Effective Modern-Day Market Research for Businesses

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a young entrepreneur seeking to start or expand his business will eventually be faced with the need for effective marketing research. While many companies rely heavily on market research reports which are available in abundance from various sources, there are some tips and tricks you can use to make sure your company gets all the information it needs without spending too much money. And the best part? These methods work just as well if you're a small startup as they do if you have an enterprise worth billions of dollars.

1. Conduct Focus Groups

Focus groups provide businesses with priceless insight into how their target customers think and feel about them. This means that focus groups allow you to find out what people really think, not merely what they say they think when asked face-to-face or by phone. Once you know this, you will be able to adjust your product line or services accordingly, leading to a better customer experience overall. The key here is to select participants carefully; you want people who fit into your target demographic, so you won't get as much useful data if you don't choose your focus group members carefully. It's also important to ask the right questions in order to extract the most valuable insights possible and to keep things informal and relaxed rather than formal and intimidating.

2. Start Online Surveys

Surveys may seem outdated and inefficient, but they work surprisingly well online, especially if you can avoid asking generic questions like "Do you like our new product?" Instead, create surveys with multiple-choice answers. You'll also want to make sure that your survey has a clear call to action at the end of it, encouraging people to take the next step.

3. Use Social Media Profiles

Using social media profiles in your marketing research is a great way to learn more about your target demographics. For example, you could look up the profile of a person who fits your target demographic and see what kinds of posts he likes and shares. Then, try posting content that is similar to what he likes, and see what kind of response you get. If you get a good response, then you can build upon that post by creating similar ones. In fact, you should be creating content specifically to target each one of your different target audiences.

4. Ask Your Competitors for Information

One of the worst things you can do is ignore your competition. There are many reasons why this is bad, but primarily because it prevents you from learning what works and what doesn't. So, instead of ignoring your competitors, you should reach out to them and ask for any information they're willing to share. This includes data on your own sales figures, information about how they market their products, as well as other information that is relevant to your business. Of course, if you share certain kinds of information about yourself with your competitor, then you need to make sure you're only sharing the most relevant pieces of data. Otherwise, your competitors might learn something about your business that you don't want them to know.

5. Try a Survey App

There are many ways you can conduct market research through apps. However, the most obvious and perhaps the most successful is using a survey app. These apps allow you to create surveys easily, and then distribute them to all the people you choose. They also let you track the responses to your survey, allowing you to understand how people respond to your questions. Some of these apps even offer pre-written questions that you can use or customize. This makes it easy for you to create a survey quickly, and gives you access to a huge library of templates that cover every topic imaginable.

6. Keep Your Polls Short

People tend to give short answers when filling out surveys, particularly if the questions are open-ended. But sometimes, asking a simple question in a very short format can yield surprising results. For instance, you could ask, "How likely would you be to recommend our company to others?" and then add an answer option of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9. People will generally give a number between 1 (very unlikely) and 9 (extremely likely), but some will give a different number, such as 6 or 10. That tells you a lot about how satisfied they are with your company.

7. Analyze Your Website Visitors' Search Patterns

When you run a website, you'll inevitably acquire a large amount of data about your visitors. But did you know you can also use this information to help your marketing efforts? By analyzing the search patterns of your site's visitors, you can determine which keywords your audience uses to find you and then use them in your digital advertising campaigns. This is incredibly helpful because it allows you to target your ads based on real data instead of guessing where your ideal customers might be looking for you.

8. Get Feedback From Your Customers

Customers are the lifeblood of every business. And while word-of-mouth referrals are a wonderful source of new customers, they aren't always enough. You need to make sure your current customers are happy so that they'll continue to spread the word about your brand. One of the best ways to do that is to ask your existing customers for feedback. You can send out customer satisfaction surveys to your email list, or you can hold a live event where you can survey your customers face-to-face.

9. Offer Coupons and Discount Codes

Marketing research is much easier and faster when you offer coupons and discounts to your potential customers. The key here is to offer something that is specific to your industry, and to do so in a way that is unexpected. For instance, instead of offering 20% off your entire order, you could offer free shipping on orders over $50. Or, you could have a daily deal, giving away a coupon code worth a certain percentage off a single item. Most people will be excited just to receive a discount, and your promotion is going to stand out to anyone who sees it.

 

Tips On Journalistic Professionality

1. It is not a journalist's job to win arguments by force of argument. That's the job of lawyers and politicians, who are paid for arguing. Journalists have their own jobs to do. They need to report what happened in an objective way, without slanting or ignoring facts that support one side but which they might dislike, or making up things from whole cloth.

2. A journalist never argues with people who disagree with him about his own views. If you think it's a good idea to let the rich get richer, then the last thing you want to do is argue against it. You'll be seen as part of the problem rather than someone trying to solve it. The best way to deal with this is to claim your right to publish, not to debate. If you've got something to say, write it down, stick it on a piece of paper, and let everyone see.

3. Never argue with anyone about anything unless you're prepared to state publicly how many years of experience you have doing it. This isn't because journalists are so much better at journalism than everyone else – quite the reverse. It's because if you start talking about "experience" you're suddenly arguing in terms of knowledge rather than opinion. People won't take you seriously after that, and you'll lose credibility.

4. When there's a public controversy, always blame both sides equally. There are two reasons for this. One, it saves time and effort. And two, when you're the only one pointing out the obvious flaws in the other side's position, it makes you look like you're in a completely different camp from them, and therefore untouchable. (This also works quite well with politics, by the way.)

5. Make sure you make your editor and your boss look good, however much you may hate them. As long as they don't know how little you actually respect them, you can pretend that you really admire them for having such great taste, even though you hate their guts. And if you ever get a chance to get rid of them, go for it.

6. Don't bother with any of these rules if your employers tell you otherwise. After all, they're the ones paying you.

7. There are no "facts", only interpretations of facts. Every fact has at least three possible interpretations:

(a) Everything is exactly as it seems to be.

(b) The facts are entirely wrong, and everything you thought was true turns out to be false.

(c) The facts are partly right and partly wrong.

If you find yourself thinking "That's not what I believe!" then the answer is that it's probably (c). It's important to recognize that this doesn't mean you're in the right, just that you're more knowledgeable about the subject than everyone else. You'll feel better about this if you remember that it's not your fault if they've got the facts wrong. What's more important is how you interpret them.

8. Reporters shouldn't ask questions. They should supply information. If you want to know something, you're supposed to read the newspaper and fill in the gaps yourself.

9. If you think you can do a better job than the reporters, you're probably right. So go ahead and try. But if they beat you to it, don't complain.

10. The most effective way to influence people is through the media. Because of this, journalists and editors have a duty to use their positions of power to manipulate public opinion in the direction they want. Their job is to create a consensus around whatever political decisions have already been made, and to make sure everyone knows about it.

11. If you think there's some kind of conspiracy between the government and the media to control public opinion, you're crazy.

12. If you're going to write something controversial, you should be aware of the effects your words might have on the readers. If you're worried about the effect your writing will have, you should probably avoid saying anything controversial.

13. If you're not sure whether you're allowed to do something, you're not.

14. If you're not sure you're allowed to do something, you're probably doing it anyway.

15. The purpose of journalism is to sell newspapers, and to keep people reading them. To achieve this, journalists must write interesting stories. However, they don't have to be true. In fact, it's often preferable for them not to be true. The easiest way to produce a story that's interesting is to invent it, or twist the truth, or mix together several different stories so that it looks like they're one big story.

16. The best way to write a gripping story is to invent characters and events and make them perform in ways that are impossible to imagine in real life. For example, if you've got a boring story about a company being investigated for corruption, the best thing you can do is invent a character called "Big Nasty". Then you can make him do things that would never happen in real life.

17. Good writers know how to play on the emotions of their readers. They can make them laugh and cry, and rage against injustice. If you're writing a story that will affect the lives of millions, it helps if you can make your audience angry and scared.

18. A good writer can make his readers forget about the way he writes.

 

How To Write An Effective Editorial

"It is a question of how you see the world. The editorial writer sees it through a magnifying glass." —Milton Shapp, former Editor-in-Chief, Chicago Tribune.

In a newspaper editorial, the editor writes a piece that attempts to influence public opinion on some issue in which he or she has a particular interest. It usually takes one of two forms: a pro/con editorial (usually called "pro"), which expresses the views of the newspaper's editors about a topic and may be written by any member of the editorial staff; or an editorial comment ("opinion"), which presents the feelings and opinions of a single author.

Many newspapers have a team of professional editorial writers who write many such editorials every day. Editorial pages are considered important because they offer readers another viewpoint in addition to what they read in news stories, and because they give journalists opportunities for their own voices to be heard. In recent years, however, several newspapers have discontinued their editorial sections, citing decreased circulation and advertising revenues as causes.

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The Purpose of an Editorial Page

As with most journalistic endeavors, the purpose of an editorial page is to inform people about events taking place around them. It also serves to provide context—to explain why some action was taken or why certain policies were adopted. And it gives voice—through a variety of writing styles—to members of society whose voices might otherwise go unheard.

The editorial page is not a forum for personal attacks against other people. Instead, it should be used as a platform to discuss issues, state positions, and advocate for change.

In general, editors are responsible for choosing topics for editorials and assigning those topics to individual writers (or teams of writers). Editors also edit and fact check the finished pieces.

The role of an editor varies depending on the size and type of paper. At large metropolitan dailies, the editor is usually a position appointed by the publisher or CEO. At small weeklies, the editor might be the person who actually writes the editorials. Some papers assign editorial pages to reporters who specialize in that area of coverage.

Some editors choose specific viewpoints to present so that the entire editorial department can work together toward common goals. Others let staffers write editorials and then edit them to make sure everyone's opinions are represented fairly.

A good editorial page includes both pro/con and opinion pieces. The former can take the form of either a pro/con essay or a letter to the editor. Letters to the editor are letters from readers responding to an editorial or other opinion piece. They often express different points of view or raise new questions based on information presented in the original editorial.

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How Do You Write an Editorial?

An editorial is like any other opinion piece: it explains your thoughts on a subject and persuades others to agree with you. But it differs in that it is written for publication in a newspaper rather than for private consumption.

There are two basic types of editorials:

Pro/Con essays explain the pros and cons of an issue but do not make recommendations.

Opinion pieces are more subjective and more opinionated, and usually take positions on an issue.

Both types of editorials must be persuasive and well-argued. A typical editorial is about a page long and consists of four parts:

Opening paragraph. This introduces the topic and states the point of the editorial.

This introduces the topic and states the point of the editorial. Main body. This is where you make your argument. You should back up whatever claim or statement you're making with facts and examples.

This is where you make your argument. You should back up whatever claim or statement you're making with facts and examples. Conclusion. Here you summarize the main points of your essay and restate your recommendation.

Here you summarize the main points of your essay and restate your recommendation. Cited material. After the conclusion, list all sources of information you cited in the text of the editorial.

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How Do You Edit an Editorial?

When you're editing a piece that someone else wrote, you have to be sure that the piece is clear, concise, and grammatically correct. You need to make sure the facts are accurate and that there are no errors in the reporting. You also need to make sure the piece follows style rules and conventions.

For example, if you're editing a piece that uses the word "kill," you'll want to be sure that's the right word. Many editors use the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language when editing editorial pieces. If there's a dispute over whether to use the verb "to kill" or the noun "murder," ask the author for his or her preference.

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Are There Any Tips for Writing an Editorial?

Yes. An editorial is a persuasive piece of journalism, so its tone must be authoritative and authoritative and it must avoid emotional appeals.

A good rule of thumb is to keep your editorial short and simple. Readers don't like to wade through long, complicated pieces to get to the heart of an issue. When writing an editorial, remember that a newspaper reader may not know much about the subject, so the writer needs to make it easy for him or her to understand.

Another tip is to make sure the facts in your piece are accurate. If you quote someone, cite the source at the end of the article. If you say something happened, find out for yourself whether it did. If you're writing about a policy decision, talk to the people involved to get their side of the story.

Finally, remember that a good editorial is opinionated. That doesn't mean you can be rude or insulting to other people. It does mean that you can put forward your own views and argue for them forcefully and effectively.

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Where Can I Find More Information About Editorial Pages?

If you'd like to learn more about editorial pages, try these resources:

American Journalism Review: A monthly newsletter published by the American Society of News Editors. It reports on editorial trends, awards, and news related to editorial pages.

Newspaper Code of Ethics: This document was created by the Newspaper Association of America and provides guidelines for ethical behavior.

On the Web: An online guide to current issues in newspapers.

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What Is a Letter to the Editor?

A letter to the editor is a piece of correspondence submitted to a newspaper or magazine. Letters to the editor are sometimes called letters to the editor (LTE) or letters to the editor and writer(s).

Letters to the editor provide a forum for readers to share their opinions about articles appearing in print. Letters to the editor are generally printed under a pseudonym. The writer of a letter to the editor is called an LTE writer. In some cases, the LTE writer may have been interviewed as part of the news reporting process, which means he or she could be identified by name. For instance, the reporter who interviewed the LTE writer might write a story about the interview, then include a summary of what was said in the letter to the editor.

Letters to the editor are often written by readers reacting to an editorial, column, or feature story. They can also be used to comment on press releases, op-eds, columns, and other pieces of content. Letters to the editor are generally expressed in a personal voice, and they present arguments based on the writer's own experience and knowledge.

Some common topics for letters to the editor include:

• Politically charged issues. These include hot topics such as immigration reform, gun control, and health care.

• Personal experiences. Readers may wish to share their stories of how an article affected them personally, whether positively or negatively.

• Personal opinions. Some writers will express their political and social views in letters to the editor.

Letters to the editor should be brief and to the point. They should also be well reasoned, backed up with facts, and presented without insults or attacks against the writer's opponents.

The best letters to the editor are those that offer new information, insights, or perspectives. As a rule of thumb, the longer and more detailed your letter is, the better.

As with any type of writing, the quality of a letter to the editor depends heavily on its organization and structure. A letter to the editor that is poorly organized and difficult to follow will probably be rejected.

There are two basic types of letters to the editor:

1. Book reviews. These are personal reactions to books or other written materials.

2. Opinions and comments. These are usually directed at specific issues, events, or individuals.

The following tips are designed to help you write a good LTE:

• Keep your letter succinct. Don't use too many words; stick to the most important points.

• Make your argument clear and compelling. Write in a way that engages readers and keeps them reading.

• Check your facts. If you say something happened, find out for yourself whether it did.

• Proofread your letter carefully. Check for errors before sending it.• Ask others to read your letter and give you their feedback.

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How Do I Submit a Letter to the Editor?

To submit a letter to the editor, send it to your local newspaper. Or if you want to contact a national publication, you can submit your letter online or via mail. Here are the steps for both methods:

Send a hard copy letter to your local newspaper. Most papers require submissions by regular mail only, but some will accept email attachments. You can check the paper's website or call their office for details.

Find the address or submission form for the publication where you'll be sending your letter. Then, fill out the form completely and attach your letter.

Mail the completed form or letter to the publication.

 

 

What's The Need For A "Devil's Advocate" In Journalism?

The position of devil's advocate is a very important role in the world. It's an essential part of any debate, discussion, or other such activity where two people are trying to find common ground by finding issues that both can agree on and then use those points as leverage for negotiation.

In journalism, we call it 'balance.' If there is one side saying something with no counterargument, then it becomes easy for readers to dismiss what they're being told. So, the devil's advocate needs to be there. To say things that are critical of the main point and make sure that it's not too biased towards one side of the story.

The journalist should never have to rely only on their opinion, which might lead them to bias or favoritism. They need to go beyond that and also look at all sides of the story.

If you are looking at something that has been a topic for debate and discussion over time, then it is always good to keep track of how this issue has evolved over time. And yes, this means the opposition view will come in handy when you try to understand why opinions about certain topics change over time.

I am not talking here about just any old news article. I am talking about the ones that really matter like politics, wars, elections, major policies and so on. You don't want to write an article based on your own personal opinion, right? You want to present facts that are unbiased, fair, and objective. This is where you need to have someone who can give you the opposing view, if possible.

There is a big difference between writing something with your own thoughts and feelings in mind and writing something that is completely objective. When you are doing something that matters – even if it is something that doesn't affect you directly – you need to think about the impact it could have on society as a whole.

So, one way to do this is to hire a devil's advocate. Someone who can help you stay impartial while also giving you a different perspective.

One thing that I've noticed is that most people will take up the role of devil's advocate if asked to by the person who is holding the meeting or debate. But I've seen more than one occasion where journalists will take up the role without being asked. Why is that?

Well, for some reason, many journalists seem to enjoy debating things and giving their views. That's great! Most journalists are smart and articulate individuals. And while debates can sometimes get heated and emotional, they can be fun too. Some journalists actually relish the opportunity to put forward alternative perspectives.

It's natural to assume that the Devil's Advocate is there to argue against the main point. But, that isn't true. What the Devil's Advocate is supposed to do is give a different point of view. But it does not mean that he/she will necessarily oppose the main point.

For instance, let's say you are covering a rally or protest. The main point would be the fact that this event is happening and why. The opposition would probably be to the fact that this rally is taking place.

So, the role of the Devil's Advocate is to provide counter arguments to the main point. So, instead of arguing against the main point, the Devil's Advocate argues for a similar point, but from a different angle.

This is where it gets tricky. A good devil's advocate needs to know what they are talking about. They need to be able to back up their points with facts and figures. And in order to do that, they'll probably spend some time researching the topic before the debate starts.

So, when I say research, I'm not talking about reading a few articles or watching a video. I am talking about going through archives, digging out old newspaper clippings and other such stuff.

Research is key to giving a good devil's advocate. The best devil's advocates read widely and deeply. They know the history of a particular subject as well as its current status.

And, because they love to debate, they should also be good at engaging in discussions. They should be able to listen carefully to what others have to say. And because they are passionate about certain subjects, they should be able to express themselves confidently.

What Makes An Effective Devil's Advocate?

When you think about it, the devil's advocate shouldn't really have any advantages or disadvantages. The role is meant to provide balance to the debate. The devil's advocate is not there to win arguments. He is not there to prove his point right.

But the devil's advocate can still have a lot of advantages. First, people tend to trust him more. Because he is challenging the main point rather than supporting it. People can see the main point and the opposite point of view from the same person. It makes the debate much more interesting.

Second, it helps the devil's advocate to stand out. Because, after all, there will be times when he will be the only person challenging the main point. This gives him a chance to talk about his/her ideas and to share them with the group. In other words, he stands to gain a lot from the role.

Third, the devil's advocate is often allowed to ask questions during the debate. This means he will get the opportunity to speak more. Of course, this depends on the nature of the debate. If it is a small group meeting, then everyone will have a chance to speak. But if there are ten people attending the meeting, then it is unlikely that everybody will have a chance to speak.

Fourth, the devil's advocate will usually be given a seat at the front of the room. This is because he is always expected to challenge the main point. Also, it means he will be able to address the entire group.

Fifth, the devil's advocate will probably get to pick the topics that are discussed. After all, he has the most interest in those areas. Sixth, he can use his/her position to raise issues that he thinks are important or relevant. And, finally, the devil's advocate is likely to be invited to future meetings. This is because people want to hear from someone like him.

It's worth pointing out that, in many cases, the devil's advocate will be called upon to discuss hot-button topics.

 

 

Women’s Soaring Esteem In The World

Some individuals argue that progress for women can't be measured in any concrete way. Many people believe that women have made tremendous strides in recent times and that this trend will only continue. Some people argue that women are still centuries behind males and that we have yet to reach full equality.

In contrast, more and more women are rising to the top ranks of corporate America and political parties. Check out this site if you want to find out more about the gender gap.

To get started, let's have a look at some research from a range of sources. This report contains a wealth of useful data, such as the findings of a 2014 study on women's professional progress done by McKinsey & Company.

The Struggle for Women's Equality Continues…

The 2016 edition of the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report (GGGR) was released in 2016. When assessing the global status of women's rights, this study is invaluable.

Based on their position on the GGGR, nations are classified as either leaders, followers, laggards, or stuck by the WEF. Presidents often highlight nations that have made progress toward gender equality, while the rest of the globe struggles to make progress.

As compared to other countries, the United States excels in terms of economic inclusion and opportunity, educational achievement, health and survival, and political agency. In addition to the United States, Finland, Norway, Rwanda, Sweden, and Canada occupy the top spots.

On the other end of the scale are the countries of Burundi, Chad, the Central African Republic, Congo, and Lesotho. Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, and Pakistan are just a few of the countries that continue to face significant challenges.

These numbers have not changed since 2006, yet the difference between developed and underdeveloped countries is becoming wider. Albeit slow, work has continued.

That women and girls are not protected in any part of the globe is very upsetting. They often face hostile environments, prejudice, and other forms of mistreatment. And even if things have improved over the previous several years, it is not nearly enough.

Why has this happened, I wonder? What's holding back further development? We shall get to these questions in a while.

Women in the UK were restricted from working in industries like mining for a long time. Yet, with the passage of the Fair Pay Act in 1970, women gained access to traditionally male-dominated fields. With the passage of the Sex Discrimination Act in 1985, women finally gained access to medical school and could pursue careers in the field.

When the Royal Air Force finally opened recruitment to women in 1993, it was the last branch of the armed services to do so.

Women continue to have lower legal protections than males in a wide range of nations today. In certain communities, women are not permitted outside the home at all unless their husbands give them special permission.

The World Bank's research shows that the gender pay gap persists in many countries. Men make $12.35 an hour on average, but women only make $5.50.

The situation for women is difficult in many parts of the world. There is a high rate of domestic and sexual violence, inadequate educational prospects, poor pay, and few available jobs in certain places. Women are likewise underrepresented in positions of power and leadership.

While women's rights have advanced considerably over the last several decades, they are still markedly inferior to those of males. A lot of progress still has to be made before we can say that we have achieved full gender equality.

Latest Developments Analyzed

For decades, women's access to high-quality e Albeit slow, work has continued education has been a major stumbling block to their economic and social advancement. Getting a good education is critical for gaining competence and expertise, both of which boost production. Businesses would benefit from hiring a more educated workforce. Women throughout the world experience lesser pay and more prejudice than males do.

This leads many women to choose degrees and jobs that pay less and have fewer benefits than those available to males. They are more likely to work in low-paying areas where their skills are underappreciated. Inequality between the sexes clearly limits their potential.

In recent research, the OECD found that just one in five top-level managers and directors were women. Women make up just 20% of the board members of Fortune 500 corporations. This indicates that more progress must be made before women can expect to be treated fairly in the workplace.

Other data from the same research include:

Almost half of European women have a four-year degree, but only around a third of European males do.

38% of women, compared to 49% of males, are in management.

For those ages 25 to 54, the unemployment rate is 9% for women compared to 7.6% for males.

Only 23% of Fortune 500 company board positions are occupied by women.

- Women make up just 26% of parliamentarians, far less than the worldwide average of 33%.

It is estimated that males make up around 65 percent of MPs across the globe.

Just 36 percent of Fortune 500 company chief executive officers are women.

In spite of these setbacks, women have made significant progress toward equality, with the percentage of women in the labor force increasing by a factor of three since 1970.

Quotas and affirmative action legislation helped increase the representation of women in parliament, from 10% in 1994 to 30% in 2007.

The right of women to inherit wealth and property has been legally recognized in several nations. In the United Kingdom, grandmothers no longer face discrimination for wanting to leave the family home to their offspring.

There have been efforts in several nations to raise the minimum wage for women. For instance, Iceland passed legislation guaranteeing female workers the same pay as male workers for the same number of hours put in.

Across the world, women are slowly but surely shattering the glass ceiling. It is important to keep in mind that there is still a long way to go until women achieve full equality in all spheres of society.

SC's Landmark Judgment: Relief for Unmarried Pregnant Women

 Abortion Is A Legal Right For Unmarried Pregnant Women: The Supreme Court Pronounces

Finally, The Right Thing Done!

The Supreme Court ruled that unmarried and single women can now have safe, legal abortions up to 24 weeks, saying that every woman has the right to make her own decisions about her body without interference from the government.

Recently, this draconian 51-year-old abortion regulation that forbade unmarried women to terminate pregnancies up to 24 weeks was loosened by a bench headed by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud. Abortions performed by medical professionals for unmarried women between 20 and 24 weeks pregnant was illegal under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1971 and its Rules of 2003.

According to the court’s decision, it violated the right to equality before the law and equal protection to offer abortion care to unmarried women who were also between 20 and 24 weeks pregnant (Article 14). This was because they were not entitled to the same level of care.

So far, some realism has selectively bitten many!

I take pleasure in appropriating women’s intellects and purportedly passing them off as my own. Simply put, women have superior intelligence. Having seen an unmarried woman who had something to talk about only to have it completely rejected, I was struck by a man’s one right message, and also by a married pregnant woman’s, which they delivered to roaring acclaim a few minutes later. The rejection before that was sheer discriminatory just because it was from an “unmarried pregnant woman”. The heckles kept following. I wonder if it’s still the 21st century podium the single pregnant woman was addressing, or some obscurantist, blinkered, insular goblins that played the audience in the guise of the “so-called” superficially attired spectral entities to look urbane? Okay, I’m going to take the broseph and steal some stupefyingly shrewd concepts from this part and put them right into this article. Don’t mistake it for a “Devil’s Advocate” at play!

Are we hoping for a revolutionary, overwhelming and pulsating discourse from a Bollywood flick to take place? Bummer! No, not at all! It was all preposterously the opposite.

To the best of my memory, the few thousand I ever spent witnessing this gargantuan, deliriously peevish face-off wasn’t worth any appreciation though, but definitely, it was an eye-opening disillusionment, and a completely enlightened reprieve from the penchant for farce, hitting with a flotilla of images of ostensibly shallow semblance of modernism or token diatribe of civilisation.

So, the “what if…” that they’d just been experiencing problems in general surfaced. What if, instead of waving and frowning, she, the married “pregnant woman,” waved and smiled, hoping to acclimate the unmarried pregnant woman to the concept of smiles written backwards? You have learnt the totally unwarranted opinion on humankind – hopefully, by now.

Unfortunately, the events of today have taken their toll on these individual characters. Two people, mom and dad – the familiarized, general duo, believed to be ideal, helped bring in the groceries from supermarkets, beheld with ample dignity, and each of them had a supposedly legitimate approval and an insatiable appetite for arguing, if otherwise, if that looks a little different.

Imagine the scene swapped by a single pregnant woman doing the same at the supermarket, obviously, shopping-would there be snickers and murmured chagrins to revile her to discomfiture? To her, it all looks like an alligator’s abominably wide-open mouth, eagerly waiting, whetting its appetite, to guzzle her down its incessantly bellowing stomach. Undoubtedly, the unuttered mortification, garbling minds, peevishly staring, and stealthily resonating debaucheries, will massacre her unarmed. Why is it such a public scorn? Believe me, this isn’t some trite folklore from the past!

Why is it so different for an unmarried or single pregnant mother? Obviously, the ignominy is not entailed by the man who indulged in the act with as much vigour and verve as was equally responsible. Can only men in those categories and married women fructify the checklist of all the privileges and win the right to live? More than the act, it’s the vexation of gossip that tends to be all the more dunked and indulged in, unabashedly, recklessly, and devoid of responsibility.

I am waiting with bated breath now to learn what the experts think about the Supreme Court’s decision to ensure that all women, whether married or not, have access to abortion.

Most definitely, it’s a landmark decision—the Supreme Court has eliminated a barrier that has been in place for 51 years, granting unmarried women access to abortion. Precisely, we got it right; the ban was overturned by the Supreme Court. Unmarried women now have the same access to abortion as a right as married woman.

The Supreme Court that handed down the verdict ruled it was unconstitutional to treat unmarried women with the same gestational phase, i.e., up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, as married women differently only because they are unmarried.

According to Justice Chandrachud’s ruling, “the rights of reproductive autonomy, dignity, and privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution give an unmarried woman the right of choice as to whether or not to bear a child on a similar footing as that of a married woman.”

The court concluded that a married woman who became pregnant might have experienced the same “change in material circumstances” as an unmarried woman. She could have been left financially or emotionally alone during her pregnancy.

Do you recall?

A societal stigma is attached to being a single mother, according to Nagpur HC.

The Nagpur High Court approved the legal termination of a 22-week pregnancy in 2019.

According to the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court, “in India a child to an unwed mother is viewed as a social disgrace of a severe character and she does not want to endure such shame for the rest of her life.” A man had promised to marry a girl, and she became pregnant as a consequence.

A 25-year-old woman from Chandrapur filed a criminal suit asking Justices P.N. Deshmukh and Pushpa Ganediwala to let her have an abortion 22 weeks into her pregnancy.

The woman, a recent college graduate studying business in preparation for competitive examinations, fell in love with a man when the two crossed paths on Instagram in 2017. He had sexual relations with her on the premise of their engagement. He promised to marry her when she became pregnant, but then he stopped returning her calls and they split up as the pregnancy progressed.

Soon after, she filed a First Information Report (FIR) against the man for violating Section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code.

The court said that there was no doubt that the unwed mother was pregnant and that, after reading the report from the Chandrapur medical board, she felt betrayed by her ex-lover.

Section 3 of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act says, “If the pregnant woman claims that the pregnancy was caused by rape, the pain of the pregnancy will be seen as a significant impairment to her mental health.”

A child born to an unwed woman in India is considered a social disgrace of significant character, and the court ruled that the mother did not want to live with that stigma. Neither the petitioner nor her unborn child would benefit from this course of action, in their professional opinion. The court said that the plaintiff had a right to reproductive autonomy under the Constitution of India because not giving her that right would violate her right to life, liberty, and human dignity and make her social and marital life harder in the future.

In addition, the court said that the complainant may legally place the child for adoption if she does not want the child anymore, according to the Juvenile Justice Act.

The Central Adoption Resource Authority’s protocol requires that her identity be concealed indefinitely and that neither she nor the adopted kid be permitted to meet. Additionally, the court ruled that the kid would never be told either parent’s identity.

In any case, what could possibly have prompted this piece of writing? We’ve reached the limits of our predisposed, humdrum yet replete with creativity to sneer them either to death or to crumble incognito, as the consequences may seem. Instead of chickening out of the situation, it was perhaps decided by the extra-terrestrials to overturn the picture to empower single, unmarried women. The depiction is finally complete. Of course, a reprieve for all of them, with equal rights.

The turmoil tends to be unsolicited and the trauma is despicably endless for them. Now, the sun is much brighter.

 

 

Archives & Sources: 

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/supreme-court-women-abortion-ruling-8181347/   

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/all-women-married-or-unmarried-have-right-to-legal-and-safe-abortion-supreme-court/article65949513.ece  

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/being-an-unwed-mother-a-social-stigma-says-hc/article28112305.ece