India’s sting operation ‘king’ Tarun Tejpal is behind bars following accusations of sexual assault, but India’s new rape laws seem to have ‘scared’ a lot of men. Recently, in an article called ‘Men under a state of seige,’ journalist Palash Krishna Mehrotra wrote that men were ‘frightened’ of the consequences of the new law. Mehrotra’s assertions have created a storm in the Indian media and in Twitter under the hashtag #MenunderSeige. Here are some excerpts from the online battle.

Women love to obsess about their bodies, or let’s say, we love to concentrate on what’s not good about ourselves and subconsciously encourage cliches about beauty. But hold on, being beautiful is not that difficult. It’s all about relaxing and loving yourself for who you are.  Juma Al Jou Jou, a games designer, has some advice and an interesting game for women and girls hoping to regain their self-confidence!

“The first marriage is practice.” This statement from a novel I read some time back left an indelible mark in my brain, especially since I’ve been through a divorce myself. Or let’s say, I’ve had some “practice” and that’s why this Indian advertisement struck a cord with me.

At a time when much is being said about rape in India, a hilarious and thought provoking theater performance is giving audiences in Germany a real insight into the insecurity and sufferings of Indian women. “Shilpa – The Indian Singer App” is a theater performance with music, a solo performed by the Bangalore-based singer and actress M.D. Pallavi. It has being shown in different theaters in Germany, most recently in Kassel, where German theater-goers are invited to interact with an app for mobile phones.

I am not a fan of beauty pageants. The shallowness of the whole concept where perfect looking women strut the stage in bikinis and pretty dresses is absurd- the fact that one of them takes the label of Miss World or Miss Universe is even more so.

A shot from the film

Zinda Bhaag (which literally means “Escape alive”) is a Pakistani film that has been nominated by Pakistan for the Oscars. It is the first Pakistani film in over fifty years that has been submitted for the “Foreign Language Film Award” category. The film has been written and directed by Farjad Nabi and Meenu Gaur. Beenish Javed spoke to Nabi and Gaur about their film.

24-year-old Nina Davuluri from New York has become the first woman of Indian origin to be crowned Miss America. Daughter of an Indian-American gynaecologist, Nina now wants to use the money she won at the pageant to pursue a medical career. She already has a degree in brain behavior and cognitive science from the University of Michigan.