Why were some of Pakistan’s women disenfranchised in this year’s elections?  This was the question on my mind as reports surfaced the day after the election that all the major political parties – PPP, PML-N, JUI, PTI – had signed agreements stating that women would not be allowed to vote in certain districts of Pakistan. 

As a child, I often imagined I would die in front of my family or class mates and they would express their love to me and grieve over my dead body. This thought gave me a lot of satisfaction and even though I never really wished to be dead, just thinking I could be close to death assured me that I was loved and cared for.

According to the latest figures released by the Indian Home Ministry, out of the 15,85,117 personnel working in state police forces, only 84,479 or just 5.33% are women.  Besides there are only 499 all-women police stations out of a total of 15,000 stations in the country. The figures are absurd and call for an analysis. Is meagre representation of women in the forces, leading to a rise in crimes against women?

A young woman looks for her sister after the accident

Recently, an eight-storied garment factory collapsed in Bangladesh, leading to the death of several hundreds of workers. Many more are trapped inside the building even as rescue operations continue to remove those who are trapped under the rubble.

Womentalk blogger Aziza Ahmed related her own shocking experience.

Former cricketer Imran Khan will also contest in this year’s elections

This was my first voting experience during the local government Elections in Karachi in 2007. All I wanted to do was cast my vote to the party whose Mayor had performed extraordinarily during his tenure. Interestingly or unfortunately, the person demanding my ballot paper belonged to the very same party. Much to my dismay, I was forced to give my ballot paper in front of the staff that was present there, the personnel of security agencies and Election Commission of Pakistan. These institutions later claimed that the election process was totally “free and fair”. That made me so upset that I decided never to cast my vote again.

Journalist Nadia Sharmin

The recent political turmoil in Bangladesh has taken various turns and twists in the last two months. I have spoken about the spirit of Shahbag, war criminals, atheism and so many other issues. I always think, talk and write as a human being. The joys I experience, the disappointments I face, successes that I achieve all are above any gender issues. I hardly consider myself to be different as a female. I am glad simply to have been born. It doesn’t give me extra pride nor doesn’t make me insecure about being a woman.

Ruchi: 18 is not old enough

While premarital sex is still a taboo in the Indian society, doctors, lawyers and social workers believe there are several cases of premarital sex among teenagers and the numbers are increasing by the day. Many people believe that the laws need to be tweaked to fit in with the changing social norms.  Womentalk blogger Debarati Mukherjee spoke to five Indian women from diverse backgrounds and recorded their reactions to the changing laws.