Kalpana Sharma : Kalpana's Commentary
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Apr 06 2008
OPINIONS / MEDIA
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And now the good news
Khabar Lahariya, run by Dalit and Kol women, has emerged as a truly rural newspaper that is read and respected by all sections of society in Chitrakoot. It is a small shining star on the media horizon that exposes the hollowness of the mainstream media, writes Kalpana Sharma
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Jan 20 2008
DOMESTIC WORKERS
Invisible women
DOMESTIC WORKERS : Invisible women
We usually wake up to their existence when they don't turn up for work. And the first response is annoyance, because of the inconvenience caused to us. Films like Lakshmi and Me open our eyes to the plight of people who hold up our homes, writes Kalpana Sharma.
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Dec 18 2007
DEVELOPMENT STRUGGLES
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Unrecognised heroines
Women like Mukta Jodia, the first recipient of the Chingari Award for Women Against Corporate Crime, are a reminder of the other India, the real India. What triggers their struggles is quite often the lack of transparency, writes Kalpana Sharma.
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Nov 22 2007
WORRISOME SEX-RATIO
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A world without women
How ironical it is that just when Indians are patting themselves on the back on having the richest man in the world in their midst, when the middle classes are celebrating the rising stock market and more, girls are being killed, women are being bought and they have to fear for their lives in many parts of this country, asks Kalpana Sharma.
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Oct 30 2007
OPINION
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The 'invisible' half
Almost one in every two children under three years of age is hungry. This is the invisible half of our population, people who disappear from our consciousness until they die in large numbers, writes Kalpana Sharma.
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Oct 03 2007
OPINION
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Is this sports, or false patriotism?
Both India and Pakistan played well in the Twenty20 tournament, and played in a positive frame of mind. Why then should a mainstream media channel insist on harping on the rivalry between two countries that are making tentative attempts at peace, asks Kalpana Sharma.
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Sep 10 2007
OPINION
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Talking about harassment
The issue of sexual harassment is out in the open and is being discussed. It gives a chance to hundreds of women who have faced situations for which they thought there was no solution to come forward and share their experiences, writes Kalpana Sharma.
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Aug 04 2007
OPINION: GENDER VIOLENCE
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Be safe, don't exist
The Delhi Police's booklet containing tips for women from the Northeast to be safe in the capital exposes only their own need for sensitivity training. Not surprisingly, many northeastern students in Delhi are incensed at being portrayed as responsible for their own problems, writes Kalpana Sharma.
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Jul 19 2007
OPINION
Why Pooja got 'mad'
OPINION : Why Pooja got 'mad'

Behind the entire media cacophony over Pooja Chauhan is a real story and a real person. The story is a familiar one. Of women, thousands of them, who are harassed over dowry or over the gender of the child they birth, particularly if she turns out to be a girl, writes Kalpana Sharma.

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Jul 01 2007
OPINION
Moving beyond symbols
OPINION : Moving beyond symbols

The question before us women is whether Pratibha Patil's imminent election as President has any meaning for us, whether it will make any difference to women in India, and whether we should welcome such a symbolic gesture on the part of the ruling alliance, writes Kalpana Sharma.

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Kalpana Sharma is an independent journalist, columnist and media consultant. She has been, until recently, Deputy Editor and Chief of Bureau of The Hindu in Mumbai. In over three decades as a full-time journalist, she has held senior positions in Himmat Weekly, Indian Express and the Times of India. Her special areas of interest are environmental and developmental issues. She writes a fortnightly column in The Hindu's Sunday Magazine section, The Other Half, that comments on contemporary issues from a gender perspective. She has also followed and commented on urban issues, especially in the context of Mumbai's development.

Kalpana Sharma is the author of Rediscovering Dharavi: Stories from Asia's Largest Slum (Penguin 2000) and has co-edited with Ammu Joseph Whose News? The Media and Women's Issues (Sage 1994, 2006) and Terror Counter-Terror: Women Speak Out (Kali for Women, 2003)