Here’s your wrap of news for the week gone by: A 30-year old Mumbai woman who took to social media while searching for ventilators and plasma donors for a family emergency, found herself getting unsolicited and traumatising messages, complete with obscene photos. Many people have been resorting to social media for leads on hospital beds, oxygen supplies and injection with the rising number of Covid cases in the country. While the woman did get the desired help, ever since her number became public, she has complained of getting calls from strange men asking where she lives and if she’s single. “There is a group of men trying to video call me continuously”, the woman said. Amid the rising number of covid related deaths in the country, some BJP leaders have reportedly expressed their dissaproval of muslim volunteers in crematoriums in Gujarat. Party leaders of Vadodara’s city unit, including the president Vijay Shah objected to the presence of a Muslim man who was preparing the pyre with the wood and cow dung cakes for the cremationl. Shah reportedly said, “Volunteering for good work is one thing but getting into religious rituals when you have no knowledge of it is not welcome”. Several other BJP leaders, however, have disapproved of these actions by the party unit adding that ‘communities must work together and that it is not right to mix ideologies when the entire city is suffering.’ According to French organisation Reporters Without Borders, India is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists. For the second successive year, India has ranked 142 among 180 countries on the Index. It shares the ‘bad’ classification with Brazil, Mexico and Russia. The report observes that journalists in India are exposed to every kind of attack, including police violence, ambushes by political activists and reprisals instigated by criminal groups. It highlights that these attacks are more severe in the case of women journalists. A recent study by UNICEF and Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media revealed that women in Indian ads have highly stereotypical characters. It pointed out that these misrepresentations have a significant impact on young girls and how they view themselves and their value to society. One of its key findings is that while female representation is dominant in Indian ads, they are marginalised by colorism, hyper-sexualisation and largely shown without careers or aspirations outside the home. Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been convicted for the death of George Floyd. The jury found Chauvin guilty of second and third degree murder and second degree manslaughter. Floyd, a 46 year old Black man was handcuffed on May 25, 2020 while Chauvin pinned him to the ground by his knee for more than nine minutes. Floyd’s death has been at the forefront of the anti racist movement in the USA and spurred months of protests opposing police brutality against the black community. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Follow Feminism In India: Website: https://www.feminisminindia.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/feminisminindia Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/feminisminindia Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/feminismini... Telegram: https://t.me/feminisminindia Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/cjuLbv
