Malavika’s Mumbaistan: Accolade for Abha

Women’s Day in March heralds the onslaught of a profusion of awards, citations and honours conferred on women achievers, but perhaps none so worthy as the one bestowed on doughty lawyer-activist Abha Singh, who has was recognised as a pioneering leader in her field by the Women Leadership Congress last week

Women’s Day in March heralds the onslaught of a profusion of awards, citations and honours conferred on women achievers, but perhaps none so worthy as the one bestowed on doughty lawyer-activist Abha Singh, who was recognised as a pioneering leader in her field by the Women Leadership Congress last week. Singh, who takes up citizens’ causes with a zeal unmatched by many others, was one among approximately 350 women from 45 countries so honoured, and was expectedly delighted by the recognition.

Abha Singh

From fighting for the rights of the victims in the infamous Salman Khan hit-and-run case to making public buildings accessible for the disabled to championing women’s empowerment, Singh seems to be equally at home, while delivering TedX talks at Oxford University, as she is contesting for the rights of sewage workers in Mumbai, or fighting for the prevention of sexual harassment among corporate India.

Regarding the last, she informs that she recently has fought and won the case for a 65-year-old woman in a 48-year-old marriage, who was subjected to daily domestic abuse. “She was granted alimony of ₹1 lakh a month. But we’ve appealed to a higher court, as we would like to see an alimony of ₹3 lakh in place,” Singh, ever the crusader for just causes, says.

However, the battle to bring justice to women is an uphill one with many challenges.

“After the American #MeToo movement took off, women in India came together and spoke out for the first time, which in itself is a very big achievement,” she says.

“We’ve come a long way from seeing sexual harassment as a stigma attached to the victim to the crime it actually is. But judicial convictions in harassment cases are very low because of money and muscle power, and inadequate legal aid for women.”

Till then she will soldier on. As she says, “My parents taught me that what differentiates humans from animals is that humans have the ability to work for the good of others selflessly. I quit the civil services in order to become a lawyer because I was angry at the injustice that is prevalent in our society. That discontent is what fuels my drive to see that justice is distributed equitably.”

TRUE LIES

The city’s grapevine cannot stop chattering over a recent music video doing the WhatsApp rounds, featuring the winsome wife of a leading politico, crooning a well-known Western romantic music hit from the eighties.

With many a come-hither look at the camera and her lustrous tresses windswept to perfection, the attractive, middle-aged professional and mother of one is seen delivering much steamy seduction and airbrushed allure, which could leave many a lisping teen pop star or debutante Bolly actress in the shade.

What on earth led to this outing? The lady has been known to be ambitious and keen to carve out an identity of her own, but with her husband’s recent fall from his powerful perch, surely a more sedate, pious image would help? Especially when the party her husband belongs to is notorious for its opposition to any semblance of Western influence and culture? And most pertinently, what on earth does Nagpur make of the desi Adele aspirant?

The mind boggles…

Separated at Birth?

David Byrne: Scottish-born American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, artiste, actor and founding member of the American new-wave band – Talking Heads.

Romesh Sharma: Indian film producer, actor and director, involved in the production of films (Hum, Kaala Pathar) and television shows for over 30 years.

Of Ensler and Empathy

As playwright Eve Ensler’s ‘The Vagina Monologues’ prepares to enter its 18th year in India (it premiered in 2003), Mahabanoo Mody Kotwal, who has produced and directed the play for her production company Poor Box Theater, since its inception, says she feels immensely blessed to be a part of a worldwide movement that coincides with women’s rights and gender equality. Ever since it launched in India, the play has snowballed into a Hindi-language version, and has been performed for audiences as diverse as a 1,200 strong policewomen contingent and women residents of Dharavi, and has afforded Kotwal many memorable experiences, such as making friends with the likes of Zoya Akhtar, Chitrangada Singh and Dr Armida Fernandez – founder of the NGO Sneha. One of its fallouts has also been the setting up of Kotwal’s monthly ‘empathy’ group sessions held at her home, as a support group for women who need it. “We share stories of experiencing diseases, violence or misogyny,” says the actor and producer.

And something tells us that audiences of the show’s upcoming performance to be held next week on the anniversary of International Women’s Day at the Royal Opera House will be in for a treat: the celebrated thespian will be appearing on stage herself, essaying one of Ensler’s iconic roles, which she had performed as a part of the original cast 18 years ago for the occasion.