Tag: Gender Justice | Page 9

This artwork shows the poster of the 4th birthday event of ‘Varta’ webzine to be held on August 5, 2017 at the Alliance Francaise du Bengale’s premises on Park Street in Kolkata. The foundation day falls on August 1. The poster headline says: “Queer Lives of the Media: A Panel Discussion”. Next to it is the graphic of a handheld loudspeaker. The text of the poster says: “How has the media helped the queer movements in India? Or has it created more barriers for them? What if it has done both? Why did queer movements feel the urge to create their own media content? What are those histories? Come and explore these questions and more with a panel discussion and also celebrate ‘Varta’ webzine’s 4th birthday! Varta is a forum for publishing and advocacy work around gender and sexuality, in particular queer issues. Panellists: Soumitra Das, senior journalist who writes on culture and heritage; Dr. Subhagata Ghosh, founding member of Sappho and Sappho for Equality, and Editor, ‘Swakanthe’ (In Her Own Voice); Sukhdeep Singh, Editor, ‘Gaylaxy Magazine’; Sanjoy Kr. Gayen, Editor, ‘Dream News’; and Pawan Dhall, founding member and Editor, ‘Varta’. Date: August 5, 2017. Time: 7:30 pm onwards. Venue: Alliance Francaise du Bengale, Park Mansion, 57A, Kolkata 700 016. Light refreshments will be served post discussion.” The visual in the background over which the text is printed shows a newspaper clipping from an article titled ‘Sad to Be Gay’ published in ‘The Statesman’ in the early 1990s. A sketch of two women holding hands and sitting close to each other can be seen in the article, but the text is faded out. The article was sourced from the Counsel Club Archives maintained by Varta Trust. At the bottom of the poster are the logos of the event organizers – Alliance Francaise du Bengale, Varta Trust, Kinky Collective and Kolkata Rainbow Pride Festival. Artwork credit: Alliance Francaise du Bengale

Happenings Aug '17

‘Queer Lives of the Media: A Panel Discussion’

By Sayan Bhattacharya

Sayan Bhattacharya will anchor 'Varta' webzine’s fourth birthday event at Alliance Francaise du Bengale on August 5, 2017, 7.30 pm onwards

Insight, Policy Matters Jun '17

Sex talk for people with psychosocial disabilities

By Shampa Sengupta

Shampa Sengupta, founder of Sruti Disability Rights Centre, argues that the sexual needs of persons with psychosocial disabilities must be addressed, and that there can be no one-size-fits-all approach to...

This main graphic highlights the phenomenon of intoxication playing a role in the occurrence of consent violations. It depicts that free consent (for sex or any other aspect) is not possible to give if a person is intoxicated. The text in the graphic says ‘Consent Violations!’ It shows a Clip Art graphic of a glass of wine tilted to the left. The glass has a small amount of alcohol in it, with an olive floating in it. The word ‘consent’ is shown to overlap the circular rim of the glass from the left. The glass is funnel-shaped with a long stem and circular base. The funnel shape of the glass reads like a giant ‘V’ and it acts as the first letter of the word ‘violations’ that is placed to the right of the glass. The letters of the word ‘consent’ are in red, while the letters of the word ‘violations’ are in black with a white outline. The wine glass sketch is done in light grey-green, and is super-imposed on a black rectangle with a thick green border (implying boundaries of consent). The entire graphic is placed on a background in tinges of white, light blue and golden yellow. The text is written using Word Art. Graphic credit: Pawan Dhall

Advice - Mind Body and Family Jun '17

On consent accidents!

By Pompi Banerjee

The law may be flat-out on what constitutes sexual consent, but a mental health lens offers a different perspective on the issue. Psychologist Pompi Banerjee explains

This photograph shows a copy of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 lying in the foreground on a table. The name of the Act can be read on the cover, yellow in colour. In the background, the meeting room can be seen. To the left there are three people seated on chairs and engaged in a discussion; further beyond to the right is a person slightly bent over a table, writing something; and to his left are the two speakers of the meeting Dr. Rukmini Sen (Assistant Professor, Ambedkar University Delhi) and Shampa Sengupta (founder of Sruti Disability Rights Centre) – they are seated behind a long table meant for presenters and are facing the rest of the room. Behind them a white screen can be seen. The photograph is taken such that there is a sharp focus on the copy of the Act, while the rest of the photograph is relatively diffused. Photo credit: Abhirupa Kar

Happenings, Policy Matters Jun '17

Community review of new disability rights law

By Dr. Ishan Chakraborty

Ishan Chakraborty reports on a recent meeting held in Kolkata to analyse the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act which was passed in December last year

This graphic is a sketch made with a variety of coloured pens on off-white paper. Within a frame made of curvaceous lines, a genderqueer person with long crinkly hair seems to peep out from the left hand side of the frame. They have big eyes wide open, a large diamond shaped ‘bindi’ on the forehead, and a necklace on a bare chest. The figure has been drawn in blue and red coloured pens. To the right of the frame is a mish-mash of outlined patterns like flowers, leaves and other geometric figures. These are done mostly in red and pink, with snatches of green, violet and other colours. The genderqueer person’s face with its sense of magnetism dominates the sketch. The graphic has been placed on a black background to enhance its intricate details. The graphic is dated November 3, 2016. Graphic credit: Anupam Hazra

Vartanama May '17

State stupor in trans inclusion

By Pawan Dhall, Anupam Hazra

Sumana Pramanik is a young trans woman who lives in the Nadia district of West Bengal. Keen on a legal gender identity change, she approached a First Class Magistrate for...

Advice - Rights and Laws May '17

Clear your head on sexual consent

By Kaushik Gupta

Can intoxication and sexual consent co-exist? Kaushik Gupta throws light on the legal issues involved. Reader queries I'm writing in about something that happened between two of my friends. Recently,...

Quote: Irom Chanu Sharmila may have stepped away from the politics of polls, but her politics of resistance will live on. Like subterranean water – not visible, nonetheless there – a deep aquifer of silent energy, quietly influencing life above ground.

Vartanama Mar '17

Incremental change

By Pawan Dhall

Civil rights champion, political activist and poet Irom Chanu Sharmila may have lost in the recent Manipur Legislative Assembly elections. But all is not lost. Perhaps her defeat was expected,...

Photograph shows scores of people sitting and waiting, mostly in small groups, on the open stairs leading up to the Kolkata Medical College & Hospital building. A few are walking up or down the stairs. A blue, red and white signage on the entrance to the building says “M. S. Life Drug House – Chemists & Druggists”. It is day time, and many people are walking past the stairs to elsewhere in the hospital complex. The building, built in a neo-classical style of architecture in the mid 19th century by the British, is painted in white with gold linings on the roof and elsewhere. In the foreground are a couple of trees and a small temple to the right of the stairs. Photo credit: Dr. Shaoni Sanyal.

Insight, Policy Matters Mar '17

Act up call for hospitals on trans health rights

By Diksha Sanyal, Shubhrajit Roy

Diksha Sanyal makes a strong case for judicial intervention to ensure health facilities honour apex court verdict on transgender rights

Main photo long description: This first (main) photograph shows a performance of Mandeep Raikhy’s choreographic creation ‘Queen-size’ under way at Sitara Studio in Mumbai. The setting is typical for a ‘Queen-size’ show – Lalit Khatana and Parinay Mehra, the two dancers are performing around a charpoy, which is placed in the centre of the performance space – a studio room or small hall. The audience is also seated around the charpoy in an intimate arrangement that is a complete departure from a proscenium setting. The performers are on the right side of the bed, touching each other intimately as they pass by slowly and gaze into each other’s eyes. The lighting is dim, but the charpoy roping is a bright white, especially compared to the audience figures shrouded in darkness. Lalit Khatana, facing the camera, is to the right; he is tall, somewhat heavy built and hirsute, wearing an orange shirt with sleeves folded up and dark trousers; Parinay Mehra with his back to the camera is a shade shorter, slightly built and is in a grey t-shirt and cream coloured trousers. The photograph is taken from behind a few people in the audience seated on chairs. Photo credit: Kavi Datt.

Clickhappy!, Creations Mar '17

Coming out on the charpoy

By Mandeep Raikhy

Mandeep Raikhy on the spaces that his choreographic creation Queen-size has occupied across India in resistance against criminalization of queer intimacies. I made Queen-size in order to take it OUT. Out of theatres...

Word cloud in the shape of a ‘yes’ tick mark on the theme of transgender socio-economic inclusion – it includes words like ‘transgender’, ‘trans*’, ‘gender’, ‘woman’, ‘man’, ‘genderqueer’, ‘fluid’, ‘equity’, ‘economic’, ‘inclusion’, ‘court’ and ‘verdict’. Graphic credit: Pawan Dhall

Happenings

Government banks can’t write off trans inclusion!

By Pawan Dhall

State Bank of India told to include ‘transgender’ option in its examination forms. Kolkata, March 16, 2017: After the West Bengal Public Service Commission (WBPSC) in December last year, today the...

This is a photograph from the ‘Verve’ calendar – it shows a male cyclist smiling and holding aloft above his head a Ridley bicycle with his right hand. He is holding the bicycle at the pedals joint. He is in full cycling gear, with a helmet and arm sleeves, and is wearing an orange tee. We can see only the upper half of his body, chest onwards, almost as if he was airborne. He is in an outdoor location. The photograph is taken early evening, against the sunlight, which is shining through the left wheel and adding to the airborne effect. Photo credit: Souvik Banerjee

Creations, Insight Feb '17

Visual ode to redefining sporting abilities

By Suchandra Ganguly

Suchandra Ganguly on the story behind Verve – Where the Mind is without Fear, a table calendar for 2017 to express solidarity with para-athletes in Bengal What does the word...

Travel Travel, Vartanama Jan '17

Art in museums, films, ropes and charpoys

By Pawan Dhall

I think I’m passing through a happy hours phase. No, not for guzzling beer or cheap Internet services; rather this is about being invigorated by the arts in all their...

Poetry

They woke up in the minute curves of my vagina

By Aparajita Dutta, Shubhrajit Roy

They woke up in the minute curves of my vagina, scared, flustered, baffled, touches and nightmares bewildering the reality; violation is THE rule, resist the circus, laughed the fool. The...

Dance Jan '17

‘Queen-size’ show coming to Kolkata

By Pawan Dhall

Pawan Dhall previews a choreographic presentation queer not just in content but in form too Three hundred and seventy-seven acts of intimacy between two men . . . on a...

Insight, People Dec '16

Court battles for ground level transformation

By Pawan Dhall

A conversation with primary school teacher Atri Kar who recently succeeded in getting the West Bengal Public Service Commission (WBPSC) to include ‘transgender’ as a gender option in its application...

Clickhappy! Dec '16

Cinema, erotic poetry, music and moves

By Pawan Dhall, Prosenjit Pal

Prosenjit Pal and Pawan Dhall were at the ‘Hang Out with KRPF’, a queer evening of arts and adda graciously hosted by Alliance Française du Bengale, Kolkata on December 2, 2016...

Tagged Under: Gender Justice

‘Queer Lives of the Media: A Panel Discussion’

Sex talk for people with psychosocial disabilities

On consent accidents!

Community review of new disability rights law

State stupor in trans inclusion

Clear your head on sexual consent

Incremental change

Act up call for hospitals on trans health rights

Coming out on the charpoy

Government banks can’t write off trans inclusion!

Visual ode to redefining sporting abilities

Art in museums, films, ropes and charpoys

They woke up in the minute curves of my vagina

‘Queen-size’ show coming to Kolkata

Court battles for ground level transformation

Cinema, erotic poetry, music and moves

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