Top Stories Concerning Women This Week: 13 Nov

Welcome back to this week’s top stories concerning women. Taking the baton of achievements and changes forward, women continue to walk bravely and make the world hear their demands. Let us look at this week’s top stories concerning women to understand more.

1. Oyo announces collaboration with Adventure Women to encourage female travellers travelling alone

Hospitality technology platform OYO on Thursday announced a long-term strategic partnership with travel group Adventure Women India that encourages women to be active and adventurous. “As part of the engagement, members of the group will be offered multiple benefits along with the convenience to choose from the network of safe, clean and affordable accommodations,” OYO stated. Adventure Women India empanels travel industry players like tour operators and hotels and offer its members the ability to choose their travel providers from a variety of reliable and secure vendors.

2. Three Indians among Forbes’ Asian power-women 2022 list

Thank you @ForbesAsia for this feature.
It makes me feel extremely honoured to be able to represent the extraordinary talent that women of our country have to offer! ✨ #AsiaPowerBusinesswomen pic.twitter.com/N15dpycGih

— Ghazal Alagh (@GhazalAlagh) November 9, 2022

The Forbes list of 20 Asian businesswomen to watch out for includes three Indians. Twenty women are featured in Forbes Asia’s November issue who developed various business strategies that enabled them to succeed despite the uncertainty of the new normal and three years of Covid-19. On the list are people like Ghazal Alagh, co-founder and chief innovation officer of Honasa Consumer, and Soma Mondal, chairperson of Steel Authority of India Ltd., as well as Namita Thapar, executive director of Emcure Pharma’s India business. According to a news release from Forbes on Tuesday, some of these women worked in industries that have been badly impacted, such as shipping, real estate, and construction, while others continue to develop in fields like technology, pharmaceuticals, and commodities.

3. Now, news channels must air 30-min. ‘public interest’ content daily on topics like women’s empowerment and agriculture

The empowerment of women, agriculture, and cultural heritage are just a few examples of the “national importance and social relevance” topics that news outlets in India must now cover for at least 30 minutes every day. The revised “Guidelines for Uplinking and Downlinking of Satellite Television Channels in India” were adopted by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday and include a number of new policies. In this regard, changes were last made in 2011, which was 11 years ago.

4. Good news for ESIC subscribers: A new online gateway makes it simpler to claim maternity benefits

The Employees’ State Insurance Corporation of India (ESIC) has announced the launch of an online portal that would make it simpler for policyholders to obtain maternity benefits. During the celebration of Dattopant Thengadi’s 102nd birthday at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi, Union Minister of Labour & Employment Bhupender Yadav introduced the ESIC online maternity benefit claim service. When certain circumstances arise, such as in the later stages of pregnancy, after birth, or in the tragic event of confinement or miscarriage, Maternity Payment is provided to insured women in the form of a cash benefit if they meet the eligibility requirements. To make up for the insured woman’s loss of income after childbirth, ESIC pays her a maternity benefit for 26 weeks at a rate equal to 100% of her wages. Maternity payments totalling Rs 37.37 crore were given to a total of 18.69 lakh women recipients in the years 2021–2022.

5. A woman’s freedom to exercise her reproductive choice cannot be limited: HC Kerala

A 23-year-old college student was recently granted permission by the Kerala High Court to end her 26-week pregnancy, ruling that “there can be no constraint on a woman’s ability to exercise her reproductive choice to either procreate or to refrain from procreating.” The woman, who has polycystic ovarian disorder, which is characterized by irregular menstruation cycles, was only just made aware of her pregnancy, according to The News Minute. However, when the pregnancy had reached 24 weeks, none of the hospitals was equipped to end it. The bench of Justice V G Arun stated that “a woman’s right to make reproductive choices being a facet of her personal liberty, as envisaged under Article 21 of the Constitution of India” and allowed the woman to have a medical abortion.

6. Till a charge sheet is filed, the rape survivor’s statement cannot be divulged to anybody: High Court

The Supreme Court has reaffirmed the prohibition of disclosing a rape survivor’s statement given according to Section 164 CrPC to anyone, including the accused, before the charge sheet or final report has been filed. The decision was made when the bench of Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit and Justice Bela M. Trivedi was addressing a contempt petition to reflect the actions of the alleged condemners in deliberately disobeying the court’s mandatory directives. LiveLaw claims that this was done in regard to the ruling made in the case of Nonavinakere Police vs. Shivanna alias Tarkari Shivanna in the State of Karnataka. The bench further recommended that the Criminal Practice/Trial Rules be modified or amended in the proper manner to include provisions in this regard by the High Courts. The investigating officer has a duty under Section 164-A CrPC to arrange for the survivor to receive medical attention.