Sex Work Undresses Patriarchy with Every Trick!

Some feminists argue that sex work reduces the female body to an object of sexual pleasure to be exploited in the marketplace by any male – an argument consistent with patriarchal notions of protection, reverence and control, the construction of women as a devi [goddess], the dasi [slave] or the veshya [sex worker]. This article addresses our work with collectivising rural women not in sex work (Vidrohi Mahila Manch [Platform for Rebellious Women] (VMM) Sangli) and rural women in sex work (Veshya Anyay Mukti Parishad (VAMP)) from South Maharashtra and North Karnataka, India. It examines the apparent control adult women in sex work have over their own bodies and lives. Although it is true that unless acting collectively, they are less successful in confronting organised criminal gangs and the brutal side of law enforcers, most of them boldly confront sexual relations with individual male clients and men from their own community

“We Have the Right Not to Be Rescued...”: When Anti-Trafficking Programmes Undermine the Health and Well-Being of Sex Workers

This paper highlights the impact of raid, rescue, and rehabilitation schemes on HIV programmes. It uses a case study of Veshya Anyay Mukti Parishad (VAMP), a sex workers collective in Sangli, India, to explore the impact of anti-trafficking efforts on HIV prevention programmes. The paper begins with an overview of the anti-trafficking movement emerging out of the United States. This U.S. based antitrafficking movement works in partnership with domestic Indian antitrafficking organisations to raid brothels to “rescue and rehabilitate” sex workers. Contrary to the purported goal of assisting women, the anti-trafficking projects that employ a raid, rescue, and rehabilitate model often undermine HIV projects at the local level, in turn causing harm to women and girls. We examine the experience of one peer educator in Sangli to demonstrate and highlight some of the negative consequences of these anti-trafficking efforts on HIV prevention programmes

Sex Work Undresses Patriarchy with Every Trick!

Some feminists argue that sex work reduces the female body to an object of sexual pleasure to be exploited in the marketplace by any male – an argument consistent with patriarchal notions of protection, reverence and control, the construction of women as a devi [goddess], the dasi [slave] or the veshya [sex worker]. This article addresses our work with collectivising rural women not in sex work (Vidrohi Mahila Manch [Platform for Rebellious Women] (VMM) Sangli) and rural women in sex work (Veshya Anyay Mukti Parishad (VAMP)) from South Maharashtra and North Karnataka, India. It examines the apparent control adult women in sex work have over their own bodies and lives. Although it is true that unless acting collectively, they are less successful in confronting organised criminal gangs and the brutal side of law enforcers, most of them boldly confront sexual relations with individual male clients and men from their own community

Structural and magnetic characterization of co-precipitated Ni_XZn_1-XFe₂O₄ ferrite nanoparticles

A series of Ni_XZn_1-XFe₂O₄ (x=0.5, 0.6 and 0.7) ferrite nanoparticles have been synthesized using a co-precipitation technique, in order to understand the doping effect of nickel on their structural and magnetic properties. XRD and FTIR studies reveal the formation of spinel phase of ferrite samples. Substitution of nickel has promoted the growth of crystallite size (D), resulting the decrease of lattice strain (η). It was also observed that the lattice parameter (a) increases with the increase of Ni²⁺ ion concentration. All particles exhibit superparamagnetism at room temperature. The hyperfine interaction increases with the increase of nickel substitution, which can be assumed to the decrease of core–shell interactions present in the nanoparticles. The Mössbauer studies witness the existence of Fe³⁺ ions and absence of Fe²⁺ ions in the present systems. These superparamagnetic nanoparticles are supposed to be potential candidates for biomedical applications. The results are interpreted in terms of microstructure, cation redistribution and possible core–shell interactions