Women in India have continually faced restrictions on how they dress, whether it is on wearing jeans to college or sports gear on the fields. Shoma Chatterji looks at this persistent trend of sartorial repression and urges women to reject such diktats.

India's share in international trade has increased from 0.7 percent to 1 percent, which is a remarkable achievement, some say. In the meantime, lakhs of farmers in Kerala are being adversely affected by reduction of import tariffs on edible oils, spices and other cash crops. Thomas Varghese delves deeper.

Passed in 2005, the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act could have been an effective tool to ensure redress for victims of domestic abuse. But an understaffed implementation body has made it yet another selective and often toothless piece of legislation, finds Puja Awasthi.

Bijayalaxmi Nanda tracks some of the prominent debates surrounding two critical legislations, dealing with gender-biased sex selection and abortion respectively, and points to the commonalities in recommendations made by the apparently contradictory camps.

Decades of struggle and innumerable sacrifices are involved in the long history of women's movement in India. Deepti Priya Mehrotra speaks to some of the exemplary leaders who recall the history of women’s movement and their role in it.

The displaced people of the Narmada valley have long argued that the states and the Centre have shortchanged them - ignoring the claims of many, offering uncultivable land in exchange, and going ahead with dam construction even before they are resettled. A recent Supreme Court verdict proves they were right all along, says Medha Patkar.

Policies of privatisation and globalisation are changing not only economies but societies and cultures. At their core is the fight of ideas, and these will be expressed in words. What these words are, and what they mean, therefore, matters greatly, writes Shripad Dharmadhikary.

In India, other states look at Kerala's record of firsts with envy. Dr Amartya Sen, the Nobel laureate, has hailed it as a model. But Kerala, caught in a web of paradoxes, is not what it seems, writes Ramesh Menon.

The rape of 21 women and girls has exposed deep-rooted ethnic divisions as well as fissures in Manipur's civil society. As every tribe has rushed to arm itself, women find themselves embattled between warring groups, and their bodies are the terrain the war is fought on. Linda Chhakchhuak reports.

Following his earlier acclaimed films, Rakesh Sharma has released two new Gujarati documentaries earlier this month. The films -- Sharma has even used RTI to collect government data -- expose unsavoury truths about farmers suicides as well as lower-caste rioters now in prison. Shoma Chatterji reports.

Behind the concern for girls and women, some of it genuine, is both fear and a desire to control, says Kalpana Sharma.

Those who devise television programmes on cricket seem convinced that women have neither brains, nor common sense, says Kalpana Sharma.

In the very profession where people should innovate, should try out new things, should experiment, the work atmosphere is ossified, hierarchical, resistant to any new thinking or to any change in the rules of engagement. Kalpana Sharma urges a new turn to an old profession.

When it comes to violenc within the four walls of the home, even educated and affluent women are reduced to victim status not very different from women who are not so well provided for. Kalpana Sharma asks if it is too much to want a law that will truly protect women from torture behind closed doors.

While women who have to commute at night, or use public transport, are forced to remain alert at all times because they are aware of the dangers, call centre employees who believe that "the company" takes care of all their needs might just let their guard down. Kalpana Sharma answers a reader's question: will it ever end?

If a woman, or a group of women, does well in any sport in India, it is despite the State and the establishment and not because of it. Their achievements therefore are that much greater than of those who are pampered and feted, even for failing continuously, says Kalpana Sharma.

There is plenty of native intelligence among the people that is very useful in averting and responding to disasters. Planning for disaster management must see this as an asset. The top-down planning and implementation currently in vogue is a poor substitute for community participation, says Videh Upadhyay.

It is no coincidence that it is women who have been targetted in the recent controversy over talking about pre-marital sex. If men voiced similar opinion, their remarks would have been overlooked. Women, apparently, should not speak about sex with this level of frankness, says Kalpana Sharma.

The issue of sexual harassment is out in the open and is being discussed. It gives a chance to hundreds of women who have faced situations for which they thought there was no solution to come forward and share their experiences, writes Kalpana Sharma.

How ironical it is that just when Indians are patting themselves on the back on having the richest man in the world in their midst, when the middle classes are celebrating the rising stock market and more, girls are being killed, women are being bought and they have to fear for their lives in many parts of this country, asks Kalpana Sharma.

Politicians would like us to believe that tackling the Maoists now is urgent, while development is only possible in the long run. Not true, writes Ashwin Mahesh.

In spite of its gender bias, India has women in leading positions in politics. But this does not herald a new age of gender equality, writes Ramachandra Guha.

If women cannot step out of their homes and offices without the fear of being assaulted for no other reason than their gender, then clearly there is something very wrong, writes Kalpana Sharma.

However imperfect, the National Commission for Women should not be disbanded. Instead, it needs to be debated and held accountable to its original mandate, writes writes Kalpana Sharma.

Frederick Noronha reports on the success of World Comics India, which has created successful material, especially for the regional press.

Conceived as an anti-poverty effort, the Navodayam project in Andhra Pradesh has grown with government support into a full-fledged media entity taking up coverage of serious local issues. Its members see themselves playing a vital role, and making a difference to the lives of lakhs of women in their districts. Shoma Chatterji reports.

We usually wake up to their existence when they don't turn up for work. And the first response is annoyance, because of the inconvenience caused to us. Films like Lakshmi and Me open our eyes to the plight of people who hold up our homes, writes Kalpana Sharma.

For more than a decade now, Supriyo Sen has been making his way through awards bestowed for excellence in choice of subject and aesthetics of creative expression, the latest being accorded for Wagah. Shoma Chatterji looks back at his films.

"I wanted to show not just a few victims, but to help viewers understand the mechanics and the politics of trafficking and migration," says Ananya Chatterjee. Shoma Chatterji revies Understanding Trafficking.

West Bengal's rail hawkers are women of sheer grit and palpable passion says Sharmistha Choudhury.

A division bench passed a series of orders last month while hearing a public interest litigation alleging that the West Bengal government had failed to enforce the ban against violence on children in schools. Shoma Chatterji reports.

The television cameras and news reports tell us how dramatic the India Against Corruption campaign's rise to national consciousness has been. The story of how it unfolded is even more interesting, writes Devinder Sharma.

During an interview with TOI, world No. 3 Thiem spoke about his comeback plans and how he is keeping himself ready for the season, as and when it restarts.

Virat Kohli is in a good frame of mind which gives him confidence of being able to pick up from where he left as and when cricket resumes in the post-Covid world. "... once I am in a good frame of mind and I am keeping myself positive and happy, whenever I return to the game, I know I will be in a good position to start again from where we left," Kohli said.

The ministry of Home Affairs has invited suggestions for proposed amendments in the Prevention of Damage to Public Property (PDPP) Act, 1984. The proposed amendments seek to deter the prospective violators from vandalizing and destroying public/private property during agitations and other forms of protests.

Food fortification, also referred to as food enrichment is the process of adding micronutrients to food that are not found in them naturally.

Oncologists say the awareness of breast cancer is limited to cities. And when women are aware, the stigma attached to it prevents them from speaking out openly.

It’s not just us. Women in every country are defined by stereotype

While most of the government employees’ associations have opposed the state’s move to increase the retirement age from 58 to 59, government college teachers have welcomed it.

The move came as more nations review restrictions on blood donations imposed during the 1980s HIV/AIDS crisis, with some countries imposing blanket bans, some waiting periods after gay sex, and others - like Italy - having no limitations at all.

Initial evidence shows the suspects, a nurse and a municipal market worker in their 20s, planned to rob the women

Canada's death toll rose 3.5% to 4,628 from a day earlier, while cases approached 67,000. Nearly 60% of Canada's deaths have occurred in Quebec, where there are numerous outbreaks in nursing homes.