Vismaya's Death, Delta Plus Variant and Britney Spears; Topics that Ruled Social Media Last Week
News of dowry related deaths in Kerala, Madras High Court’s decision to support to LGBTQIA+ community, and the arise of new Delta Plus variant were some of the main topics of concern this week.
The death of 24 year old Vismaya from Kerala after facing dowry-related abuse from her husband created outrage across India.
CPIM member Dipsita Dhar and law student and columnist Arya were among the women who took to twitter to discuss this.
A medical student from Kollam was abused by her husband for dowry, even studies were stopped which forced her to suicide.
The pandemic has already increased drop out among woman and poorer section,the domestic abuse is making it further impossible for them to continue. pic.twitter.com/X3a6C4YfCC— Dipsita (@DharDipsita) June 22, 2021
1. Honestly, this one case won't fix the issue regarding dowry. Pretty naive of everyone to think that way, when a plethora of cases have already been reported and condemned. The system of "giving your daughter what you can" will still exist. And this won't vanish one fine day.
— Arya (@RantingDosa) June 22, 2021
In another news, the Madras High Court pronounced a historic order, giving guidelines to create a safe environment for LGBTQIA+ people, including a suggestion that action be taken against the problematic ‘conversion therapy’ — an illegal pseudoscience practice that claims to ‘cure’ queer persons.
Shaneel Lal, a queer member and the Co-founder of Conversion Therapy Action Group expressed their joy on this court order.
Tamil Nadu is set to become the first Indian state to ban ‘conversion therapy’ following an unprecedented and progressive judgment by the Madras High Court on Monday, aimed at making society more inclusive towards the LGBT+ community. pic.twitter.com/XQvX8OMog6
— Shaneel Lal (They/Them) (@shaneellall) June 13, 2021
Cases of the new Delta Plus variant were recently reported in many states including Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The new variant has emerged as a new threat in India. Economist Prof Shamika Ravi and Dr Pooja Tripathi gave us an insight into the situation.
#DeltaPlus is now a variant of concern. @MoHFW_INDIA has alerted 3 states - Maharashtra, MP & Kerala - where this variant has been found. It is more transmissible and potentially more deadly. #MaskUpIndia & #GetVaccinated
— Prof Shamika Ravi (@ShamikaRavi) June 23, 2021
Maharashtra sees rise in COVID cases for 2nd consecutive day amid fears of a delta plus variant looming large .
We are just not ready for another wave.
The only solution ~Double Masking , Social Distancing, Vaccine!
Govt should reduce the time between two doses of vaccine!— Dr Pooja Tripathi (@Pooja_Tripathii) June 24, 2021
While Lakshadweep continues to be a hot topic of discussion, barrister and writer Suchitra Vijayan hosted a panel to look deeper on the issues with the place.
📢📢FROM THE GROUND UP: Lakshadweep. 🔥
I will be in conversation with Dr. @Ayshabi14 and @kanchikohli discussing the situation in #Lakshdweep on 'From the ground up', at 8.00 PM IST/10.30 AM EST on 25 June 2021. Join us @project_polis
Link to stream: https://t.co/PtvqlUXd8u pic.twitter.com/2mFs0jvK88— Suchitra Vijayan (@suchitrav) June 24, 2021
Last week saw IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad criticizing microblogging site Twitter after he was locked out of his account on the platform for almost an hour over alleged copyright infringement. Journalist Swati Chaturvedi passed a remark on this.
Ravi Shankar Prasad & the Modi government needs to calm down on these juvenile rants against Twitter. India is battling a pandemic & the economy is imploding yet the Modi govt seems obsessed with twitter
— Swati Chaturvedi (@bainjal) June 25, 2021
Earlier this week, American singer and song writer Britney Spears had asked a judge to end the court conservatorship that has controlled her life as well as money since 2008. In a statement made via a remote connection, the 39-year-old labelled the conservatorship as "abusive", adding that it did more harm than good to her. Here are some reactions by women from across the world.
I’m willing to bet my medical license that if Britney Spears had been Bradley Spears, no urologist would have done a vasectomy on him at the request of his conservator if such an absurd request were made in the first place. #FreeBritney
— Emily Porter, M.D. (@dremilyportermd) June 25, 2021
Yes #FreeBritney! But let’s also free everybody else and follow the lead of the disability rights movement who has been shouting about all these completely legal injustices forever.
— Liz Plank (@feministabulous) June 25, 2021
