How Budget 2015 will impact the Indian Woman: Experts Speak Up

On 28 February, 2015 Budget 2015 was announced in Parliament. While many of us still struggle to understand the jargon financial analysts use, it is important to note that many women and young girls need to be empowered financially. It is important for women to learn about money matters.

In this regard, Jaago Re invited three experts to decode Budget 2015 for the Indian woman.

Rachna Monga Koppikar, Rishabh Parakh and Social Cops joined the conversation on JaagoRe to help us understand Budget 2015 and its implications for the Indian woman.

Here's a look at some of the tweets:

Budget for Women?

Nirbhaya Fund

Sukanya Samridhi Scheme

Tax bracket for women

Women Entreprenuers

Housing Loans for Women

Impact on Homemakers?

Budget2015-Final Thoughts

More on the experts:

Rachna Monga Koppikar

She is founder of India's first personal finance website, TheGreatGruhini.com. She has worked with India’s leading publications for well over a decade. Having swam and mastered the treacherous waters of corporate and personal finance; she is now on a mission through her blog to make every Indian woman a Money Savvy Woman and a Money Savvy Mom!

Rishabh Parakh

He is a Chartered Accountant and a founder Director cum Chief Gardener of Money Plant Consulting, A leading tax and investment service provider. He also writes on finance for several leading publications in India.

Social Cops

A data social enterprise based in Delhi. They process millions of discrete data points to derive inisights that enable key decision makers - the Government, corporate heads, policy makers, non profits and media houses to make data driven decisions.

Disclaimer:

Views expressed here are of the individuals alone and do not necessarily represent that of the brand.

Macho Kumar Conquers The Gender Police

Introduction

Macho Kumar is my farmer buddy. Macho is an anachronism, he's outdated. His world hasn't changed in over 2000 years. He is terribly macho. I often invite him to my cafe so I can mentor him about real manliness. Sometimes it goes well, and sometimes we fight. He hasn't beaten up my head yet, so I'm guessing I'm winning. These are the chronicles of our awkward conversations. If you live in India you will see quite a bit of Macho in people you know. Macho Kumar is fictional but machismo isn't. Anyone around you could be a Macho Kumar. I'm a nameless Indian man without gender bias who respects women. I could be you.

Today our beautiful India is reeling under the burden of violence against women and rape. I have even stopped reading newspapers. There is nothing positive to read about this subject. That is why I started this series. I can't take it this hatred and violence anymore.

My teacher always said, "If you can't handle the darkness, light a lamp". I can't handle this darkness, my dear reader, so I lit a lamp with this series. I hope it throws some light in your direction too. If you like it, do share it on your social networks.

These conversations will certainly help you build a healthy and functional idea of what manliness really is. They can be easily adopted for plays or to make videos, if you need help with that, do get in touch with me. I hope one day, soon, that we can all be kind to each other and live happily in a world without violence and rape.

-Ashwin Mohan (Beast)

Part 1: Macho Kumar confronts the Gender Police

It was a bright sunny day but Macho Kumar came in like a dark cloud.

Macho Kumar: I've had it with my daughter.

Me: What happened?

Macho Kumar: She goes out wearing short clothes and then complains that people molest her. Why can't she just dress decently?

Me: Why do you think people molest her?

Macho Kumar: Because she wears short clothes, are you a stupid man?

Me: Would you molest a girl with short clothes?

Macho Kumar : Are you crazy? My wife would kill me.

Me: If she wouldn't kill you, or if you were unmarried, then would you be molesting girls?

Macho Kumar(dryly): Every man in the village does it.

Me: Maybe so but not every man does it, for example me, I don't molest girls. See?

Macho Kumar: If you don't, you're not a man.

Me: I can assure you I identify as a man, Macho bhai. Tell me something, do you lose anything by not molesting girls?

Macho Kumar: Women like it.

Me (alarmed): NO THEY DON'T! But answer me, what do you lose if you don't molest girls?

Macho Kumar: I never really thought about it.

Me: Think now.

Macho thought deeply scratching his beard with a fork. A very tense silence followed after which he almost looked vulnerable for a second.

Macho Kumar: I can't tell you.

Me: Why?

Macho Kumar: You will make me feel like less of a man.

Me: That's something you imagine I will do. I don't think gender identity is a choice or can be taken away. No one needs to constantly prove their gender.

Macho Kumar: It's different when you're a man.

Me: I am a man. It's my gender identity. So it can't be gender identity that's bothering you. You must be afraid of being mauled by the gender police.

Macho Kumar: What's gender police?

Me: People who make gender role scripts and somehow link it up with your gender identity and ostracise you or punish you when you don't fall into their gender role script. An example of a gender script is: "To earn your manhood you must molest girls."
But manhood is something you identify with by default, your gender identity is not defined by any action. It just is. Have you known any man who identifies as a woman?

Macho Kumar(shouting): I don't know any HOMOS!

Me: The right word is transsexual. Transexuals don't identify with the gender they are genetically born with. And it's not a defect or a problem, it's very natural and more common than you think. Anyway, I brought that up because I want you to know gender is something independent of behavior, ok?

I was speaking energetically. Macho looked at me suspiciously from behind his tea cup, it was as if he was using his cup as a shield. He sure felt vulnerable so I tried to be more gentle.

Me: Want to know a double standard of the gender police? It's an example of why I don't respect them.

Macho (squeaking): What?

Me: They teach you that a real man fears nothing and then teach you that you have to fear the gender police. I figure that the only reason that you refused to answer my question, "What do you lose if you don't molest girls?", is that you fear the gender police and admitting that fear will make you feel less like a man. However, I don't judge you for this. I just want you to realise that even though it's not easy to change, it's worth it.

Macho: Only a real man can change?

Me: Dude, there are only two conditions to qualify as a real man. 1. You must be a living human. 2. You must identify as male. That's it. It's a matter of identity not behaviour.

I was suddenly at the fag end of my compassion. Macho sensed the snap in my voice.

Macho Kumar: Ok, ok got it.

Me: Phew!

Macho: But why did you say it was hard to change?

Me: Ah it appears I haven't told you the tale of the monkeys.

I smiled. This was a story I never tire of telling...

Continued in part 2. Macho Monkey Tale.

More on the writer:

Ashwin Mohan is a feminist writer, scholar, activist and artist from Mysore, India. He is an ordained nath yogi and works as the chief mentor at Adesa Yoga Vidyalaya, Mysore. Ashwin also works as a storyteller in the Na Boli trust non-profit working to eradicate gender bias through seeding new cultural stories.

Ashwin Mohan is a chain entrepreneur and a TEDx speaker, his expertise is in eliminating all forms of stress and violence. He has been training in martial arts for 34 years.

In 2014 Ashwin started a project called Na Boli. The Na Boli campaign will bring these lessons online for free in the form of artistic videos, so that anyone, anywhere who is dedicated to bringing an end to gender based violence in their community can use these video lessons in their community. To contribute to Naboli, please visit www.ketto.org/naboli

Disclaimer:

Views expressed here are of the author alone and do not necessarily represent that of the brand.

How Change Occurred In Soda

As a country we take pride in producing and celebrating intellectuals who have excelled in their respective fields of science, art, literature, journalism and so on. We openly exalt and often express the pride and regard we have for our achievers and scholars. Yet we never openly question why these very scholars don’t get involved in actively educating our civic populace and influencing the nation at a more grassroot level. 

“I didn’t have to think about it much because Soda is where I belong and it needs me. In fact, the villagers broke all barriers of caste, gender and religion to ensure my victory. In Soda, not even one per cent of the voters are from my own caste. They [the villagers] wanted to prove that development is the most important factor for which they can overlook all politically created differences.”

Chhavi Rajawat is a woman who recognized that she had the potential to influence a small village called Soda in Malpura tehsil, Tonk district of which she is now a Sarpanch. She is a very clichéd yet an apt example of how society is creating individuals who can give back to it.

For the people of Soda, it’s not pride that fuels them but a feeling of self-righteousness and a zest for better governance. Chhavi has inspired the people of her village to take the responsibility of their development into their own hands. Her approach to problem solving has made the villagers more liberal and outward in their thinking towards the government and its various organizations. They have understood that rather than black mailing the government with hunger strikes and the likes to prove a point, it is easier to work with and from within the system to reap benefits and bring about positive action.

Chhavi  is one among the many women who form 49% percent of the registered voting bank in this country. Her efforts towards bringing about a drastic change in people’s outlook and belief in government is testament to the fact that change must start at a micro level and from within, but her effort can only do so much. It is up to the rest to realize the true power of 49.

Source - http://soda-india.in/sarpanch

5 reasons to end saying 'What if she's your sister/mother/daughter' in the argument against rape

Empathy for a victim of any crime is nurtured when you imagine putting yourself in the victim's place. However, in cases of rape, the dynamics are entirely different. Whether we admit or not, empathy in this scenario differs: mostly based on whether you're a man or a woman.

Whenever a case of rape occurs, and if a woman hears about it, an inherent sense of empathy is nurtured towards the victim by associating with location, timing, perpetrator, age and of course their own gender.

However, for boys and men, there is usually a tendency to invoke only a second-hand or outward sense of empathy. And we try to invoke it by the only way we think it can work – often, by saying, "What if she was your sister, mother, daughter?" There is, of course, enough evidence to prove that this approach is flawed and utterly misleading.

Usually it's hard to shake people, both men and women out of their apathy, insensitivity and misogynistic ideals. Yet here's why I believe we have to, eventually stop resorting to our usual analogy: "She could be your daughter/sister/mother":

Most rapists are related/known to the survivors

A significant percentage of rapes are actually committed by brothers, boyfriends, fathers, husbands, uncles, cousins or any male who is known to the survivor (even mooh bola bhais?) NCRB statistics shows that in 94 % of the cases, the offenders were familiar to the victims. So what is the demographic targeted when we're trying to establish a familial connect? Imagining a survivor is a sister/girlfriend/daughter/wife, could actually be counterproductive in cases like these.

What if there was no man in her life?

Let's also suppose she is someone's sister/daughter/wife. What if she is an orphan or has no familial ties? Does that make her an easier person to rape or is she somehow more deserving of rape than a potential victim who supposedly holds strong ties to the men in her life? Did the fact that there's no man in her life who could ‘lose family honour', make her lesser ‘collateral damage'? When a woman is raped, she is a survivor, and when a man rapes, he's a rapist. No presence or absence of men in her life can alter the pain and trauma caused by rape.

Rape is not just an assault on the "honour" of the male relatives, it is way beyond that

It is reinforcement of the patriarchal philosophy: how rape is the loss of honour for the woman and in turn, the male members of the family who supposedly have ‘ownership' over her. Traditionally, women are supposed to be the upholders of "honour" in a family system (ghar ki izzat). In a patriarchal society, hurting a woman's modesty is equivalent to breaking the metaphoric links of her familial chain, she already being the weakest link. Assuming that her pain can only be felt by those she is related to is reinforcement of the very misogynistic idea: she ‘is raped' is an assault or comment on the inability of her brother/father/husband to protect her.

Face the crime for what it is, not for what it's made out to be

Empathy stems from putting yourself in the victim's shoes. By using the sister/daughter/mother analogy, you are subconsciously distancing yourself from the crime and cannot fully comprehend the severity of it firsthand.

Do we ONLY respect women that are our sisters, mothers, daughters?

Men (or boys) should not be raised with the idea that a woman who is not genetically or filially bound to them is unworthy of being shown any kind of empathy. The sister/mother/daughter argument only shows that a woman whom you are not genetically tied to is ‘not human enough' and somehow their victimisation is cause of lesser worry, since they aren't in any way bound to you.

In a nutshell, a woman who is raped deserves every bit of your empathy, compassion, support and respect whether or not you see her as your sister, mother or daughter.

More on the writer:

Arushi Kapoor

Arushi is a feminist from Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi. She was born to parents of a mixed marriage and is hence against the idea of a singular culture and stereotypes, although Arushi claims to be just another stereotype. Apart from being a professional writer, she is also an out-of-work filmmaker who still hasn't found her true calling. When she isn't ranting about pressing gender issues, she creates comedy sketches in her head (and sometimes on paper).

This article has been recreated from the author's blog: http://indianfeministleague.wordpress.com/

Disclaimer:

Views expressed here are of the author alone and do not necessarily represent that of the brand.

Why I Stayed & Why I Left an Abusive Relationship

Real issues discussed by real people

A famous football star in the U.S. is serving an indefinite suspension by the National Football League, after a video of him brutally knocking his then fiancé unconscious was released by the media.

Soon after, the same fiancé who was viciously attacked by him, went on to marry him. That was when a flurry of questions began on social media, many asking why she married him, and why she stayed with him, despite the obvious abuse.

The answer came from thousands of survivors of abuse and domestic violence. Many stated that by directing the questions at the victims, we are, in fact, implying blame on the victim. The emphasis underlined a need to move the questions and conversations to a point where we start asking why men are resorting to violence, in relationships where they are meant to love and protect their partners.

#WhyIStayed #WhyILeft

On Twitter, the hashtags #WhyIStayed and #WhyILeft revealed painful and agonising stories of thousands of women: women who took to twitter to share their personal battles with domestic abuse.

Feeling too worthless to leave, having no money to move out, being in love and hoping for change, or simply not knowing why they stayed, many survivors came together to ascertain one message: that they are not alone.

Their reasons may echo with several women in India: a country thoroughly different from the US, but a country that's no stranger to domestic abuse. The latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) figures from 2013 reveal that over one lakh women in India have suffered cruelty at the hands of their husbands or in-laws. On an average, that's over 300 women suffering from domestic violence in India everyday.

Is it "OK" for a man to hit his wife?

If that is not alarming enough, then a cause for concern is our reaction and understanding of domestic abuse. A recent National Family Health Survey found that 51% Indian men and 54% Indian women found it justifiable for a man to beat his wife.

Do we think it's ok for a husband to raise his hand on his wife? What are the messages we see today in Bollywood, media, society or even at home? Often when a woman is abused, the questions revolve around what "she might have done to provoke him", and not "what gives him the right to raise his hand on his woman".

The self-entitlement by men has been under question by many movements fighting to end the violence. #WhyIstayed and #WhyILeft attempted to address the questions hurled at the victim, and not the perpetrator, which force us to introspect and ask ourselves what kind of a society we have built for ourselves, where a woman, even a mother can think, more often than not, that she deserves abuse.

Here's a look at some tweets doing the rounds:

Break the Cycle

From being a taboo conveniently shoved under the rug, our society is finally opening up to the subject of domestic abuse. Many more survivors are coming out of the closet, with stories of violence and consequent stories of how they sought help and moved on.

Our society can change when men stand up and pledge that they will be a part of the change. When they don't stay silent on cases of violence that come to the fore. When they declare there will be no abuse, no matter what.

India is still far behind on the global movement to end violence against women. With more awareness in the society, the fight to change our culture that gives more space and respect to women, and an inherent understanding to the cycle of abuse by each one of us will give way to a more just and fair society. Men and women deserve to be in healthy, respectful and loving relationships, and so do their children. Let's work together to once and for all, eradicate the vicious cycle of domestic abuse.

Push the Pin

If you know of cases of domestic violence, please report the issue and push the pin here.

9 Famous Men That Stood Up For Women

Farhan Akhtar
Going beyond his various avatars in the showbiz, this Bollywood star and recently appointed 'UN Women's South Asia Goodwill Ambassador', launched a social campaign called MARD- an abbreviation of ‘Men Against Rape and Discrimination', after being spurred by a mishap in which his friend was victimized and murdered in a sexual assault.
"If you are a man who respects women… her rights, her dignity, her independence, her mind, her body, her life… you are a #MARD".

Aamir Khan
"I believe that to combat violence against women, men will have to change. Hitting women is not a sign of masculinity. Instead, it shows cowardice. If we truly want to be real men we will have to first learn to be sensitive."

John Abraham
He rendered his support to acid attack survivors, by joining hands with "Fever Voice of Change" campaign. "It's very important to respect a woman, but we men tend to forget that. So, it is very important that parents should teach their sons to be courteous towards them. The way a father treats his wife, his son also follows the same."

Dalai Lama
"I call myself a feminist. Isn't that what you call someone who fights for women's rights?"

Patrick Stewart (Star Trek and X-Men star)
Referring to the abuse his father perpetrated on his mother in his childhood, he said:
"Even if she had [done something to provoke my father to hit her], violence is a choice. And it's a choice that a man makes. We can choose to stop it.

David Schwimmer (‘Ross' from Friends)
"I've had two girlfriends who were victims of child sexual abuse, and one was also later a date-rape victim. That sensitized me to the issue in a way that I hadn't been before."

John Legend, musician
"All men should be feminists. If men care about women's rights the world will be a better place... We are better off when women are empowered -- it leads to a better society."

Ryan Gosling (The Notebook)
"You have to question a cinematic culture which preaches artistic expression, and yet would support a decision that is clearly a product of a patriarchy-dominant society, which tries to control how women are depicted on screen... The (said organization) is okay supporting scenes that portray women in scenarios of sexual torture and violence for entertainment purposes, but they are trying to force us to look away from a scene that shows a woman in a sexual scenario, which is both complicit and complex. It's misogynistic in nature to try and control a woman's sexual presentation of self. I consider this an issue that is bigger than this film."

Joseph Gordon-Levitt (The Dark Knight)
"My mom brought me up to be a feminist. She would always point out to my brother and me that our culture does often portray women like objects... She wanted me and my brother to be aware of it because we see these images on TV, in the movies and on magazines all the time. And if you don't stop and think about it, it just sort of seeps into your brain and that becomes the way you perceive reality."

Will Smith (Men in Black)
"We let Willow cut her hair. When you have a little girl, it's like how can you teach her that you're in control of her body? If I teach her that I'm in charge of whether or not she can touch her hair, she's going to replace me with some other man when she goes out in the world. She can't cut my hair but that's her hair. She has got to have command of her body. So when she goes out into the world, she's going out with a command that is hers. She is used to making those decisions herself. We try to keep giving them those decisions until they can hold the full weight of their lives."

Antonio Banderas (The Mask of Zorro)
"Two million women and girls are trafficked each year into prostitution, forced labor, slavery or servitude… These women are our sisters and our daughters, our grandmothers and our mothers. This is unacceptable. And it must stop now."

How One Man on a Cycle is Changing Rural India

Meet the man who is riding across India for a cause – to call an end to crimes against women.

Since March, Rakesh Singh has already visited over 80 villages, covered around 2,000 kms, interacted with more than 25,000 people and hopes to reach Delhi by March 2017.

Acid attacks, domestic violence, sexual assaults, human trafficking and other gory crimes against women make news in India daily.

This fatal seed for misogyny is planted right in the home of a young child.

One man has set out on his cycle to confront and challenge the patriarchal and rigid mindsets - that make our society violent and destructive for women.

Rakesh Kumar Singh, a native of Bihar, quit his corporate job to actively join the movement to end crimes against women. As a devoted campaigner with Stop Acid Attacks, he realized the extent to which patriarchy is so seeped in; and how it harms innocent young girls and scars them for life.

In March 2014, an acid attack survivor Rani, flagged off his nation-wide journey from Chennai. He has already visited villages and small towns in Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry and Kerala.

Using theatre and puppetry, he is reaching out to the common man, and woman on the street. He has already spoken in various educational institutes, and also interacted with local tea sellers, roadside vendors and several villagers. He speaks to them about gender differences and gender-based crimes; that are hugely rampant in India.

Riding in South India

He says that despite the language barrier, he has been welcomed in the South. He has also managed to question age-old notions and prejudices about gender.

He says, "Many people thanked me for making them question their traditional beliefs, and for helping them see the other side of the story."

He says that his time in South India was a big learning. He also remarks that gender violence exists in the South. "Women have more participation in social and educational structures. They have a larger acceptance, but it is still on the margin." He says he was surprised to see that dowry is also commonly practiced in the South.

Simple lessons on gender sensitization by Rakesh Kumar Singh

These are some of the simplest ways in which he communicated the message of gender discrimination to people in South India.

An important checklist to see who bears the responsibilities of a house:

"Inspite of that, if the sugar in tea is less, how does a father react? This is how a son learns how to treat a woman.

The man is the head of the house. The owner of the house.

If a man is screaming at his wife, his son will imitate that. Usually, sons imitate their fathers, and daughters imitate their mothers."

Do fathers help educate young sons on sexual health and sexual conduct?

When a young girl hits puberty, the mother has a talk with her daughter about menstrual cycles, menstrual hygiene etc.

Yet when a son starts growing up to be an adolescent, and experiences sexual desires or frustration, his father never sits him down to have a straight talk about sexual health and appropriate sexual conduct.

Towards a society free of gender bias

Help Rakesh in his mission!

If you wish to support Rakesh Kumar Singh in his mission to ride for gender freedom, please visit https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ride-for-gender-freedom and spread the link!

Push the Pin!

If you see instances of any form of crimes against women, please push the pin and voice your concerns.

The Power Of A Papad

Meet the women at Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad, popularly known as Lijjat. By definition, Lijjat is a cooperative involved in manufacturing of various fast moving consumer goods, with papads at the helm. For the average Indian though, they need no introduction. Lijjat’s television commercial featuring their mascot - a stuffed rabbit who goes “Kharram Khurram” - is legendary.

The description of the initiative by its founders - “A unique organisation of the women, by the women, for the women” – could not be more apt. The thinking was as effective as it was simple; There was a living to be made, self-employment seemed like the best way to do it, and cooking was the sole skill the founders, a group of women, had. The 7 of them, residents of Lohana Niwas in Girgaum, Mumbai, borrowed Rs 80 and took over a sinking papad-making venture. On March 15th, 1959, they gathered on the terrace of their building and started with the production of 4 packets of papads. And the rest, as they say, is history.

From the outset, the women followed a winning strategy. Parekh, the man who lent them their first business loan, became their guide and gave them invaluable advice on maintaining quality, keeping proper accounts and running the venture like a business enterprise. The organisation only employed women and expanded at an incredible pace, within 3 months there were about 25 women making papads. Today, they stand tall with an employee strength of over 42,000 women.

Although entrepreneurship and livelihood appear as the primary objective of the initiative, Lijjat and its growth is better seen in the larger canvas of women and their empowerment. Being Gujaratis, the women refer to each other as “ben”, meaning sister, and the employees are called member-sisters of Lijjat.

49 is a number. Just like any number that’s greater than 1, it signifies strength, welfare and several other benefits that large numbers bring with them. And at Lijjat, the belief in the muscle of numbers is intrinsically existent. Lijjat’s growth, their independence, their profitability, and their sheer supremacy within their domain is but a function of unwavering faith in the saying “Unity is Strength.”

Jaago Re urges every woman in this country to vote. Vote because there are many more like you who will also vote. And together, you can make that difference. Just like the women at Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad did.

3 Ways To Clean Up Our Dirty Business

Some glaring truths: the filthy side of India

• 600,000 die annually since 50% of the country is openly defecating in India.
• Half of the world’s top 20 dirtiest cities are in India, according to the World Health Organisation's statistics, which included 1,600 cities.
• India generates 1,27,486 metric tonnes of waste every day as per a 2011-2012 Government report.

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan – Cleaning up India

This month the Prime Minister of India launched the "Swachh Bharat" or "Clean India" campaign. The campaign has struck a chord with millions of Indians, yet it's left many wondering how practical it is to free India of the mountains of garbage that line every other street in merely five years.

Without a well-planned and well-executed mechanism in place, cleaning up India will remain a Herculean task. A country like ours, rich in talent and man-power – can make use of resources to speed up the process. If every Indian comes together to push the government to follow such models, wouldn't this be possible?

Instead of watching from the side-lines, here’s how we can draw inspiration from three other countries. We must push the government to put such practices in place and perhaps invest in sustainable models of our own.

How these countries are doing it right: Cleaning up their Act

1) Sweden gets recycling right!

"Sweden imports garbage from other European countries."

Isn't it strange that a country would actually import waste or garbage from other countries? The 'recycling revolution' in Sweden has ensured that the country has almost 99% recycling of all the waste generated.

The recycling revolution that is taking over Sweden ensures that the waste in Sweden is collected, burnt in the "waste-to-energy" plants and converted to steam that powers turbines to generate heat and electricity in households.

Sweden has perfected this method to such an extent that they actually import the waste from neighbouring European countries.

Don't you think we have enough waste, currently, to generate electricity and power our rural areas?

Source: Huffington Post

2) Istanbul combines humanity and recycling.

Like our country, Istanbul also shelters a lot of stray cats and dogs. However, Istanbul has a unique way of allowing people to recycle bottles through dog food dispensers.

Engin Girgin, a lover of animals, combined the need to feed strays and recycle, and came up with this unique dispenser. Pugedon, a company that produces steam boilers, was convinced by Grigin to manufacture these dog food dispensers.

Every time you insert a used/empty bottle into the dispenser, it allows a certain amount of dog food to be allotted in a container. The dispenser unit also allows you to empty the remaining water into containers for the dogs to drink from.

Source: BigThink.com

3) What Songdo, the City of the Future can teach us

Songdo in South Korea, was once a swampy marshland. The government filled in 500 thousand tons of sand to build this 'City of the Future'.

In Songdo, one of the most admirable developments is that every building is connected with an underground system of pipes. The pipes suck in waste that is generated in every building. The waste is automatically sorted and sent to a waste collection plant. The sorted waste is then recycled, buried or burned for fuel accordingly. The whole system requires only about seven employees.

Source: MSN

Where will we now discard our waste?

The Government plans to allot almost 2 lakh crore Rs. to clean up our country. However, concerns have risen on where this amount is coming from, and how exactly is it going to be spent.

The need of the hour is to have practical, working and long-term solutions that can tackle our ugly menace head on. These are just a few examples of successful waste management methods that are keeping their countries clean and sanitised.

While these systems cannot be replicated in its precise form, we must remember that several countries are dealing with both, their limitations and resources to ensure a hygienic and clean life for their citizens.

Let's also not forget to provide better living and working conditions to scavengers and ragpickers – the "lower" strata of society that are in the face of our discarded and stinking waste daily.

In addition to the #MyCleanIndia campaign launched by the current Government, we need such innovative means – merely cleaning up the backyard with a broom isn't going to make India clean by 2019.

Push the Pin

If you want to report issues relating to health and sanitation or unclean public toilets, please push the pin here.

7 Spectacular Women from the ASIAD Games

When you say ‘cricket’ in India, it hardly takes a second to conjure up the image of Sachin Tendulkar or the entire men’s team. If asked about the women’s team, it is only a handful of people across the country, who even know the names.

Thus, in a country where men have outshone women in the field of sports for hundreds of years, Indian women have finally been able to prove their brilliance at the 2014 ASIAD games. Bagging the gold, silver and bronze medals for different categories, the Indian women returned home, triumphant in their efforts and successes.

Among them, Mary Kom is one name that every Indian household currently recognizes. Having a biopic made on her, she has quickly risen to one of the top sportswomen in the country. At the 2014 ASIAD games, she boxed her way to gold.

Mary Kom, although voted the MVP of the ASIAD games 2014, isn’t the only Indian woman to shine at ASIAD. Here are 7 other women and teams who made India proud.

TEJASWINI BAI, KABADDI TEAM (GOLD MEDAL)

The women’s Kabaddi team left their competitors in tears after they strategized their way around the aggression they faced. Lead by Captain Tejaswini Bai, the team has proved that the bar set by the team has risen.

Captain Tejaswini states that the team has a mix of seniors and juniors, both training hard to maintain their rising standard.

Tejaswini Bai

Image Credit: The Hindustan Times

TINTU LUKA, 4X400M RELAY (GOLD MEDAL)

Sprinting their way through the relay, the Indian team bagged the gold medal. The team, consisting of Priyanka Panwar, Tintu Luka, Mandeep Kaur and M R Poovamma, beat India’s old record relay time.

25 year old Tintu Luka, trained at the PT Usha school by Usha herself, is a legend in the making as well. In 2010, she broke a 15 year old national record for the 800M event.

Tintu Luka

Image Credit: In Today

DEEPIKA PALLIKAL AND ANAKA ALANKAMONY, WOMEN’S SQUASH TEAM(SILVER MEDAL)

Both Deepika Pallikal and Anaka Alankamony got a historic silver medal for the country with their efforts. Although they didn’t make it to gold, their efforts brought us the next best.

At 23, Pallikal has already won 7 titles to her credit. At the 2012 Tournament of Champions held in New York, she come to be the first Indian to reach the summit clash of a Silver event. She also became the first Indian to reach the semi-finals of the gold event at the 2012 Australian Open.

Anaka Alankamony, 20, set the record of being the youngest person in the world to receive a Women’s International Squash Player’ Association (WISPA) title 5 years ago at the age of 15.

Deepika Pallikal

Anaka Alankamony

Image Credit: Sports Guerrila and News Report Leads

JASPREET KAUR AND VANDANA KATARIA, HOCKEY (BRONZE MEDAL)

Shooting the two winning goals, Jaspreet Kaur and Vandana Kataria got India the third bronze medal in hockey at ASIAD 2014.

19 year old Jaspreet Kaur was named the best defender and best player of the tournament in the 2013 Hockey World League Round 2 tournament at New Delhi.

Vandana Kataria, 22, was India’s top scorer at the 2013 Junior World Cup in Mönchengladbach, Germany.

Jaspreet Kaur

Vandana Kataria

Image Credit: Sports Guerrila and News Report Leads

LAISHRAM SARITA DEVI, BOXING BRONZE MEDAL)

Sarita Devi, 29, is a national champion and former world champion in the lightweight class. Her stint in the ASIAD games brought her a bronze medal. Throwing blow after blow at her opponent, she managed to keep her opponent down for most of the 4 rounds.

The decision of the judges came across as biased. However, it was controversial when she handed over the bronze medal to the silver medal winner (Korean) Park Ji-na. She did subsequently accept the medal, acknowledging her third place in the boxing tournament at the ASIAD games.

Sarita Devi

Image Credit: Zee News India

Have you followed these women’s progress during and after the ASIAD games?

Data Source: Times of India