Ruchi feels a woman’s identity goes along with that of her family

A new study conducted through Facebook by researchers from the University of York says more women now prefer to retain their maiden names after marriage. However many women still feel compelled by society to change their surnames as a mark of respect towards the new family as well as her husband. Women Talk Online blogger Debarati Mukherjee speaks to few women and finds more about the trend.

Illustration by Soofia Says

I am a woman trying very hard to prove my worth and standing up against patriarchal mindsets every day. One of the peculiarities I have developed in this quest is the adoration of female super heroes. A woman icon who kicks butts reminds me of my own alter ego and indirectly satisfies my sick fantasies of throwing a punch or two at some men I have experienced. 

Lady Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, has given birth to a baby boy. Acid attack victims in the past will not benefit from a latest law against the crime passed by the Indian Supreme Court and more than 30 million girls face genital mutilation in the next decade, says the UNICEF. Click to find out more about what women’s themes made it to the headlines.

India is the land where Buddha gained enlightenment, but Buddha’s own home is rocked by violence from all sides. Women Talk Online blogger Vishwadeepak asks a very important question: where is Buddha’s legacy?

I’ve been helping out at Deutsche Welle in the last few weeks and have become very interested in Womentalkonline, a blog and Facebook page that a small team of editors does for women across Asia. It inspired me to write a little about what my school is doing to help girls and women in Africa. Maybe something like this can be done in Asia. Perhaps it is already happening. It would be nice to find out more about this kind of thing.

16-year-old Malala may be a heroine in her own right, having survived an attack by the Taliban. However, people in her country think there is a huge hype around her created by the local media. Afghanistan’s parliament is scheduled to discuss a law which will protect men who have committed crimes against women and bar dancers in Mumbai are getting back their jobs.

Find out which women’s themes made it to the headlines in South Asia.

Copyright: Press Information Bureau, India

Uttarakhand, India’s northern state has suffered severe damages following a flood of cataclysmic proportions. According to unofficial sources, nearly 1,000 people have died while several remain buried under debris and landslides.  The Uttarakhand Himalayas are home to Hindu and Sikh pilgrimage sites and several of those who died were on their way to seek blessings from the gods. But amid the news of massive loss and destruction of property and human lives, there are some heart-rending tales of heroism.