Navratri is a 9-day Indian festival that involves the worship of the feminine spirit, power and divinity. Specific colours are symbolic of the rituals associated with each day. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if India respected its women the way we worship our goddesses? Here is a 9-part series that aims to celebrate women through the 9 colours of Navratri. These are simple examples that probably capture a very very small percentage of the countless challenges that women face on a daily basis in our country.

Day 3: Today’s colour is grey. For women who’ve had to fight unimaginably hard battles and are still fighting for justice.

Day 4: Today’s colour is orange. For all the women (especially domestic helps) who work odd jobs and long hours to be able to support their families and afford their kids an education. I think we have a lot to learn from this country’s fiercely strong didis/akkas/bais.

​​Day 5: Today’s colour is white.

In some parts of India, widows are isolated from society and abandoned by their families. Apart from wearing only white and being forbidden to participate in festivals, in extreme cases, widows are also to shave their heads and suffer psychological abuse. Last year, thousands of widowed women, who typically dress in white, gathered in Vrindavan to celebrate Holi, breaking a 400 year old taboo. While these traditions are changing in many parts of India, this comic is for all those women who’re ​still seeking acceptance, and more importantly, ​fighting for a life of dignity.

Day 6: Today’s colour is red. Female infanticide and foeticide is shockingly common even today in India, and is a desperate measure taken (usually by parents) due to financial reasons, fear of social isolation, lack of family planning, dowry costs, etc. India outlawed the dowry system in 1961 and sex determination tests in 1994. Yet we hear of female infanticide cases quite frequently. I know of a couple, who, hoping for a son, ending up having 8 daughters. All of us have heard these stories. There are a bunch of government initiatives and NGOs that are trying to prevent this act. I’d like to think that there is hope, and the situation is changing.