From Belarus to Nigeria to Thailand, women played a prominent role in protest movements this year, driven by increasing frustration over the slow pace of political change and inequalities deepened by COVID-19.
Mohammad Minhajuddin struggles to cross the road as he heads to the civil court where he practises.
Rush-hour in Samastipur, Bihar, is nowhere close to even Sunday traffic in Delhi. But Minhajuddin’s field of vision is half what it was when he was a student in the capital. The 27-year-old also struggles to estimate the speed of an approaching car.
His right eye tears up if he goes through legal documents on his laptop or mobile screen for too long.
Minhajuddin says a police baton claimed his left eye on December 15 last year when Delhi’s law-keepers went on the rampage at Jamia Millia Islamia university, where he studied. Ostensibly, the cops were looking for violent protesters against the new citizenship regime who had allegedly torched vehicles.