Chhavi Sachdev

How hard is it for women to break into male-dominated jobs?

We look at two projects which are helping women to increase their earnings by training them in forms of work that have traditionally been done by men.

In Uganda, we meet the woman training girls in careers from mechanical engineering and welding to carpentry and construction

And in India, Chhavi visit the college that trains impoverished women from around the world in the nuts and bolts of solar technology.

As well as the economic benefits, by challenging the status quo these projects also aim to empower women and change society.

Road traffic injuries are the eighth biggest cause of death in the world, with about 1.3m people killed every year.

But 25 years ago, a movement started that changed the way policy-makers approach the issue. Vision Zero imagines a world in which no-one is killed or seriously injured on our roads

Myra Anubi also hears about an innovative project (HumSafer) to help truck drivers in India stay safe on the roads, and checks out the tech that now comes fitted in all new cars models in the EU - and which experts say could eliminate a fifth of road casualties.

We look at two new pieces of health technology which allow medics to treat people without touching them.

Breast cancer fatality rates in India are higher than in other countries because women are often reluctant to go for screening. A start up called Niramai wants to change this. They use thermal imaging and machine learning to screen for breast cancer without patients having to be seen or touched by a doctor.

The Song of the Summer series: A catchy, toe-tapping tune about the difficulties of unrequited love and distance is making waves in Pakistan, India and across the globe.
Since its February release, the song “Pasoori,” which translates to “difficulty” or “conflict” in Punjabi, has racked up more than 250 million views on YouTube and on Instagram. And, the audio has been remixed at least 350,000 times by fans from all over the world.
In fact, 14 seconds of the track are audible in episode 4 of the new TV show, "Miss Marvel,"...

In India, pandemic lockdowns caused most schools to shut for nearly two years. But many of India’s children are completely locked out of the schooling system, as their parents migrate from job to job. Reporter Chhavi Sachdev explores one program in Mumbai where children living on construction sites get care and support with their schooling.

In India, abortion has been legal — within certain confines — for more than 50 years.
India's abortion law is progressive, but it is also problematic, says Dr. Suchitra Dalvie, a practicing gynecologist in Mumbai, India.
So as a gynecologist, honestly, I didn't realize for many years, safe abortion rights are really at the very core of the whole fight of feminism, autonomy, agency and dismantling the patriarchy in many, many ways. At the time that I was doing my residency, which was much before social media, we had no access even sometimes to the language.

When Ram Devineni decided to create India's first female comic superhero, he had plenty of inspiration.
Indian mythology is full of gods and goddesses who come to the aid of mortals in trouble. The goddess of fortune, Laxmi, shows up riding an owl. The goddess of knowledge, Saraswati, travels on a peacock.
Devineni's hero, Priya, travels around the world on a flying tiger named Sahas, helping people find solutions to the problems they face. In the seventh comic of the series, “Priya and the T...

Robots that navigate sewer pipes are being used to find leaks and blockages in an ancient water system.

They’re being put to work in Pune, India, to access dangerous and noxious spots that otherwise would be checked by people.

The sewage systems are more than 100 years old and the maps have been lost or are just outdated. So the robots are being used to update the maps, which should eventually lead to less leaks and so less contamination in the water.

But the machines also replace manual work that is done by some of the poorest members of Indian society. We explore what it will mean for the

Educator Anuja Bali is on a mission to teach women in India about the dangers of indoor air pollution — what she calls a “silent killer.”
In 2020, at the start of the pandemic, Bali co-founded a group called Warrior Moms to mobilize women to draw attention to the issue. In two years, the group has drawn more than a thousand women from across the country, tackling the issue through grassroots education and policy interventions.
The dangers of breathing in fumes from cars, construction and burn...

In India, a bill in Parliament proposes that the age of marriage for women gets raised to 21. The current legal age for men is 21, and for women, 18. India has many illegal marital unions between children and adults, but arguments have emerged from activists and parliamentarians as to why this is a bad move. Chhavi Sachdev reports from Mumbai.

Infographic/Image courtesy: Times of India

#FreeShankar - the loneliest elephant.

Elephants have had a special place in India but they're sometimes treated quite appallingly. Here's the story about an African elephant living his life in solitary confinement and a youth appeal to release him into a sanctuary where he has company and freedom. Chhavi Sachdev has this story about the #FreeShankar Campaign by Youth For Animals in Delhi featuring Nikita Dewan.

As waves of COVID have hit India, lockdowns have resulted in waves of canceled weddings. Chhavi Sachdev reports from Mumbai on the toll that's taken on industries and workers who support the $70 billion wedding industry.
Second of 2 part series.
Photo courtesy Amitabh Singh, Safari Grills Delhi

Millions of Indians planning to have a large, traditional wedding in 2020 or 2021 had to drastically scale back their plans, reschedule or travel. Chhavi Sachdev reports on the pandemic's toll on couples trying to tie the knot in India.
First in a 2 part series.
Image creative commons by Kashish1711

As many wait for their first COVID-19 vaccine, Brahmadev Mandal who lives in a rural village in Bihar, India, says he has received 12. Mandal insists each shot made him feel better, so he went back for more. The World's Chhavi Sachdev reports that the news has embarrassed local health workers and has caught the attention of the police.
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This month, parents, teachers and kids in India were poised to reenter their classrooms full time. Omicron has pumped the brakes on that.

For parents like Teresa Khanna, it's a nuisance.

“It's been so long now that I really can't remember how it was when he went to physical school.”
Khanna's 10-year-old son Shreyas is in the fifth grade. His last full day in school was in March 2020...