Ohmni - The Telepresence Robot

The area of home robotics is highly interesting, and keeps growing by leaps and bounds. There is no dearth of robots that are available to do our domestic chores. Many companies are exploring newer and innovative ways to best address growing potential markets out there. Here comes the newest addition to this ever-growing list – Ohmni Telepresence, a robot that automatically connects so that you can easily video chat with your family members or roam around your house virtually. Isn’t that great? This smart robot is the brainchild of Ohmni Labs, co-founded by Jared Go and Thuc Vu. The company aims to bridge the gap between human connections and bring people together digitally.

Ohmni Telepresence is a home robot, and has a built-in camera that sits atop a tall shat. The base has a flat platform and wheels that are powered by Glide Drive that includes brushless motors that help get around easily and smoothly and not create disturbing noises. Ohmni Telepresence encompasses easy carry-on capabilities, and can be folded easily. It is 4’ 8” tall and weighs just 20lbs. No matter whether you are working hard at office or away on an important business trip Omni Telepresence helps communicate with your family easily. It also acts as a caretaker and keeps an eye on both children and old people at home. Ohmni has already helped someone save his mother’s life. A user from San Diego was on a business trip. He grew worried when his mother didn’t answer his calls one morning. He activated Ohmni and found that his mother was in bed, unwell and unresponsive. He was able to get her the needed medical attention right away.

Telepresence robot is not something totally new. But when it comes to usage at home, Ohmni is the first of its kind, stands out of the crowd for several reasons. It’s affordable pricing is the most important one among them. For just $1899, Ohmni Telepresence is definitely a great deal, given the number of amazing features that it contains. This telepresence robot comes bundled with a tablet, and includes auto docking station that helps charge the robot with a tap on your smartphone. The wheelbase of Ohmni Telepresence is a tripod, and its moving neck can be tilted to different angles as per your need.

You just have to log onto the website with an existing Google or Facebook account – or, there is absolutely no pesky software installation. Users can have Wi-Fi network credentials pre-installed easily on Ohmni Telepresence. The battery used is made of lithium iron phosphate. It’s safer than the commonly used batteries, and lasts for about 5 hours. Ohmni can be customized into different colours and materials. The robot is 100% remote controlled and work in real-time. Or, you don’t have to dial or call to keep in touch your dear ones.

The key advantage is the ease with which it brings together people who are separated by large distances.  While text and voice calling apps, help stay connected, Ohmni automatically connects and helps video chat easily. It lets you virtually join your family, interact, and experience life together.

Would you like to buy one for yourself?

Mastercard unveils biometric card with fingerprint sensors

The days of having to enter your PIN number to make a transaction could soon be over.   Here is a next-gen biometric credit card that helps authenticate payments with fingerprints! US-based Mastercard has unveiled the new biometric card with a small fingerprint reader that can store up to 2 fingerprints on its chip. It resembles a regular card, and the sensor is thumb-nail sized, and sits on the top right corner.

Once the card is ready for public, here is how it might work. As and when the card is available, you have to visit your bank branch and get your fingers scanned. The EMV chip in the card stores the encrypted digital template of your fingerprint. You can save 2 fingerprints but both have to be yours. Or, you cannot authorize someone to use your card with their fingerprints. Once the template is saved, you can use the card at any EMV card terminal. In other words, you don’t have to fear anymore about ATM frauds, or struggle to shield your PIN number from prying eyes anymore.

Biometric login is quite common these days, and has slowly replaced PINs and passwords that were our primary means of unlocking doors, safes, and smartphones. Wondering why? Its unique, secure, and most importantly convenient, given the chances of forgetting passwords and signatures. No two people have the same fingerprint, the chances. Hence it makes complete sense that Mastercard is testing fingerprint sensor enabled cards that help safely authorize each transaction. You don’t have sign any papers or enter PIN numbers anymore, just place your thumb, and you can prove your identity and pay your bills.

The biometric cards are currently tested in South Africa. Mastercard plans to roll them out to other part of the world by the tail-end of 2017. However, you will have to wait for banks and other financial institutions to get on-board without delay.

When it comes to contact-less payment, Apple holds the monopoly now, as it uses biometric method in Apple Pay to authenticate payments.

Are fingerprint-sensor-embedded cards more secure? Will it help prevent fraudulent activities? What do you feel?

A squeezable phone

HTC is all set to unveil the HTC "U" in Taiwan soon. The tagline on the event invite reads: “Squeeze for the brilliant U.” The company has already given a glimpse of the device via a small teaser video posted on HTC’s Twitter account. Wondering what’s new in the “U”? If rumors and “leaked information” are anything to go by, the line-up of features in HTC “U” is highly impressive. But why would someone ever want to squeeze a smartphone? How on earth is a squeezable phone going to help an ordinary user? The first article that I read had a misleading headline, and I felt the Taiwanese company will start selling a rubber like device. But I went ahead and read the post, and checked for more details on other websites like Venture Beat.

Here is what I learned about the HTC "U" smartphone:

The smartphone was rumored to be named HTC Ocean. It has advanced metal frame with embedded sensors. The device won’t bend, but users can easily control the settings and carry out various tasks by squeezing the sides or by swiping up and down on them. In short, a user can control the phone easily with one hand, and doesn't need to stretch his/her thumb across the screen, unless they want to use the on-screen keyboard. The new feature will help users launch apps or camera with just a squeeze. Interesting, right? The technology used is called “Edge Sense”. HTC "U" is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 system-on-chip, and will include Sense 9, one of the most-talked-about user-interface. It’s expected to include an exciting blend of incredible features that already exist in the HTC U Ultra and the HTC U Play.

Let me now leave the technical details behind and tell you about what an ordinary user can expect – better camera, storage, memory, and many more features. I read the TG daily article to get more details on HTC U. Here is what I found – The ‘squeezable’ HTC U will have a 5.5-inch 2560X440 display, with MicroSD slots, and Android Nougat 7.1. It will have a 12-megapixel back camera, a 16-mega pixel front camera, and IP57 dust/water resistance, but might ditch the 3.5 mm headphone jack.

The aforesaid details have not yet been confirmed by the company but the end product will undoubtedly be as surprising as the range of features that are listed in the leaked information about the super-smart HTC U.

This flagship smartphone will be officially unveiled on May 16th. Planning to buy one?

A butter lover’s dream

Almost everything eatable, even the blandest of foods that you know, gets better and delectable with some butter on them. But for fear of overdoing and putting ourselves on the road to heart ailments, we keep avoiding the use of butter. What if you can convert rock-hard butter into spray? Biem Butter Sprayer helps turn a stick of butter almost instantly into a spray, so that you can dole out the golden deliciousness in measurable amounts. While sprayable versions of margarine is already available in the market, Biem Butter Sprayer helps avoid the artificial route and use fresh butter sticks to cook your favorite gourmets.

How to use it? The process is very simple. Slide a butter stick into the sprayer. When you pick it up to use it, a built-in motion sensor in Biem Butter Sprayer turns on its heating element. The butter you need gets heated to almost 95 degrees Fahrenheit in seconds, after which you can grab the Biem Butter Sprayer. Hold the sprayer by its handle, aim onto the food in a steady motion, and in seconds an air pump blasts butter in needed amounts. With no chemical propellants or CO2 cartridges that constantly need to be changed, Biem Butter Sprayer is safe and effective. It uses a rechargeable battery to melt butter sticks.

This innovative kitchen gadget promises the best of both words. You can enjoy having butter and not fear about compromising on taste or health. Biem Butter Sprayer is the first ever butter sprayer that can transform a stick of butter into liquid spray in just seconds. It has an accelerometer that helps detect when you pick it up and turn it on. The special patent-pending nozzle of Biem Butter Sprayer helps prevent clogging and ensures portion control, thus cutting half the calories that you normally consume.

From seasoning your steamed vegetables and popcorns to greasing your pans or flavoring your bread, the possibilities of using Biem Butter Sprayer are endless. It’s a culinary marvel and a user-friendly appliance to add controlled amount of butter to your favorite dishes, or season your frying pans and trays without using margarine or vegetable oil sprays.

Wondering how to clean Biem Butter Sprayer? It’s as easy as sticking it under a faucet.

Travemate - The First Robot Suitcase

For anyone who hates carrying heavy suitcases, here is happy news. You can soon purchase Travelmate, a smart suitcase from Travelmate Robotics. Wondering what’s new? Unlike other suitcases, you don’t have to grab the handle of Travelmate and drag it along. This GPS-enabled and LED-lit suitcase can follow you wherever you want to go, and stays nearly 3 to 5 feet behind you. Travelmate can be linked to your smartphone to record the location. This autonomous robot companion will follow you based on your location, thus making travelling much easier. In short, you get a sci-fi travel buddy, almost equivalent to having a trustable person who can follow you and carry all your stuff. Travelmate is the brainchild of a team of American robotics specialists from SMP Robotics.

Called "the first true fully autonomous suitcase," that can loyally trundle after its owner automatically, Travelmate can move both vertically and horizontally, and weave through the crowd effortlessly. If attached to non-robotic cases, Travelmate will carry them along with it. This innovative travel companion encompasses an optional camera which helps record your journey or patrol your home when you are away.

Travelmate can easily match your speed, up to 6.75 miles per hour. The battery charge lasts for 4 hours if the suitcase is used in fully autonomous mode, or 100 if used in standby or regular suitcase mode. No matter what the kind of usage is, the LED lights on the suitcase will indicate the battery level. The lights can be turned off whenever required. A TSA-compliant autonomous robot companion, Travelmate has fingerprint-enabled lock system to ensure unmatched security. You can open it manually as well. The removable GPS chip helps keep track of Travelmate. The chip can be attached to any other bag that you wish to track. Two extra chips will be provided with all models.

In addition to a smart lock and a location tracker, Travelmate contains dual USB charging ports too.

Irrespective of all advantages available, many are apprehensive of the usage of travel mate, as it might cause security risks and chaos in busy airports. But the company has ensured the best security possible. If someone intents to steal the case, it will soon sense the danger, lock its wheels, and sound an alarm.

Travelmate comes in three sizes, costing $399, $495 and $595. It’s available for pre-order on the company website.

Self-making bed – Best laziest invention ever?

For those who are too lazy to make their beds, OHEA “Smart Bed” is the one-size-fits-all solution that can ease the tedium. That said, many have dubbed it as the laziest invention of all time.

This is how the Smart Bed works. You get out of your bed and leave it unmade. If the automatic mode is turned on, OHEA Smart Bed can make itself in the morning, in about three seconds after you gets out of the bed. The panel on both sides of the bed swings open, and the mechanical arms emerge from each side. A set of smooth rollers are attached to these mechanical arms. The rollers grab each side of your blanket, before slowly moving from the foot to the head of your bed, tucking it neatly. At the same time, the pillows rise on another panel to make space for the moving arms.

The pillows are straightened using chords attached on each side of the bed. As the arms completely straighten out the blanket, they drop back into the bed’s housing, while the pillows are dropped into its positions appropriately. The side panels get closed and the bed is ready for you take a nap. The entire process takes nearly 50 seconds from start to finish. If you prefer manual mode over automatic mode, you can choose that as well.

OHEA Smart Bed doesn’t start functioning accidently or when a person is sleeping. It cannot be manually triggered to bed-making mode when anyone is on the mattress. It means, OHEA Smart Bed might have a weights sensor to prevent the bed-making mode from turning on suddenly.

Wondering how close it is to perfection in bed making? Not really, and here is the downside – you have to be a tidy sleeper, and cannot use your own sheets, duvet covers, and pillows. Moreover. OHEA Smart Bed doesn’t accommodate a second top sheet in between the main blanket and the bottom sheet.

Still, for those who hate making their beds, OHEA Smart Bed is truly a blessing.

What to do if it breaks?

Here is what the website states: "You would simply have to make the bed manually until a technician resolved the issue.”

Your laundry folding friend

Folding your clothes into organized piles is often laborious, time-consuming, and frustrating. But here comes a machine that can fold your clothes into neat piles in seconds. It’s about two third the size of your washer or dryer, weighs about 60 pounds, and can easily fit into most laundry rooms.

Developed by a San Francisco start-up, Foldimate can start folding clothes as soon as they come out of your washing machine. The commercial version of this laundry-folding machine will be available later this year. Foldimate is Wi-Fi enabled and is expected to cost around $800. Call it a robot or an appliance, Foldimate is an innovative and intriguing discovery.

To get started, you can clip your clothes onto the machine’s horizontal rack and press a button to indicate the cloth type. Foldimate will soon determine the thickness, size, and sleeve length of your clothes, and later adjusts its settings accordingly. You can opt for perfuming and sanitizing if needed. Once it completes folding the entire clothes on the rack, Foldimate soon spits out the folded clothes for you to remove.

According to the makers, Foldimate can fold your laundry perfectly and steam out creases successfully in less than a minute. It can also infuse fragrances into clean and dry clothing. This is possible for towels, shirts, and trousers. The machine takes almost 10 second to fold each item. It takes 20 to 30 seconds for de-wrinkling. Based on thickness of each fabric, Foldimate takes nearly 10 to 30 items per load. In short, you get a trustable and never-complaining friend to fold all the laundry fold you.

Will it be able to solve all your cloth folding woes? No. It won’t be able to automatically fold too small or too large items, or “replace ironing of dress shirts”. This means you will have fold underwear, bed sheets, and socks in the old -fashioned way.

Foldimate is not the only automated folding machine that experts are working on. A Japanese startup has built a similar machine called Laundroid. Laundroid is as big as your refrigerator and costs nearly $2700 USD. In short, it’s both expensive and difficult to handle.

So Foldimate is an affordable and user-friendly choice? Would you love to buy it?

P.S. – No matter what your problem is, someone is readying a solution to cater to your needs. In other words, you can get a solution for something as trivial as folding laundry.

The salad-making robot

When it comes to making salads, the kind of ingredients and toppings used are very important. Or else, a healthy meal might have more calories than a fattening hamburger. What if you can easily measure the amount of calories in the each salad that you choose to have? Does it sound near-to-impossible? Not anymore! A California-based company has developed a food robot that dispenses the quantities of ingredients, and offers details on the precise amount of calories used in each salad. It’s named Sally. In about 60 seconds, the robot can make more than 1000 different types of ready-to-eat salads. Isn’t that awesome? The green-and-brown robot is the brain child of Chowbotics Inc., one among the major companies in the potential million dollar market of food robots.

Why Sally? It’s possibly the “next generation of salad restaurant”, and can make tasty salads faster than humans. Adding more advantage is the feature that helps count the calories in each salad. Moreover, the level of hygiene is matchless when a machine prepares a salad, rather than getting it done by multiple people.

Does that mean the robot doesn’t need any human help? Absolutely not! Here is the human touch in Sally – The food robot doesn’t do all the chores right from start to finish. A human has to slice and fill up the ingredients into the canisters. The ingredients are stored in refrigerated compartments. You can simply place a bowl in the salad dispensing area, and later customize the order from the given menu. Based on calorie count, you can add or remove toppings as required. Once the selection is done, Sally will soon start preparing the salad.

The salad robot comes in compact size, weighs close to 350 pounds, and hardly occupies the same amount of space as that of a small dorm room refrigerator. It uses 21 different ingredients such as kale, romaine, Parmesan, and cherry tomatoes to make appetizing salads in less than a minute, while you can watch the entire process. In its current avatar, Sally is ideal for business settings and not for home kitchens. But after going “on a diet” quite soon, home users too might get a concise version of this remarkable salad making robot.

Will Sally improve its culinary skills? Will it be able to cook some scrumptious ethnic foodstuffs? May be in its next incarnation, if all goes well!

Flippy - The burger-flipping robot

Robots have reached the world of fast-food as well, thanks to Miso Robotics, an offshoot of CaliBurger, a West Coast burger chain. They have made a burger-flipping robot named Flippy. Why Flippy? Be it working around grill and fryer or doing the preparation works like chopping onions, food service robots can do the chores way more quickly and perfectly than humans.

What makes Flippy standout? As we all know, flipping burgers is not an easy job. There are many common hazards associated with the job, such as slips, trips, cuts, and burns. With increasing demand for burgers, humans need a reliable helping hand to cook more burgers quickly, and serve the increasing number of burger lovers across the world in a time bound manner. This is where Flippy enters. The robotic kitchen assistant works wonders when it comes to burger-making. It can detect, flip, and grill tasty burger patties.

Flippy looks like a small wheeled cart with a six-axis robotic arm. The robot can be installed either in front of or next to any grill or fryer. It uses thermal and 3D sensors as well as advanced cameras to get clear understanding about the environment around. Flippy leverages artificial intelligence technologies to solve some of the biggest pain points that burger chefs often deal with. A.I. enables Flippy to be trainable and adaptable. It might soon learn and cook new foods based on seasonal menu changes.

Fast, safe, and makes no mistakes – Flippy outsmarts humans with these three advantages. It can grab unwrapped burger patties, place them on hot grills, keep track of temperature and cooking time, and alert cooks when to add toppings or cheese. However, Flippy can just plate burger and cannot wrap them or add finishing touches.

Wondering if several burger chefs are going to lose their jobs with the arrival of Flippy? No, they won’t. Flippy cannot fully displace humans. Though it can handle many repetitive tasks simultaneously and perfectly, it cannot completely replace human touch. That said, chefs of some top restaurants might soon find this co-worker in their kitchens.

Media voyeurism

Insensitive and controversial reporting is not new in India media. Today it escalated to a whole new level when a leading media house dared to ‘monetize the death of an old man who jumped to death from a high rise. Leaving ethics and morals aside, they posted the heartbreaking image the man jumping off the building. In other words, rather than trying to save the man, the journo was keen on clicking images. It’s the height of insensitivity and irresponsibility. Ever suicide is a tragedy, and should not be trivialized and treated as an incident to profit from. Finding the suicide story and the tear-jerking image on the cover of the newspaper was more than upsetting.

The tone of reporting and the mind-numbing image of the man jumping off the building will shake even the hardiest soul. The lexical choice and the image used were deeply upsetting and force every reader to relive the tragedy. The tasteless headline and sadistic reporting completely flouted the mandates of media ethics. Imagine the impact it created on the victim’s family and friends!

Using tragic situations for monetary benefits is sheer sadism and utmost cruelty towards a grieving family. Neither the reporter nor the photographer took a genuine effort to introspect and restrain from printing the vivid account of the incident and heart-rending image. Instead, they published it with little guilt, thus rubbing salt into the wound of the bereaved. Such cringe worthy media practices are what diminishes worthiness and relevance of journalism in today’s society. The potentially distressing image and intricate details raise many ethical and legal questions.

Most journalists are trained to narrate their stories in appealing, unbiased, and most importantly in humanized manner. But inappropriate reporting for momentary fame is unethical, and encourages more such merciless coverage of heart wrenching tragedies. The media are not helping anyone by showing explicit images of a man committing suicide. This insane and distressing method of sensationalizing tragedies and cashing on deaths by showing how it happened must stop. The reporting of suicides has to be handled more sympathetically, while complying with the internationally accepted codes of conduct and best practices.

Inaccurate and insensitive reports about suicide deaths leave the most impact on those who are already vulnerable. They might commit copycat suicides. The risk increases manifolds when the coverage is as extensive as the aforementioned one, or when someone relates himself/herself with in the report. The effect is similar when a news report features minute details on the method and location, or glorify the death in some manner. Hence a genuine level of mindfulness and sensitivity is indispensable while reporting deaths and other tragedies.

Stop manual scavenging

If you had to pick one, which is the cleaning chore you hate the most?  Is it cleaning bathrooms and clogged household drains? Forget cleaning, can you even to stand near an open manhole for a few minutes, or peep into it once? You can’t, nor can I. But have you ever thought about those massive numbers of sanitation workers who clean latrine pits, manholes toilets, and urinals clogged with dirt and faeces everyday– all with their bare hands? They are called manual scavengers. There is nothing dehumanizing that cleaning the created by others. Sadly, people are cleaning shit for a living, and everything about it is heart-wrenching. They spend more than of their earnings on alcohol, get trapped in poverty, and face heavy discrimination everywhere.

Despite being outlawed, manual scavenging is the predominant occupation of a large number of people, and results in the untimely deaths of many workers, mainly due to carbon monoxide poisoning. As many as 59 sanitation workers have died in Bangalore city alone between 2008 and 2016. Innumerable deaths have gone unreported and nobody makes a hue and cry. Or, we continually remain apathetic about the entire issue. Manual scavenging is both dangerous and demeaning. It’s banned but only on paper. This dangerous occupation is inherently cast-based. Dalits and low-castes are locked into this illegal practice. According to a 2011 Census, nearly 8 lakh people are involved in manual scavenging. They are poorly rewarded and often endure several health issues, as they work in the most hazardous conditions.

With buckets, brooms, and baskets, they clean drainage holes and dry toilets on a daily basis. They have to literally strip down to their underpants, and are not given any protective gears, gloves, or gumboots to wear before clambering into stinky manholes. Alcoholism is deep-rooted among manual scavengers. Wondering why? No one in absolute senses would get close to a smelly toilet or manhole brimming with filth. Alcohol dulls senses and makes it easier to enter into dirty toilets and manholes. Skin diseases are common among manual scavengers, and many are afflicted with fatal leptospirosis, tuberculosis, asthma, and hepatitis as well.

Irrespective of the announcement of several governmental and non-governmental cleanliness campaigns, nothing significant has been done so far to address the plight of these poor sanitation workers who are mostly illiterate and don't have any other source of income. No development initiative or  cleanliness mission can be successfully accomplished when these sanitation workers, dubbed as manual scavengers, are forced to do the most hazardous and degrading job to make ends meet.

No manual scavenger willingly agrees to do this utmost unhygienic job. They too have to eke out a living like us. It’s high time to end this pernicious practice and rehabilitate manual scavengers. With a stringent ban, many people will go jobless. But availability of alternative livelihoods and financial assistance can help them gain confidence and live in a better and dignified manner.

Nepotism - Good or bad?

Not a month has gone by since a national award winning actress accused a prolific director of nepotism. Soon began some strong and pertinent debates on the feudal side of Bollywood. Nepotism is not new in showbiz. It’s not that nepotism is not prevalent in other businesses, but it's rampant in Bollywood. The most evident example is the growing number of talent-less star kids who are ruling the roost in the industry. That said, some stars with zero familial connections also have climbed up the ranks and made it big in Bollywood with grit and hard work.

It’s not a buzzword, it’s as old as the hills. But is nepotism really bad? The implications depend on how it's practiced. When kept within clear and reasonable limitations, this customary concept can even be transmuted to profitable networking that helps procure plum jobs. It’s not the prerogative of well-known families alone. Here is how you can take advantage of this much prevalent practice –

1. Make yourself known to the powerful and renowned. Build strong connections such influential people. Make sure they like you for who you are.
2. Give them a clear idea about who you are and what you are good at. If an opportunity comes up they will immediately have your name on their minds
3. Have all the required skillets and experience to outshine and win hands down.

It totally makes sense to work with the known and trustable, and the best fit are family members and close friends. But undermining the growth and development of non-familial people is what leads to severe malices and major pitfalls that hinder the opportunity to explore the benefits of nepotism.

When looked at from a business perspective, here are the benefits of having “framily” as workforce - Hiring a friend, relative or family member can boost trust, confidence, performance, and retention. With no mandatory background checks, they can be assigned to perform critical and confidential tasks. Employing a competent family member or acquaintance will also reduce hiring and training costs. Being pre-seasoned, friends and family members can contribute several valuable ideas. Levels of loyalty, morale, commitment, and cooperation will be much higher, thus creating a tightknit workforce. Very often, young men and women work in family-owned businesses for low pay rates, thus boosting the bottom line.

But here is the downside:

Some are reluctant to hire outsiders. The rich and well-connected get hired most of the times and many deserving people return empty-handed. Problems arise when relatives outnumber non-relatives, or when non-relative members experience unfairness and favoritism. Lack of professionalism and merit makes many take undue advantage of preferential treatments. In other words, those who don’t work up through the ranks won’t be fully committed to their duties, and never deliver expected results. This is where ethical problems can crop up. It also results in a sharp dip in the morale of non-familial members.

Nepotism takes the wrong deviation when rewards, promotions, and salary hikes are awarded without adhering to the set benchmarks. This is an unethical step and affects loyal long-term employees who are more eligible and deserving.

At times, preferential treatments can also create a wrong sense of entitlement. Tardy heirs who are way below par in terms of qualification and experience ascend thrones that once belonged to experts and veterans. The end result can be as grave as public and costly legal disputes and mudslinging that end up ruining both professional and personal relationships.

So, what’s the final word?

Paid menstrual leave - Good or bad?

It’s not yet a law, but if the bill gets approved in the parliament, Italy will be the first western nation to give paid “menstrual leaves” to women who experience painful periods. If implemented, companies in Italy will be lawfully bound to grant 3 days of paid leave every month to women employees who experience painful periods. While the decision is generally looked upon as a positive step to help working women who suffer from pain and cramps, some believe it might backfire and make it difficult for women to be a part of today’s competitive workforce.

Menstrual leave is not a new concept. The practice exists in many countries like Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. In March 2016, a Bristol-based company introduced menstrual leave policy for all female employees.

Shouldn’t women with severely painful periods and complicated issues like endometriosis be allowed time off work? Absolutely! But why can’t that be normal sick leaves? Moreover, why should all women, regardless of pain or cramps, get 3 paid sick leaves? It just takes back women to the time they stayed away from public eye during “that time of the month". The fight to break age-old taboos related to menstruation still continues. Menstrual leave will reinforce old stereotypes and further stigmatize the issue of menstruation.

Menstruation doesn't make a woman less competent. So the special leave entitlement creates catch-22 situation. It could help deal with painful periods, but the policy might become another excuse not to hire women. The decision will overturn gender equality, the reason why claiming menstrual leave can be a bad idea. Employers will become more focused on hiring men than women, in order to reduce costs. This is one among the major downsides of the policy. Here is another reason why those extra days of paid leave might do more harm than good - Menstrual leaves will easily draw the attention of antagonized male colleagues and might increase the likeliness of sexual harassments.

Given the fact that women have come way far without this advantage, menstrual leave is a totally retrograde idea. Many dread the possible dis-incentivizing that the law might result is in. It might also result in widespread negative stereotyping that women are emotional and indisposed during periods. Furthermore, menstrual leaves should not be connected with maternity leaves. Paid maternity leaves are a necessity. Giving birth and nurturing a child is more arduous than cramps and pain during periods. Hence, maternity leave is a basic human right.

Period is not an ailment, and not everyone suffers excruciating pain. Many women have scaled corporate hierarchies and broken several barriers even without maternity leaves. Hence, asking for periods leave or choosing to have it is equivalent to speeding backwards. The point is that none of us want to be treated as weak and hormonally-addled. Most of us can handle menstrual cramps, and doesn’t need a handout to deal with the physical and mental discomforts of menses. For those whom its debilitating and needs medical attention, sick leaves are always available to avail.

Breaking the mould

Women are no more confined to household chores. They go out, work hard, achieve their dreams, and earn big bucks. Indian Air Force inducted its first batch of women fighter pilots last year. Women on the ground too are making outstanding headways. But many people still carry the perception that women should confine themselves to a handful of professions. We claim to be the part of a women-empowered society, but continue to believe that there are many jobs that women cannot do. Though some badass women have dared to defy and break the pre-set paths and succeed in their chosen careers, women continue to face several difficulties. Or, blatant stereotyping is still rampant.

That said, here is the happy news – More and more women are now making their way into the traditionally male-dominated workplaces and striving to set newer heights of achievements. The change is highly heartening. They are beating the odds and succeeding in unconventional careers, thus break the mold. One among them is cab driving.

Women are bad drivers; we still hear that often, don’t we? Before jumping into conclusions, read the story of Shanno Begum, the first female Uber driver in Delhi. She has proved that it only takes hard work, passion, and determination to debunk the myth of ‘women specific jobs’. Though she did several odd jobs like cooking and selling vegetables to earn her bread and butter, it was driving that came to her rescue. The job involves several safety issues, but hasn’t stopped women like Shanno Begum from taking it up.

More and more women like her are now deciding to get behind the wheel, driving proudly, proficiently, and cautiously that most of the men drivers out there. They continually prove the patriarchs and trolls wrong, earn numerous accolades, win hearts, and give strength and courage to many others who are dreaming of embarking on similar jobs. Women-only cabs run in most of the major cities in our country. With such secure ferrying services, women are more self-reliant and no more fear lurid harassments from male drivers. It’s a win-win situation.

Would you be surprised find a female driver in your train? Not anymore! But it was beyond imagination in 1998 when Surekha Yadav became the first female driver. She was the first to drive the ‘Ladies Special’ train from Central Railways to CST. Come March 2011 and she drove the Deccan Queen from Pune to CST despite topographic difficulties.

It’s no longer rare to find women bouncers in night clubs. More women are now frequenting nightclubs and letting their hair down. Given high probability of sexual harassments, depending on a man for safety during wee hours is almost a no-brainer. This is the key reason behind the increasing demand for female bouncers. They are strong-willed, do their jobs with panache, and inspire many others too to follow their dreams and walk paths that are less taken.

When compared to men, women are more patient, understanding, and good at making futuristic decisions. Her mental strength is ineffable and her positive spirit is infectious and inspirational. Be it household financial matters or sensitive relationships, women are excellent managers and handle things with ease and perfection. But eyebrows are raised when they step out of homes and take up jobs that were once considered as the divine birthright of men.

From becoming gas station attendants to serving customers at bars, women are excelling in every filed imaginable. They are doing a lot to overcome the barriers and break the proverbial glass ceilings, but the struggle continues. They still face an uphill battle to prove themselves. The path is fraught with many difficulties.

With an ocean of possibilities out there, let hope that more women will identify the plethora of unexplored professions, and prove their worth, thus bridging the gender gap. If she can give birth to her child, handle all household matters, and take care of her family alongside her work, there is nothing that a woman cannot do.

Feminism is not what you think it is

A topic which triggers more misconceptions than it dispels, feminism is once again is becoming the reason for heated debate. Thanks to a young actor’s wife and her uninformed take on feminism and motherhood, which she openly expressed recently.

When defined plain language feminism means men and women should be treated equally. But many people fail to understand the simple concept. The star wife is no different, the reason why she recently made some foot-in-the-mouth comments about feminism, motherhood, and working women, during a recent event on Women's Day.

It’s always laudable to find proud stay-at-home mothers like her, who wear that label with pride. Home makers work round the clock. Their services are priceless and invaluable. It’s not easy to choose a life-long unpaid, unappreciated, and unrewarded job, and yet remain happy throughout. It’s not contenting to successfully fulfill duties with no apparent benefits, holidays, or vacations. Yet she chose to remain a stay-at-home mother. It’s a great accomplishment and worth as much as a professional achievement. The services of both ace homemakers like her and accomplished professionals should be hailed equally, as both are of paramount importance.

When it comes to homemaking and career, choices are subjective and vary for many relevant reasons. While women like her are privileged to remain as stay-at-home mothers, many ordinary women have have to balance both career and motherhood. None of these choices is questionable or inferior. But the actor’s wife made a cardinal mistake by making some ignorant statements about feminism and harsh comments about working mothers. She unapologetically shamed working women who leave their children behind and go out to work. Her comments were insensitive, regressive, and echoed her wrong notion about feminism. Adding fuel to the fire was a strange analogy about her child, and the half-assed opinions on women who stand up for their rights.

In the same breath she urged the world to respect homemaker women and verbally bashed women who chose to work alongside raising their children. She went on and related her choice of being a homemaker to traditions and ideals. It’s a wrong perception. Such conventional ideas are the root cause of most of the discriminations that women face in our society. The comments also reflect her failure to understand the struggle and conflicts that most ordinary women undergo in their daily lives. Neither are they privileged like her nor lucky enough to have a sure shot solution to successfully manage both work and family. They don’t enjoy the luxury to make the so called ‘right ‘choice.

Career or homemaking, every woman has dreams and ambitions of her own. Aspirations about a successful career can never be regarded as a negligence of familial and parenting duties. Apart from fulfilling her ambitions, very often, women have to work to financial well being as well. So, why do we shame such women for their choices and at the same time laud men as hard-working and focused? Why do we make them feel guilty about their choices?

There is nothing “aggressive” and “destructive” in feminism. What she forgot is the fact that feminism is what let her make her “choice”. Shouldn’t she show some gratitude for her freedom to make unapologetic choices? "Feminazi”, the word she used is highly derogatory and demeans the efforts all women who fight for equal rights.

Many women have proven their ability to balance both career and motherhood. But this immature lady didn’t think twice before undermining the laudable efforts of such countless successful working mothers around the world. She is married to a successful film star. She can devote her entire time to her child, and yet find prospective opportunities if needed. But life is not a bed of roses for all. She should try to step away for a moment and look at the reality.

The star-wife is a twenty something woman who has hardly seen enough of life to judge and make such comments. She is not an academic and doesn’t have any credible achievements to boast of. Wondering what was the rationale behind choosing her as a speaker! She could have at least researched for some relevant points before doling out such distasteful statements or judging other women.