The AICUF Story!

Feminism, a noun, the advocacy of women's rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes.  Equality, not superiority. Feminism is the notion that all humans are equal regardless of their gender. Feminism is uplifting women so that men and women are treated equally. It’s not about demeaning men or declaring them inferior. It’s not based on women having power over men; rather, the idea is that women should have power over themselves. Most often, feminism is misconstrued as a “women’s movement” as it originates from the word “feminine”. But, it’s imperative we realise that feminism is not just a women’s movement, it’s a “movement for all humans”, that is concerned with the liberation of both, men and women. However, it’s important that we also accept that women have been the prime victims of years of patriarchy and toxic masculinity. Feminism is an attempt to get rid of this notion of dominance and subordination, to bring both genders on the same level. India needs feminism because...

"It's a girl!", a simple sentence, which brings smiles and happiness of welcoming a newborn girl child to a family brings grief, anger, and death to a countless number of families in many regions of India. India is a land of Gods and Goddesses, religious believers' and spirituality since the pre-historic era. It is a country where people of every gender worship Goddesses like Durga, Saraswati, Parvati and Sita. In a country where people hold Kanya Puja with the belief that by worshipping girls their prayers are answered, hundreds of newborn female children are killed soon after their birth. Female infanticide has always been a concerning issue in India for ages. The latest UNFPA report stated that an estimation of 4,60,000 girls went missing at birth in India between 2013-17 due to gender-based sex selection (GBSS) in both pre and postnatal sex selection. There has been a reported imbalance in India in the sex ratio at birth since the 1970s due to the emergence of pre...

According to a survey, girls lacked the confidence and ability to take up a career in the fields of STEM. But on what basis was this conclusion drawn? Not a test that would compare results of male vs female scientists but on the very beliefs we are brought up with. It’s not about one’s ability but about their beliefs. Here are some stories of women who inspire us to be passionate and determined to find our purpose. Elizabeth Blackburn – “Telomeres in DNA” Elizabeth Blackburn was born in Hobart on the island of Tasmania, Australia. Both of her parents were doctors. She took an early interest in animals and nature and went on to study biochemistry at the university in Melbourne. She later received her PhD from Cambridge University, England. She has taken an interest in the ethical implications of research and has contributed to the creation of a code regulating the field. In 1980, Elizabeth Blackburn discovered that telomeres have a particular DNA. In 1982, together with Jack Szostak, sh...

Do you have a dark skin tone because of which you aren’t getting a job? Want to get rid of it? Well, you can easily get pearly white skin with Fair and Lovely (now Glow & Lovely *facepalms*) at just Rs 100. Oh, you have pearly white skin but still can’t get a job, the problem lies in your dull and faded clothes. But don’t worry with Surf Excel your clothes will shine and so will your future. To Excel, you require Surf Excel because clothes define character and calibre. (Right?)  Beth Comstock said and I quote, “You can’t sell anything if you can’t tell anything”. Well, what she said is true as advertisements are the reason why businesses' bloom. The advertisement business has flourished immensely, the Indian print and television media of the advertisement industry is worth Rs. 75,952 CR and online digital marketing is estimated to be worth Rs. 17,377 CR. The government uses advertisements to bring about social change and awareness, political parties make use of advertisements f...

Feminism has always been portrayed as a struggle of rights for women against men. Which, after centuries of being oppressed under a patriarchal society is quite understandable and perhaps even to be expected. But can we really expect to change anything without involving the very group whose mindset we’ve been working so hard to change? The evidence shows that when men are deliberately engaged in gender inclusion programs, 96% of organizations doing so see progress — compared to only 30% of organizations where men are not engaged. Thus showing that without the active involvement of men significant progress toward ending gender disparities is unlikely. Even so, most of the organisations go for an individualistic approach to solving gender inequities without realizing that excluding men just overlook systemic structural causes and reinforces the perception that these are women’s issues — effectively telling men they don’t need to be involved. Challenges Facing Male Allies Backlash ag...