In attaining our ideals,our meansshould be as pure as the end!

Dr Rajendra Prasad02 BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

SAVITRIBAI PHULE Phule, along with her hus-band, Jyotirao, were the first

Indians to open aschool for womenin India in 1848.Phule, whobelonged to anOther BackwardClasses community,

did so at a time when educa-tion was considered the pre-rogative of higher castes. Awriter, poet and activist, shealso campaigned againstchild marriage and spoke infavour of widow remarriage.

They broke the mould, threwconvention to the wind andspoke out for women’srights openly. A look atsome of these women —from sports to politics —who stood for tall choices topromote gender rights atdifferent points in time

SIMONE DEBEAUVOIR Writer, philosopher andactivist Beauvoir was allof this and more. Herbook, ‘The Second Sex’,published in 1949, hasbeen hailed as a feministbible. In the book, she laysdown the thesis that menoppress women by defin-ing them exclusively inopposition to men, as the“Other”. She wantedwomen to be “free tochoose themselves”, toask themselves what theywanted for their lives.

PHOEBE WALLER-BRIDGE The award-winning actor and writer becamea sensation last year with the success ofher comedy series Fleabag. Centredaround the eponymous characterwho talks directly to the cam-era, the show broke newground for the honesty ofits writing. Waller-Bridgehas spoken out abouther worries aboutbeing a “bad femi-nist” — a candourwhich did her nodisservice. She isknown to sharewriting creditsfor a JamesBondmovie.

TARANA BURKE A Brooklyn-based activist working withsurvivors of violence for years, Burkecame into the spotlight when her phrase,“Me Too”, began to be used by womenall over the world while speaking outagainst sexual harassment. She attendedthe Golden Globes awards ceremonyalong with actress Michelle Williams todraw attention to the issue of harass-ment, symbolisingthat womenwere supportingone another.

BILLIE JEAN KING When King decided to take on 55-year-

old Bobby Riggs in a tennis match in1973, she was 29 years old, with 10

Grand Slam titles to her name. But atstake was not just any other title but

apparently the reputationof women’s tennis itself ina match termed “Battle of

the Sexes”. King, a pas-sionate advocate for equal

rights for sportswomen,beat Riggs in straight

sets, cementing her posi-tion as an icon for gender

equality in tennis.

GLORIA STEINEM Steinem became near synony-mous with the feminist move-ment in the United States inthe ‘60s and ‘70s. The journal-ist and activist campaignedtirelessly for women’s rightsand continues to do so. Shepopularised the line coined bywriter Irina Patsi Dunn: “Awoman needs a man like a fishneeds a bicycle”. On her mar-riage at the age of 66, Steinemfamously said: “I didn’tchange; marriage changed.”

MARIE CURIE When we think of women in sci-ence, Curie is often the first namethat to comes to one’s mind. The firstwoman scientist to win a Nobel Prize(for physics, in 1903), she followed itup with another eight years later(for chemistry). She was alsothe first woman professor atthe Sorbonne, Paris.

CHIMAMANDA NGOZIADICHIE “We should all be feminists,”writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichiesaid at a TEDx talk, whichattracted over 5 million views onYouTube and went on to be abestselling book-length essay.Nigeria-born Adichie is the best-selling author of books like ‘Halfof A Yellow Sun’, recipient of theMacArthur Grant and has cometo be celebrated as much for herwritings and speeches on femi-nism as she is for her novels.

ALEXANDRIAOCASIO-CORTEZ In 2018, she became theyoungest woman to beelected to the US House ofRepresentatives, at the ageof 29. Popularly referred toas AOC, Cortez, who repre-sents New York’s 14th con-gressional district, hasbecome an icon of sorts asa young, progressive law-maker passionate aboutgender rights, labour rightsand the environment,among others.

FRIDA KAHLO The radical Mexican artist with the unibrow has become a millennialfavourite, seen on everything from T-shirts to mugs. Kahlo challenged con-vention in her work and in life. She choseto portray women honestly in her surreal-ist paintings. She was never apologeticabout her unibrow, faint moustache, orher sexual choices. TTooddaayy,, oovveerr 6600yyeeaarrss aafftteerr hheerr ddeeaatthh,, sshhee iiss cceellee-bbrraatteedd ffoorr bbeeiinngg ffiieerrccee,, ffrreeeeaanndd aann iiccoonniicc aarrttiisstt..

Green paradiseTHESE GARDENS FEATURE ON THE UNESCO HERITAGE SITE LIST

THE PASARGADAEGARDEN

The garden of Pasargadaeare the oldest among the ninegardens and the earliest-known example of the Cha-

har Bagh design. It was establishedin the 6th Century BC along with thecity of Pasargadae by Cyrus. The gar-den consists of several palaces in thefour quadrants and are divided bypathways and waterways.

1

DOLAT ABADGARDEN

Built around 1750, this gar-den, situated in Yazd, Iran,was meant to be a residenceof Persian regent, Karim

Khan Zand. The pavilion is setamidst the Persian garden lined withevergreen trees. The pavilion boastsof Iran’s tallest badgir (wind tower),standing at 33 metres. Many peoplehave tried to copy the design of thisgarden but failed.

2

ERAM GARDENQASHQAI TRIBE

Located in Shiraz, Iran, thishistoric Persian garden wasbuilt during the mid-13thCentury by the paramount

chief of the Qashqai tribes of Pars.Following the Chahar Bagh style, theoriginal layout of the garden was laidin the 11th Cenutry by another tribe.The garden belonged to the leadersof the Qashqai tribe.

3

PAHLAVANPOURGARDEN

Located in Mehriz, thePahlavanpour Garden isone of Iran’s historical or-chards. The orchard con-

sists of a summerhouse, a winterquarter, a kitchen, a janitor’s unitand a public bathroom. The watersof the orchard are fed by the Has-san-Abad aqueduct. This was Unesco’s first choice.

4

CHEHEL SOTOUNOF 40 COLUMNS

Built by Shah Abbas II, thisis a pavilion in the middle ofa park in Isfahan, Iran. It wasused by Shah Abbas II and his

successors to host receptionsand entertain dignitaries. Literallymeaning Forty Columns, Chehel So-toun gets its name from the 20 wood-en columns supporting the entranceto the pavilion, which when reflect-ed in the waters of the pool in front look like 40 columns.

5

ABBAS ABADGARDEN

Built under the order ofShah Abbas I of Persiain the middle of a jun-gle, this garden is Iran’s

most prominent non-desertgarden. The Abbas Abad Gar-den comprises a palace, tow-ers and a lake with a mansionat its centre, making it a bigtourist draw.

6

TECH TONIC

Be careful of spyware!

Know all about spywareSpyware is a malicious soft-ware or malware that acts likea pair of eyes to spy into yourcomputer and send out infor-mation from it to carry out avariety of illegal activitiessuch as identity theft and databreach.

It has been one of the old-est and widespread securitythreats affecting computers.It invades a device, steals sen-sitive information and relaysit to external users. Unlikeother malware, a spywareis used by not just criminalsbut also unscrupulous ad-vertisers and companies tocollect market data fromusers without their consent.

How does it work?The spyware in any comput-er goes unnoticed because ofits nature to get installed with-out the knowledge of the user.They get installed automati-cally through an attachmentor software one downloads.

Spyware is sneaky, so it ispossible that we also inadver-tently permit it to install itselfwhen we agree to the termsand conditions of seeminglylegitimate programmes.

No matter how the spy-ware manages to get into one’ssystem, the way it works is thesame. It runs silently in thebackground maintaining asecret presence. And, evenif you detect its presence,

it does not come with aneasy uninstall feature.

What is the threat?Spyware may seem like a de-tective’s gadget, but they areharmful, especially whenthey relay confidential in-formation to organisationswith criminal intent. Theycollect sensitive informa-tion, including browsing his-tory, sites visited etc.

Spyware attacks on fi-nancial institutions candrain bank accounts or support other forms offrauds. Information obtainedthrough stolen documents,pictures and videos can beused for extortion.

Safeguard tipsIn order to safeguard yourself,

it is first necessary to knowhow to identify the presenceof spyware in your system.

1You may find more pop-ups when you open your

browser.

2You will have more-than-the-usual number of ad-

vertisements.

3Your system may crash orbecome really slow.

4Your computer’s hard drivemay run out of space.

Prevent it from gettinginstalled. This is how...

1Download only from trust-ed sites. Try and find out

what is written in the termsand conditions of software.

2Don’t open emails from un-known sources.

3Do not click on pop-up ad-vertisements.

In order to safeguard yourself, it is first necessary to know how to identifythe presence of spyware in your system. Here’s how...

LET US KNOW Can you identify other women from history who have made a contributionto women’s rights? Let us know at timesnie175@gmail.com