To curb the increasing incidents of rape in Haryana, the local village leaders have come up with a solution. They have suggested that the marriageable age for girls be lowered to 16 years. According to Indian law, girls cannot get married before they turn 18. This shocking statement has come a day after a teenaged girl from a lower caste immolated herself after being allegedly raped in Jind district in Haryana, India’s state notorious for being unsafe for women.

There is always a first time for everything that happens to us. There is something special about the first experience. The case was not different with my first day in Germany. I had never travelled to a foreign country before. When I landed in Germany the feeling was mixed. I was missing home, I was worried, but at the same time the thought of meeting new people and learning new things brought some relief.

It was a cold morning on October 1, when I arrived at Frankfurt international airport. I felt dead tired. I completed the formalities at the airport, collected my luggage and started looking for the way to the train station. I had to catch a train to Cologne and then to Bonn. I was worried, but didn’t want to give this impression to the people around.

Ronaq Zahoor is from Sopore in Indian-administered Kashmir

“I was born and brought up in Sopore, 50 kilometers from Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir. I am reserved, a little laid-back and an abstract thinker.”

Ronaq Zahoor, the latest addition to the Women Talk Online team, talks about her life in Kashmir, the conflict, the dangers and her love for writing.

Medha Patkar (centre) is the leader of the popular anti-dam movement, the Narmada Bachao Andolan in India

The recently proposed bill by the Government of India to pay wages to housewives as recognition of their household labour has created a furore in the country. Debarati Mukherjee had a chance to speak with prominent social activist Medha Patkar about her views on the proposed bill. Here is an excerpt of the discussion.

“Living in the country I live in, especially when you want to be ‘yourself’ as a woman, especially when you choose for yourself, when you become the God of your own life and when you try controlling your own body, can be difficult”. Women Talk Online reader from Pakistan, Rukhsana Shama pleads her case.

“… A tall, dark, handsome guy earning a six-digit salary. Should have the qualities of ‘Lord Rama’ because my parents have trained me to be like the goddess Sita.”

Apparently, an ideal wife looks best when paired with an ideal husband! But Tanushree Sharma Sandhu believes the ideal daughter should be assured of an equally good husband, on her own terms.

The Woman and Child Development Ministry has come up with a new bill asking husbands to contribute 10-20 percent of their monthly salary to their wives’ bank accounts. Debarati Mukherjee believes, the initiative will only lead to the destruction of the traditional Indian family.