2018, in many ways, was the year of ground-breaking events and breakthrough reactions. On Youth Ki Awaaz, we saw your voices take centre stage with diverse issues, helping create and continue much-needed conversations. From moving personal stories to compelling opinion pieces and exclusive in-depth research series, users like you have raised the standard of quality story-telling on digital media.
Here’s a look at the most powerful stories published on Youth Ki Awaaz in 2018 that have reinforced our faith in our mission and the power of your words.
1. Casual sexism that plagues IIT Mumbai.
The Unheard Sexist Culture At IIT Bombay Where Women Are Called ‘Hariyali’
It shows in the rape jokes you overhear, in the friendly advice to take it as a compliment, in the look men exchange when a woman passes.
2. Pay a high price, become a doctor.
NEET PG Scam 2018: What Is The Future For India’s Doctors If Seats Are Being Bought?
I was also receiving messages from a whole lot of people, telling me that they can fix MD/MS seats even before the results could come.
3. Exploitation in the name of centuries-old ‘tradition’ in Kerala
Chooral Muriyal: What A Sick Temple ‘Ritual’ Is Doing To Young Boys In Kerala
The best-kept secret about the practice perhaps is what happens to these children after the festival.
4. The true colours of Holi.
Nandgaon Holi: Where Male Children Aged 7 To 15 ‘Proudly’ Molested Me
We should stop treating children committing crimes in isolation from how we are raising them in the first place
5. When Youth Ki Awaaz users boldly spoke up about breastfeeding in public.
What Is The Youth Ki Awaaz On Breastfeeding In Public?
The Malayalam magazine ‘Grihalakshmi’ took a bold stand by featuring a model breastfeeding a baby on its cover. The cover sparked a nationwide debate. We asked the Youth Ki Awaaz community what they felt about the issue of breastfeeding in public, and the ‘Grihalakshmi’ cover. Here’s a look at some of the responses.
6. A moving report on events that followed the shocking rape and murder of an 8-year-old girl in Kathua.
You Were Never India’s Daughter
Prime Minister Narendra Modi came out in December 2012 in support of Jyoti Singh aka Nirbhaya and called her Bharat ki Beti. Is Asifa not Bharat ki Beti for him?
7. How privilege protects predators.
How A Student At Jadavpur Uni. Got Away After Sexually Harassing More Than A Dozen Women
Chaudhuri’s case is just one of many that are mismanaged by the very systems meant to see them through to justice.
8. Before we ask men to stop pulling women back, let’s make sure we have each other’s backs.
An Open Letter To Shahnaz Husain After She Rejected Me For Being A Woman Photographer
Before we ask men to stop pulling women back, let’s support and choose each other based on capabilities and not gender.
9. Why we need to continue the conversation on menstrual health.
‘She Thought A Leech Was In Her Vagina’: The Reality Of Menstrual Awareness In Jharkhand
I have been working with these young, tribal and Dalit girls on Sexual Reproductive Health Rights for the past 5 years and I am shocked at how little they know about menstrual hygiene, even now.
10. Studying abroad isn’t just about #TravelGoals and living the ‘first-world life’.
I Spent 2 Years Studying In Paris And London And The Experience Wasn’t What I’d Hoped For
The experiences in these cities were beset with racism, discrimination and ignorance. Whether or not you feel gloomy, the weather always will be.
11. A shocking reality we continue to ignore.
Meeting Asha: A Harrowing Glimpse Into The Lives Of Homeless Women In Delhi
For most women living in shelters, there is often no difference between having that roof over your head and sleeping on the roadside.
12. A moving account on marriage, sex, love and women’s desire.
For 25 Years I’ve Stayed Faithful To A Husband Who Refused Me Sex
I was young, alone in a big metro, no relatives or parents whose shoulder I could cry on and definitely no friend because to everyone else I had somehow and most undeservedly got hold of the best man on the planet.
13. After devastating floods hit Kerala in August, here’s how YKA users united to show solidarity.
#KeralaFloods
More than 370 people have been killed and lakhs affected in one of the worst floods to hit the state. It’s time for us to step up and help.
14. If only we paid more attention to make sure that sex isn’t a big question mark.
‘I Wanted To Slap My Teenage Daughter When She Told Me She Was Pregnant’
Our children are going to have sex, more often without telling us. As parents, we should prepare them to make the right choices.
As part of #MyBodyMyChoice, several Youth Ki Awaaz users spoke up about women’s right to reproductive justice and access to abortion. Find their stories here.
15. “My family is aware of my female characteristics, but they are in denial about my identity.”
‘My Wife Thinks I Am Gay And I Let Her Believe That, Because The Arrangement Works’
26-year-old Vikas, or ‘Whiskey’, as she is known, shares a story of what it means to lead a dual life.
In a week-long campaign with Tinder India, we celebrated all gender identities, expressions, love and acceptance. Read more stories of queer Indians living and loving as they are with #AllTypesAllSwipes.
16. A protest on campus that became a full-blown riot within hours.
Rumours And Riot: All That’s Happened At KIIT Bhubaneswar Since November 23
Violence broke out between KIIT students, the day after a girl who was allegedly harassed protested with her batchmates, outside the accused’s hostel.
17. The ugly side of India’s most famous tea gardens.
Why Are Young Mothers Working In Assam’s Tea Estates Severely Malnourished?
The women do enormous work, from household chores to working in the fields from 7 AM to 3 PM. They live and work in terrible conditions with awful sanitation and hygiene.
YKA user Sumantra Mukherjee has reported exclusive stories on the condition of tribal workers in Assam’s tea gardens. Read more here.
18. A one-of-a-kind, extensive look at the condition of labourers in India.
Tales Of Toil: An Analysis Of Indian Labour Sector
India has two major provisions to safeguard the interests of workers: the Payment of Wages Act 1936 and the Minimum Wages Act 1948.
Through an excellently researched five article series, YKA user Mrittunjoy discussed and highlighted the realities, needs and interests of the working class in India. Read them here.
19. Members of Parliament speak out on the issues they’re fighting for: In collaboration with YLAC India, Youth Ki Awaaz launched Sansad Unplugged, a digital campaign to create a channel of communication between our leaders and us. Here’s what MPs had to say:
MP Rajeev Satav on why he introduced a Private Member Bill on paid paternity leave
MP Rajeev Satav Is Fighting The Notion That Child Care Is Only A Mother’s ‘Duty’
The holistic development of a newborn should be the joint responsibility of both the mother and the father. The absence of paternity leave is reflective of a stereotype that child care is the sole responsibility of the mother.
Read what YKA users have to say about the Paternity Leave Bill.
MP Husain Dalwai on why the current Triple Talaq Bill is problematic.
The Govt’s Decision On Triple Talaq Will Lead To Further Marginalisation Of Muslims
The Bill I introduced prescribes two procedures for dissolution of marriage – one which is initiated outside the court and one which is initiated through the court – and parties are given the option to choose either of the procedures.
Read what YKA users have to say about the Triple Talaq Bill.
MP Kalikesh Singh Deo on the importance of making lobbying transparent.
A Loophole In Our Laws Has Left A Grey Area For Blatant Corruption In The Government
Enabling a trend of greater participation by a diverse set of actors would allow lobbying to play a positive role in policy making, because it would help meaningfully provide representation.
Read what YKA users have to say about the Disclosure of Lobbying Activities Bill.
MP Dr. Kirit Solanki on the working condition of domestic workers in India.
What No One Will Tell You About How Domestic Workers In India Are Treated
They are denied fair wages, sometimes made to work 15 hours a day, seven days a week without an off.
Read what YKA users have to say about the Domestic Workers (Decent Working Conditions) Bill.
20. A moving account of witnessing the horrors of the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992
Babri Masjid Demolition: I’m Still Ashamed Of Becoming A Part Of This History
A quarter of a century has passed by, yet the entire incident is etched in my mind so clearly that it hurts like it did on that fateful day.
21. When the Supreme Court finally read down Section 377, love and support poured in!
Section 377 Live Updates
Supreme Court of India will be announcing its verdict on Section 377 which criminalises same sex relationships.
22. In the light of #MeToo, a look at India’s poisonous culture of victim blaming
‘We Are Each Responsible For The Injustices Of The Men We Place On Pedestals’
From West to East, countless spiritual leaders are abusing their flocks. Prominent politicians boast of bowing and prostrating before these abusers.
South Asian Affairs Analyst and YKA user Pieter Friedrich wrote a powerful series on sexual violence in India and the culture of silence we have created. Read the stories here.
23. An inhuman practice – made illegal years ago – that continues to oppress millions.
‘There Were Days When Human Excreta Would Be All Over My Entire Body, Even Enter My Mouth’
I don’t know whether it was my identity as a Dalit woman that decided my profession or it was my profession that decided my social identity.
With WaterAid India, we are talking about the reality of the inhumane practise of manual scavenging in India. Take a look at what YKA users have said so far and how you can be a part.
24. RSS from a class 12 student’s perspective
I’m In Class 12 And I See How My Peers Are Falling Victim To RSS’ Rhetorics
The lack of awareness about Hindu nationalism and its evils, seems like a systemic predicament.
25. Gross human rights violations in Silchar’s paper mill.
‘My People Are Dying’: 1 Lakh Paper Mill Workers Continue To Suffer In Assam
Since 2015, lakhs of mill workers in Silchar, Assam, have lost their jobs and livelihoods, and negligence from authorities is stinging.
26. An exclusive conversation with Dr. Shashi Tharoor on BJP, PM Modi and 2019 elections.
‘Democracy Is Under Threat From The Relentless Assault Of BJP’: Shashi Tharoor To YKA
There is also the gap between rhetoric and reality, the contradiction between a man of action and the disastrous records of his government.