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The Hindu
20-07-2025
- The Hindu
Gender Agenda Newsletter Just tired
Just tired When we first decided to co-author the newsletter, Sunalini, Radhika, and I, feminists from different age groups, geographies, and socio-economic locations, decided that gender-based violence could not be the focus of Gender Agenda. That way, we would be subscribing to the general notion of what is perceived as 'gender-related news', often tilted towards reportage on heinous crimes against women and gender minorities. Taking that route would defeat several facets of our personhood — the politics surrounding our bodies, access, and autonomy. Yet, this week, the deaths of two young women in the country, prove repeatedly that gender-based violence — familial and institutional — is a reality for us. Earlier this week, tennis player Radhika Yadhav, was shot dead by her father Deepak Yadav, in Gurugram. He fired five bullets at the 25-year-old who was cooking in the kitchen. The police claim that Deepak was jeered at by fellow villagers for allegedly living off his daughter. They taunted him for having raised a daughter who wore make-up and created content on Instagram. Here, her father's honour was linked to Radhika's behaviour. Four days later, in Odisha, a 20-year-old student set herself ablaze on the premises of the Fakir Mohan College against the college's alleged inaction on her formal complaint of sexual harassment by the Head of the Department of Teacher Education, Samira Kumar Sahu. Going by what the principal said, the student faced rustication after bringing up the harassment complaint. 'Whether she meant to take her life or not is difficult to say, but it will be entered into the records as death by suicide,' wrote reporter Satyasundar Barik. Here, the student's voice felt unheard. Another report put together by the data team of The Hindu that accessed numbers from the National Crime Records Bureau, said that a string of dowry-related deaths had been reported from across the country in 2022. Of the 7,000 dowry deaths reported every year on average, only around 4,500 were charge-sheeted by the police. This is, of course, only reported crimes. Rithanya, 27, from Thiruppur, died of suicide due to harassment by her husband and in-laws last month. A chilling video that circulated online showcased Rithanya's father who praised his daughter for being committed to her husband even in her death. Rithanya did not just endure torture from her in-laws, but also saw her parents washing their hands of her. When families and institutions that are meant to form a circle of protection around us fail, where do we go? Do we rant, write open letters, beg for mercy, endure every inappropriate touch, and become torchbearers of patriarchy ourselves? I am tired of ex-gratia amounts, condolence tweets, opposition party protests, and candlelight marches. Wordsworth Gendered travel People across genders perceive travel differently, often influenced by social and cultural factors. This leads to varied patterns in trip frequency, distance, mode, and even the perceived safety of travel environments. Recently, Ladies Compartment, a group exhibition by Method (India), now on view at Galerie Melike Bilir in Hamburg, Germany, displayed the artworks of six women, some of whom showed the quiet solidarities of the ladies' compartment in Mumbai's local trains. Toolkit A report released by market research firm Kantar states that Indian advertisements continue to perpetuate traditional beliefs about masculinity. Several outdated norms persist more strongly in the media than they do in men's own beliefs, the report reads. Men said that 35% of ads perpetuated the belief that real men don't cry, 27% of them perpetuated the fear that men do not voice their fears, and 24% felt that sharing problems with women reduces status. Ouch! A child is not equal to the woman; a woman is not equal to the man. A man is not equal to the elderly person in the family. We all have different roles, and we are all different.' Kangana Ranaut, Hindi cinema actor and MP Women we meet Fifty-one-year-old Safira Altaf can move a barbell that has a load of 65 kilograms with relative ease. She began weight training three years ago and says that the experience has been incredibly freeing for her as she is confident about taking care of herself when she is old. 'Once, many years ago, a doctor told me women should not lift heavy weights. I blindly followed him. How foolish I was. After years of ignoring my body, I have now begun lifting weights again. I am incredibly strong,' she says. Safira suggests women ignore their partners and children for five hours a week to focus on themselves. 'It is imperative to lift. It helps prevent lifestyle diseases. Mental health too,' she says.
The National
20-07-2025
- Politics
- The National
As Labour targets trans rights, Scotland can do better
Some 38 years on and some other questions spring to mind. Firstly, were Labour really that fun in the 1980s? I wish I'd known her. And – more depressingly – was all that progress so fragile, so insubstantial, that nearly four decades later, instead of celebrating a new Labour Government as champions of LGBT+ rights, we must fear them? Fear has been the overriding emotion since the General Election last year, when the least right-wing contender for Prime Minister made flip-flopping on trans rights into an Olympic sport (it must be his biological advantage that allows him to excel in that, I suppose). Since Labour took office, those fears have proven well-founded. READ MORE: Uniformed police pulled from Glasgow Pride over 'impartiality' concerns From pushing full steam ahead with the Tories' efforts to strip back trans healthcare, to Keir Starmer's statements about trans people's right to access services based on their gender identity, it quickly became clear that any dream of a reprieve from regression would remain just that. And now, 25 years after the Labour/LibDem coalition at Holyrood repealed Clause 2A – which barred teachers from 'promoting' homosexuality in schools – and 22 years after Tony Blair's Labour government followed suit for England and Wales, Starmer's Labour have effectively introduced the same approach for transgender identity. In new statutory guidance published last week by the UK Government on sex and relationships education, teachers in England are told that, while they should teach about the legally protected characteristic of gender reassignment, they should avoid using materials which 'encourage pupils to question their gender'. That such a statement can be included in official guidance underlines that the same old unfounded fears about gay people are now being rehashed for our trans siblings. The premise at the heart of this directive is that a child or young person can be encouraged to be transgender, just like Section 28 implied an inherent risk of homosexuality being 'promoted' to children. Welcome to the Gender Agenda, just like the Gay Agenda, except Labour and the Tories are united over it. Let's just be clear: these are not ideas that any progressive political party should be endorsing, never mind mandating. Labour knew this 40 years ago when it came to gay people. They certainly knew it after watching the harm that Margaret Thatcher's government caused to both young people and teachers by introducing a policy predicated on these falsehoods. So how can this same party – insofar as it is the same party – wilfully do the same to trans people now? In the same section, schools are told to avoid materials that 'could be interpreted as being aimed at younger children', and to 'consult parents on the content of external resources on this topic in advance'. As with other aspects of sex and relationships education, parents have the right to withdraw children from lessons. This part is familiar, not because it harks back to decades past – although it might – but because this is also the policy regarding sex education here in Scotland. Of course, Scotland has also introduced LGBT+-inclusive education across the curriculum, so it should not be possible to prevent a child from learning about trans or queer people at all. However, the assumption behind this parental rights approach is worth examining because it has taken centre stage in recent debates – and Scotland is far from immune. Amidst the moral outrage and proliferation in conspiracy theories of recent years about the supposedly shocking materials children are being exposed to in schools, the number of parents in Scotland withdrawing their kids from sex ed has quadrupled in the last five years. When those figures were reported in April, the Tories commented in support of parents' right to pull kids from these lessons, while Alba's deputy leader Neale Hanvey blamed the Scottish Government's 'gender policy difficulties' and its 2021 schools' 'sex survey' for the spike. But why should we accept that parents have an absolute right to control what their children learn? There are many subjects on which we simply wouldn't accept that. For example, if a parent believes the Earth is flat, should they have a right to pull their children out of classes that teach otherwise? It's one thing when a handful of children are withdrawn from lessons for religious reasons – although I would also quibble with that – but when media-confected hysteria is driving these numbers through the roof, it might be time to look again at who we are allowing to dictate the next generation's access to knowledge, and why. Although there's not much chance of that in England, where the Government's own guidance is being written to appease the fearmongers. Within the document, schools are instructed not to 'teach as fact that all people have a gender identity', and to instead be mindful that there is 'significant debate' around this and 'be careful not to endorse any particular view'. Only 15 years from the introduction of the Equality Act – by the last Labour Government – and it's now Labour policy that, unlike the other protected characteristics, there is so much debate around trans people that teachers should present 'for and against' arguments about them to children. Coming just months after the Supreme Court ruling on the meaning of 'sex' in the Equality Act, and the various and bizarre extrapolations which have ensued from that, this shouldn't be surprising. When Starmer wouldn't commit during his election campaign to trans-inclusive policies, or to just about anything, his Government was hardly going to seek to upset the trans-exclusionary crowd now when support for his party is tanking. This is what's most frightening about the Labour leadership. About a lot of political leaders, when push comes to shove. It's not that they're driven by a deeply held belief that any of this is going to make life better for women, girls, children. Nor is it that they're fuelled by a hatred of trans people. Don't get me wrong, some of them are surely transphobic. The ease with which they've transitioned, if you will, from the role of rainbow-splashed allies to vanguards of the assault on trans people's legal rights alludes to underlying prejudices shaken free of pretence. READ MORE: Our youth orchestra shows the power of children's rights in action Above all, though, all of the political posturing – the capitulating and contorting, the derailing and distorting – that has come to define this Labour Government's approach (and one day, its legacy) on this issue can be condensed and explained by one word: power. When the tides turn, this Labour Party will do the only thing that those intent upon power and preserving their own self-interest above all else will ever do – grab a surfboard and ride the fucking wave. And rest assured, if they can do that now, about this issue, they'll do it again about the next thing, and the next thing. But here's the catch: when it comes to vilifying and ostracising marginalised people, there is no sweet spot that unscrupulous politicians can hit to satisfy the agitators. A case in point: so-called 'gender critical' campaigners are still angry about the Labour education guidance because it doesn't go far enough. This should be a lesson to the Scottish Government, present and future, while it contends with considerable pressures from those who'd like to see it turn its back on trans people. It's also a lesson they might reflect on when deciding whether to progress with legislation which is bound to be met with similar backlash. You can't control the fires of hate by adding just enough fuel, or by ignoring it – you can only fight it head-on. Rhoda Meek returns next week
Scotsman
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Smash-hit comedian Chloe Pett to bring brand new stand-up show to Edinburgh Fringe
After three consecutive smash-hit, sell-out Fringe runs followed by UK tours, Chloe Petts (Live At The Apollo, Have I Got News For You, Hannah Gadsby's Gender Agenda) announces a brand-new show, Big Naturals. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The show debuts in Edinburgh for the full month this August and tours the UK & Ireland from 2026 with 40 dates including Bristol, Brighton, Birmingham, Canterbury, York, Leeds, Cardiff, Liverpool, Salford, Newcastle, Belfast and Dublin. Chloe will kick-start her biggest tour to date with a three-week run at London's Soho Theatre, performing Downstairs from Friday, January 2 to Saturday, January 17 at 7.15pm. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Edinburgh Festival Fringe tickets are on sale now. Tour tickets go on general sale at 10am on Friday, July 4 with an exclusive fan pre-sale on Thursday, July 3 for Chloe's mailing list subscribers. Full dates and tickets at Chloe Petts brings her brand new show, Big Naturals, to the Pleasance Courtyard, Forth as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from 30th July – 24th August (excl 13th) at 7.00pm and then on tour. For the past three years Chloe has been recommended as one of the top comedy shows to see at the Edinburgh Fringe by multiple titles including The Guardian, The Times, Evening Standard, The Scotsman, Edinburgh Evening News and Time Out, and in her brand-new show, she's delving where she's never delved before: this is a show about sex. The problem is that she blushes every time she says that word. From Page 3 to fronting a Christian rock band to putting things in a popcorn box that you definitely shouldn't, join Chloe for her most titillating hour yet. It's been a big year for Chloe; in January she made her debut on Live at the Apollo (BBC), before making her third appearance in the space of twelve months on Have I Got News For You (BBC) and selling-out her third UK tour. Elsewhere on television and radio, last year also saw Chloe star in Hannah Gadsby's Gender Agenda (Netflix), a multi-comic special featuring seven global genderqueer comics, appear on The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice (Channel 4), and land her debut BBC Radio 4 show, Toilet Humour, a five-part series about the history of the loo. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Previously, Chloe has had her own regular segment on Sky Sports News where she would irreverently round up the week in football and has also appeared on MOTDx (BBC), The Frank Skinner Show (Absolute Radio), Jonathan Ross's Comedy Club (ITV), The Stand-Up Sketch Show (ITV2), Richard Osman's House of Games (BBC), Random Acts (Channel 4), Hypothetical (Dave), Fighting Talk (BBC Radio 5 Live), BBC Three Quickies (BBC), as well as winning Pointless Celebrities (BBC). On podcasts, Chloe was a popular guest on (subsequently going on to co-host) The Guilty Feminist Podcast with Deborah Frances-White and has made memorable appearances on many of the most iconic shows including Off Menu and Films to Buried With. As a live performer, Chloe was nominated for Chortle Awards Breakthrough Act 2023, is an alumna of the prestigious Pleasance Comedy Reserve, has been shortlisted for the BBC New Comedy Award, was a finalist of Leicester Square New Comedian of the Year Awards 2017 and came runner-up in the Funny Women Awards 2017. Chloe supported Ed Gamble's 2022 and 2024 UK tours, Frank Skinner's 2023 West End run and 2024 UK tour, as well as being selected to perform at the prestigious Melbourne International Comedy Festival for the past three years. EDINBURGH FRINGE LISTINGS INFORMATION Chloe Petts – Big Naturals Venue: Pleasance Courtyard, Forth Date & Time: 30th July – 24th August at 7pm (excluding 13th August) Duration: 60 min
Scotsman
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Smash-hit comedian Chloe Petts to bring brand-new stand-up show to Edinburgh Fringe
After three consecutive smash-hit, sell-out Fringe runs followed by UK tours, Chloe Petts (Live At The Apollo, Have I Got News For You, Hannah Gadsby's Gender Agenda) announces a brand-new show, Big Naturals. The show debuts in Edinburgh for the full month this August and tours the UK & Ireland from 2026 with 40 dates including Bristol, Brighton, Birmingham, Canterbury, York, Leeds, Cardiff, Liverpool, Salford, Newcastle, Belfast and Dublin. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Chloe will kick-start her biggest tour to date with a three-week run at London's Soho Theatre, performing Downstairs from Friday 2nd January to Saturday 17th January at 7.15pm. Edinburgh Festival Fringe tickets are on sale now. Tour tickets go on general sale at 10am on Friday, July 4 with an exclusive fan pre-sale on Thursday, July 3 for Chloe's mailing list subscribers. Full dates and tickets at Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad For the past three years Chloe has been recommended as one of the top comedy shows to see at the Edinburgh Fringe by multiple titles including The Guardian, The Times, Evening Standard, The Scotsman, Edinburgh Evening News and Time Out, and in her brand-new show, she's delving where she's never delved before: this is a show about sex. After three consecutive smash-hit, sell-out Fringe runs followed by UK tours, Chloe Petts (Live At The Apollo, Have I Got News For You, Hannah Gadsby's Gender Agenda) announces a brand-new show, Big Naturals. The problem is that she blushes every time she says that word. From Page 3 to fronting a Christian rock band to putting things in a popcorn box that you definitely shouldn't, join Chloe for her most titillating hour yet. It's been a big year for Chloe; in January she made her debut on Live at the Apollo (BBC), before making her third appearance in the space of twelve months on Have I Got News For You (BBC) and selling-out her third UK tour. Elsewhere on television and radio, last year also saw Chloe star in Hannah Gadsby's Gender Agenda (Netflix), a multi-comic special featuring seven global genderqueer comics, appear on The Great BritishBake Off: An Extra Slice (Channel 4), and land her debut BBC Radio 4 show, Toilet Humour, a five-part series about the history of the loo. Previously, Chloe has had her own regular segment on Sky Sports News where she would irreverently round up the week in football and has also appeared on MOTDx (BBC), The Frank Skinner Show (Absolute Radio), Jonathan Ross's Comedy Club (ITV), The Stand-Up Sketch Show (ITV2), Richard Osman's House of Games (BBC), Random Acts (Channel 4), Hypothetical (Dave), Fighting Talk (BBC Radio 5 Live), BBC Three Quickies (BBC), as well as winning Pointless Celebrities (BBC). Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad On podcasts, Chloe was a popular guest on (subsequently going on to co-host) The Guilty Feminist Podcast with Deborah Frances-White and has made memorable appearances on many of the most iconic shows including Off Menu and Films to Buried With. Chloe Petts brings her brand new show, Big Naturals, to the Pleasance Courtyard, Forth as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from 30th July – 24th August (excl 13th) at 7.00pm and then on tour. For more info and tickets, visit As a live performer, Chloe was nominated for Chortle Awards Breakthrough Act 2023, is an alumna of the prestigious Pleasance Comedy Reserve, has been shortlisted for the BBC New Comedy Award, was a finalist of Leicester Square New Comedian of the Year Awards 2017 and came runner-up in the Funny Women Awards 2017. Chloe supported Ed Gamble's 2022 and 2024 UK tours, Frank Skinner's 2023 West End run and 2024 UK tour, as well as being selected to perform at the prestigious Melbourne International Comedy Festival for the past three years. EDINBURGH FRINGE LISTINGS INFORMATION Chloe Petts – Big Naturals Venue: Pleasance Courtyard, Forth Date & Time: 30th July – 24th August at 7pm (excluding 13th August) Duration: 60 min
