She is a five-time world champion, mother of three and member of parliament, but Indian boxer Mary Kom (34) believes that there is plenty more glory in the ring to come.

In Manipur, India, there is a market run by and for women called the Ima Keithel. It is over 100 years old and is one seldom area of society where women call the shots.

Until quite recently, tropical storms were almost exclusively female. But a number of feminists and meteorologists questioned the practice of giving storms female names and there are now “male” storms too. Here is an insight into the history of storm naming, and the justifications once given for feminizing them.

The hunger to learn and have an education is a dream most Kashmiri girls aspire and want. © Murali Krishnan

Empowerment for Muslim women in India is still some distance away. Many are denied an education and forced into early marriages. But a recent Supreme Court ruling banning unilateral divorce could be the harbinger of better things to come.

In a country where many still view menstrual blood as a prop for black magic, a team of scientists in India have dared to convince rural women to hand over used sanitary pads to help detect cervical cancer.

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Anshita Koul said that. She is also known as ‘Anshita Crazy Koul’, a rising YouTube star who divides her time between India and Germany is breaking stereotypes and fighting patriarchy by making people laugh. She is tickling India’s funny bone and putting the State of Jammu and Kashmir, a place always associated with conflict, on the world map in a new light. She recently starred in the first ever comedy show exclusively for women in India – The Queens Of Comedy and recently organized Jammu’s first open mic. Koul spoke to WTO Reporter Roma Rajpal Weiß on the comedy scene in India.

German actress Stephanie Stumph during a film production in India (2012).

A few months ago, a white South African friend of mine went to India. She asked me how I would feel if she wore a sari (traditional dress for many Indian women) there. I was somewhat indifferent and wondered why she was asking me since I was not even in India. Since she was there, why shouldn’t she wear a sari, I thought. People from other cultures have worn it for years and I’m always pleasantly surprised by how much more welcome they are in Indian circles when they do wear traditional dress.