My Six-Yard Green Scarf For Afghan Women

A feminist friend, who I told about the Afghan women’s Green Scarf movement, said, “I don’t support the veil!”  And I suddenly realized that probably she’s not the only one with the wrong idea about what this is all about. To support this movement all one needs to do is: 1) Put on a green [...]

It’s Really Not About Women’s Rights To Remove Their Clothes!

This picture was taken in May this year.  That’s me in the center with some local guys on the streets of Calcutta. There are 2 things I’d like to point out about this photo: 1) If you walk down any street in India, it is not at all uncommon to find men partly clad like [...]

Your Husband is God!

Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay is one of my grandmother’s favorite novelists, and she says so with an air of superiority. To like Sarat Chandra is to be acknowledged as a true connoisseur of literature in India. So it is at the risk of being rebuffed that I say this:  Sarat Chandra’s novels, particularly at the storyline [...]

“The Bitch”

A friend once joked about how much easier it is for him to be gay in India than in some parts of the U.S. In India, it is not uncommon to see two men demonstrating their affections for each other openly in public. Holding hands, hugging, entwining fingers, engaging in kitten play or riding pillion [...]

When Is A Genital “Nick” O.K.?

When I heard the recent May announcement by the American Association of Pediatrics (AAP), to take a neutral stand on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and allow doctors to do a genital “nick” on little girls, I remembered the girl I will call “Lily. “She was a Hmong-American girl  and one of my best friends when [...]

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