Or a painter, or an astronaut even.  That she wanted to fly high in the sky But she was too busy to realize That she was living someone else's lie. And now you tell me my feminism is fake, When you are the actual hypocrite.  Why do you seek comfort in the silence of the voiceless, When you despise the ones who speak. Does my voice scare you? Does it remind you of your own ignorance? Or does my truth shatter  The walls of your delusion? No, I will not let you take this away from me. I have lived your lie for long enough, I have believed, Your half-hearted consolations. But not anymore... For it's time for me to grab the leash, To let you know, That I am no longer yours to be claimed. That the fire in m...
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Silence

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My body bears the marks, Of his countless thrashings.  I lie on the floor, Still, as a stone. My children, Peep through the door. Scared. Fear seeped in their eyes. Their mouths muttering, A silent prayer. I have no courage, To meet their eyes. To tell them, I will be fine. Perhaps, I won't. They say it's unsafe, To go out now, But who can save me, From the monster within. I have nurtured that fear, Till I became numb. I have struggled, I strive, I have worked hard to survive.  Yet I smile through my pain, In the hope of uniting, With the world again.
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