All posts tagged: Equality

Actor and filmmaker Aushim Khetrapal’s new film Children of God gives voice to Kinnar community, aims for equality

Actor and filmmaker Aushim Khetrapal’s new film Children of God gives voice to Kinnar community, aims for equality

Published by Parlour News

Actor and filmmaker Aushim Khetrapal, known for Shirdi Sai Baba (2021), is now on a mission to give kinnars a voice and the identity they deserve in society. And he is doing it in the way he knows best – by making a film on the subject. Actor and filmmaker Aushim Khetrapal and still from him next film Children of God “We call them kinnar, officially the third-gender or transgenders, but I believe they are true Children of God and that’s what we titled our film. The film is based on their true stories and their life. Our Sai Baba Foundation works for different causes, and this endeavour is to give voice to them and highlight their problems, so they get equal rights and respect in society,” says the actor who was last seen in feature film Baba Ramsa Peer (2020). He goes into the philosophy of the concept. “During my discourse and samagams, I have always said that the biggest sevas are cow seva and kinnar seva, other than feeding the poor. That’s the …

Aparshakti Khurana on his Tamil debut with Root: The sense of equality here…

Aparshakti Khurana on his Tamil debut with Root: The sense of equality here…

Published by Parlour News

With more actors looking beyond Hindi cinema and actively exploring regional industries, the idea of language as a boundary is steadily dissolving. For Aparshakti Khurana, that shift isn’t a calculated move but a natural progression. “I would like to believe that the story organically pulled me in,” he says, adding, “it’s really important to cross boundaries in terms of languages, especially when regional cinema has become so relevant in our country. The kind of paradigm shift we’ve seen, with Hindi-speaking audiences jumping onto Telugu and Kannada films, it’s amazing to witness that growth.” Aparshakti Khurana For the actor, the move is as much about instinct as it is about evolution. “As an actor, I only wanted to do something different from what I’ve done so far and learn a new craft, which, in this case, is a new language.” That search for something new brought him to ROOT – Running Out of Time, a sci-fi thriller directed by S. Sooriyaprathap which marks his Tamil debut, as it pushed him into unfamiliar territory physically. “In terms …

Sex test for women in elite sports takes toll on right to equality, privacy

Sex test for women in elite sports takes toll on right to equality, privacy

Published by Parlour News

3 min readMar 31, 2026 06:05 AM IST First published on: Mar 31, 2026 at 06:05 AM IST Last week, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) banned transgender women and athletes with differences in sex development, with some exceptions, from competing in the women’s categories for elite sporting events such as Olympic Games. The decision is apparently based on apprehensions about the unfair advantages these athletes may enjoy due to biological reasons. The IOC also mandated a once-in-a-lifetime SRY test or sex test for women athletes. Until now, the Committee had left the matter to international federations. The new policy, the latest in a series of bans and rollbacks, is ostensibly to ensure standardisation — since the “smallest margins” can change outcomes in elite sports. With the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics coming up, it may also have been motivated by a desire to avoid conflict with the Donald Trump administration, which has banned trans women from women’s sports. Questions of accuracy and reliability surround the Sex-determining Region Y (SRY) test. Biological sex is determined by an …

Former India Volleyball Captain Abhijit Bhattacharya wins Global IOC Gender Equality award

Former India Volleyball Captain Abhijit Bhattacharya wins Global IOC Gender Equality award

Published by Webster

Former Indian men’s volleyball captain Abhijit Bhattacharya has been named the Global Winner of the 2025 International Olympic Committee Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Champions Award, recognising his work in expanding access to sport in rural India. The honour highlights Bhattacharya’s grassroots initiatives in Assam, where he has developed community-based volleyball programmes designed to ensure equal participation for girls and boys. Through the Assam Volleyball Mission 100 and the Brahmaputra Volleyball League, his projects have reached more than 12,000 children across 400 teams in villages across the state. Grassroots Volleyball Movement in Assam Bhattacharya launched the Assam Volleyball Mission 100 in 2019 with the aim of distributing volleyballs to rural communities. The initiative later expanded into the Brahmaputra Volleyball League, a large community-based competition that now includes multiple age categories for boys and girls. The programme brings organised sport directly into villages, removing barriers such as travel costs and limited infrastructure that often prevent young athletes, particularly girls, from participating. Teams are registered in equal numbers for boys and girls, and matches are held locally …

Catalysts, love interests or aids in adulting – This Women’s Day, can we hope Hindi cinema allows for more equality on the big screen? | Bollywood News

Catalysts, love interests or aids in adulting – This Women’s Day, can we hope Hindi cinema allows for more equality on the big screen? | Bollywood News

Published by Webster

Every year on 8th March, we celebrate International Women’s Day. I did a little digging to understand why, and it turns out that this day has its origins in Europe, Russia and America. The date and its significance developed over a period of time, inspired by the universal female suffrage movement, the role women played in the Russian Revolution, and an increasing number of women demanding attention on issues like equal pay, the right to vote and the right to dignity and safety. Even in India, on this day, we see a lot of content online and in publications celebrating women, referring to them as Durga, Lakshmi, and superheroes who don’t wear capes. Interestingly, in less than a fortnight after we celebrate Women’s Day this year, comes a big-budget film that celebrates masculinity in its most aggressive form. Dhurandhar Part 2, which releases on March 19, promises to tell a violent, blood-soaked tale where hirsute, muscular men use brute force to meet their goals, while the women remain firmly in the background. In Dhurandhar Part …

Priyanka Chopra backs Janhvi Kapoor’s message on equality with shoutout on Instagram: ‘It starts with a conversation’

Priyanka Chopra backs Janhvi Kapoor’s message on equality with shoutout on Instagram: ‘It starts with a conversation’

Published by Parlour News

Actor Priyanka Chopra is echoing Janhvi Kapoor’s views on gender equality and the importance of using one’s voice to spark conversations, debates, and encourage the younger generation to understand what equality truly means. She showed her support by giving Janhvi a shoutout on Instagram. Janhvi Kapoor was last seen in Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari, while Priyanka Chopra was seen in Heads of State. Priyanka gives shoutout to Janhvi On Friday, Priyanka reposted a video of Janhvi on her Instagram Stories, in which the actor is seen speaking about women’s equality and says there is no greater privilege than being a woman. Re-posting the video, Priyanka wrote, “It starts with a conversation so here I go. Preach Janhvi Kapoor (clapping emoj).” Priyanka’s Insta Story In the video, Janhvi is seen talking about gender equality and celebrating the strength and power of womanhood. Janhvi was talking at the We The Women Asia event, which was recently held in Mumbai. “I think it starts with conversation, it starts with debate, it starts with being able to use …

CJI Gavai: Progress in gender equality is not due to judiciary alone | India News

CJI Gavai: Progress in gender equality is not due to judiciary alone | India News

Published by Parlour News

Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai said India’s progress towards gender equality has never been achieved by the judiciary alone but by a collective voice of citizens that questioned the regressive precedents and corrected them through “reform, reinterpretation and legislative intervention”. Delivering the 30th Justice Sunanda Bhandare Memorial Lecture, 2025 on the subject “Justice for All: Building a Gender Equal and Inclusive India”, CJI Gavai stressed that dialogue between courts and people “remains one of the most vital sources of India’s democratic strength”, as he underlined that despite the progress on gender equality, “the journey remains far from complete”. “The task before us is not merely to celebrate the symbolic achievements or token representations but to ensure that women have a real and equal share in spaces of power, decision-making, and opportunity,” the Chief Justice of India further said. Disclaimer: We do not own any of the content, ideas, images, or text presented here. All rights belong to their respective owners. For more information and to view the original source, please visit the following …

Vijay garlands BR Ambedkar statue in Chennai on Ambedkar Jayanti; posts note on ‘social justice, equality’. Watch

Vijay garlands BR Ambedkar statue in Chennai on Ambedkar Jayanti; posts note on ‘social justice, equality’. Watch

Published by Parlour News

Actor and soon-to-be politician Vijay took to his social media to commemorate Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, one of the architects of the Indian Constitution, on Ambedkar Jayanti. He also posted pictures and videos of his visit to an Ambedkar statue in Palavakkam in Chennai, writing about the importance of social justice and equality for all. (Also Read: Pawan Kalyan advises Vijay to ‘stick around’ irrespective of TN election results: ‘Be prepared for turbulence’) Vijay garlanded an Ambedkar statue in Palavakkam, Chennai on Monday. Vijay garlands BR Ambedkar statue In a video Vijay posted on X (formerly Twitter) he garlands and arranges fresh flowers at an Ambedkar statue to commemorate him. He wrote, “On the occasion of the 135th birth anniversary of our Tamil Nadu Victory Party’s principle leader, Dr. Ambedkar, I paid my respects by garlanding his statue in Palavakkam, Chennai.” Pressing on the importance of equality for all, he added, “On his birth anniversary, let us pay tribute to Ambedkar, who dedicated his life to the people, emphasizing that not only legal rights, but also …

Tamannaah Bhatia opens up on gender equality: ‘There’s too much of a struggle to empower us’ | Bollywood

Tamannaah Bhatia opens up on gender equality: ‘There’s too much of a struggle to empower us’ | Bollywood

Published by Parlour News

The entertainment industry’s gradual shift towards gender equality and pay parity has been a welcome change, according to Tamannaah Bhatia. However, she feels there’s too much of a struggle to empower women with a constant need to outline that “we are women and that we are struggling”. Also read: Amid wedding buzz, Vijay Varma and Tamannaah Bhatia part ways: Report Tamannaah Bhatia will soon be seen in the upcoming supernatural thriller Odela 2. (Instagram) In an interview with Hindustan Times, actor Tamannaah gets candid about being a woman in showbiz and balancing her career in Bollywood and South India. On gender equality in showbiz When it comes to gender equality and pay parity, Tamannaah advocates for women to take ownership of their empowerment, embracing their individuality and inspiring others to do the same. “It’s getting better. It definitely is getting better a lot. There’s some part of the wokeness that’s working very well for us. The women need to own up to their selves,” Tamannaah tells us. She adds, “I think we are fighting too …

Dabba Cartel’s Shabana Azmi shares her views on feminism and gender equality; ‘A woman doesn’t have the option…’

Dabba Cartel’s Shabana Azmi shares her views on feminism and gender equality; ‘A woman doesn’t have the option…’

Published by Parlour News

Veteran Bollywood actress Shabana Azmi recently joined other celebrated actors in the female-led crime drama series, Dabba Cartel. In the show co-created by Shibani Dandekar Akhtar and directed by Hitesh Bhatia, Azmi is seen playing Sheila who is part of the group of women operating a drug cartel. During a recent interview, the actress opened up about feminism and gender equality and stated that a woman doesn’t have the option to view the world from anything other than a feminine lens. Read on! During a recent conversation with ANI, Shabana Azmi opened up about her recently-released web series, Dabba Cartel. While talking about her impactful role, the senior actress also spoke about feminism and gender equality. Sharing her two cents on the matter, Azmi expressed, “A woman doesn’t have the option to view the world from anything other than a feminine lens. That’s something both men and women need to understand.” When asked why she chose this role, the senior star stated that at this stage in her career, she doesn’t have a checklist but only …