New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the issuance of Aadhaar cards to sex workers based on a proforma certificate issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and observed that every person has a fundamental right to be treated with dignity.A bench headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao said there should be no breach of the confidentiality of the sex workers and their identity should not be revealed. "Aadhaar cards shall be issued to sex workers on the basis of a proforma certificate issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and submitted by a gazetted officer at the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) or the project director of State AIDS Control Society along with the enrolment form," the bench also comprising Justices B R Gavai and A S Bopanna said.While passing the order, the bench observed that "every person has the right to be treated with dignity irrespective of activity. This should be kept in mind." UIDAI had earlier suggested to the top court that Aadhaar Card could be issued to sex workers without insisting on proof of identity, subject to their producing a certificate issued by a Gazetted Officer of NACO or a Gazetted Officer of Health Department of the respective State Governments/ Union Territory. The top court had directed states and Union Territories to continue with the process of identification of the sex workers who do not have any proof of identity and who are deprived of distribution of ration. "The State Governments shall take support of the Community Based Organisation and not merely rely on the lists prepared by NACO for the purpose of implementing the earlier directions issued by this Court. Apart from ration cards, the State Governments shall also take steps to issue voter ID cards to the sex workers identified by NACO and Community Based Organisations after verification of the lists," the apex court had earlier said.The apex court, hearing a plea that has raised the problems faced by sex workers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has been passing orders for their welfare and on September 29 last year, had asked the Centre and others to provide dry ration to them without insisting on their identity proof. The plea has highlighted the destitution faced by sex workers on account of COVID-19 and sought relief measures for over nine lakh female and transgender sex workers across India. The bench had directed that authorities can take the assistance of NACO and state AIDS control societies which, in turn, will prepare a list of sex workers after verifying the information provided to them by the community-based organisations. The apex court, on September 29, 2020, had directed all the states to provide dry rations to sex workers, who are identified by NACO, without insisting on any proof of identity and had sought a status report on compliance.—PTI

The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the issuance of Aadhaar cards to sex workers based on a proforma certificate issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and observed that every person has a fundamental right to be treated with dignity.

SC directs issuance of Aadhaar cards to sex workers

Mumbai: Days after Herwad village in Maharashtra's Kolhapur district passed a resolution to ban the customs associated with widowhood to maintain women's "right to live with dignity", those spearheading the campaign are now following up with the state government, demanding that a law be framed to end the "regressive" traditions. The village passed the resolution on May 4, after which the Maharashtra government issued a circular asking all gram panchayats in the state to adopt the "Herwad model". The Herwad gram panchayat in Shirol taluka passed the resolution to ban customs like removing a widow's mangalsutra, toe ring, wiping her sindoor (vermilion) and breaking her bangles as part of rituals handed down over time. As per the customs, widows were barred from attending social and religious gatherings. The pioneering move by this village is being seen as the beginning of the enactment of a law to safeguard the dignity of widows.Pramod Zinjade, who heads a social welfare organisation named after reformer Mahatma Phule in Solapur district, is an inspiration behind the Herwad model.Talking to PTI, he said Herwad is the first village in the country to pass such a&nbsp;resolution and seven more villages have followed suit. "Mere resolutions will not be enough and a legal sanction to end the regressive practices is the need of the hour," he said. He said he has held a meeting with deputy chairperson of the state legislative council Neelam Gorhe on the need for a legislation."She told me that the issue will be discussed in both the houses of the state legislature during the monsoon session in July. The law and judiciary department will see if a new legislation is required needed or the existing laws can be amended," he said. Zinjade said he has given his suggestions to Gorhe regarding what provisions should be there in the proposed or amended law.The other widows who disfigure the deceased man's grieving wife, the relatives who silently watch it happen, the villagers who participate in the funeral should all be held guilty for humiliating the widow. The women who perform the regressive actions should be punished with three months to one year in jail and Rs 5,000 to Rs 1 lakh penalty be imposed on them, he said.The relatives should be punished for 15 days to one month in jail and Rs 5,000 to Rs 50,000 penalty. While the participants in the funeral should be punished by way of making them sit together for a day in the village itself, he said. A monitoring committee should be set up to check if the law is being violated at the local level. The committee should have 50 per cent women as members and half of them should be widows, Zinjade said. His suggestions include that two committee members should be present at the place where a male member of the family has died and they should see if the wife is being humiliated with the regressive practices. Zinjade said the committee members should be trained to videoshoot the funeral proceedings and hand it over to the tehsildar, police or the women and child protection officer along with the signature of witnesses on a form prescribed by the government.&nbsp;He also demanded that people who don't respect widows during social,&nbsp;religious or cultural functions should also be punished with 15 days jail sentence. Herwad sarpanch Surgonda Patil said before the resolution was passed, awareness work regarding doing away with the regressive practices related to widows was in progress for the last five months with the help of Zinjade, who has created a WhatsApp group of sarpanchs from different parts of the state and leads the forum demanding law to ban the customs linked to widows. Patil said even though the regressive practices related to widows were&nbsp;followed everywhere for ages, the number of deaths due to Covid-19 in the first and second waves made them realise the dire social situation of widows very glaringly."Several young people died due to the virus infection leaving behind young widows and this is where&nbsp;the social ostracisation of widows was rampantly seen and we felt something needs to be done,'' Patil said. Zinjade said one his colleagues died on June 11, 2020, due to a severe heart attack. "As the funeral pyre was lit, the sindoor of his wife was wiped off, bangles and mangalsutra were broken and toe ring was removed. The woman was crying, asking the other widows not to do so and let her husband's memories remain with her. Hence, I decided that such practices need to be eradicated like that of sati." On March 29 this year, Zinjade submitted an affidavit on a Rs 100 stamp paper to the local tehsildar saying that he had freed his wife from being subjected to the regressive practices faced by a widow after his death. "Women have a right to live with dignity," he said.—PTI

Days after Herwad village in Maharashtra's Kolhapur district passed a resolution to ban the customs associated with widowhood to maintain women's "right to live with dignity", those spearheading the campaign are now following up with the state government, demanding that a law be framed to end the "regressive" traditions.

Call to treat widows with dignity grows after Maharashtra village shows way

New Delhi: Observing that human decency and dignity extend to sex workers and their children, the Supreme Court has directed police forces in all states and Union Territories to treat sex workers with dignity and not to abuse them, verbally or physically. Issuing a slew of directions, a bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao, BR Gavai and AS Bopanna said the constitutional protection that is given to all individuals in this country shall be kept in mind by the authorities who have a duty under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956. Any sex worker who is a victim of sexual assault should be provided with all facilities available to a survivor of sexual assault, including immediate medical assistance, in accordance with law, it said."It has been noticed that the attitude of the police to sex workers is often brutal and violent. It is as if they are a class whose rights are not recognised. The police and other law enforcement agencies should be sensitised to the rights of sex workers who also enjoy all basic human rights and other rights guaranteed in the Constitution to all citizens. Police should treat all sex workers with dignity and should not abuse them, both verbally and physically, subject them to violence or coerce them into any sexual activity," the bench said.The court also said the Press Council of India should be urged to issue appropriate guidelines for the media to take utmost care not to reveal the identities of sex workers, during arrest, raid and rescue operations, whether as victims or accused and not to publish or telecast any photos that would result in disclosure of such identities."Besides, the newly introduced Section 354C, IPC which makes voyeurism a criminal offence, should be strictly enforced against electronic media, in order to prohibit telecasting photos of sex workers with their clients in the garb of capturing the rescue operation," it said.It also directed the state governments to do a survey of shelter homes so that cases of adult women who are detained against their will can be reviewed and processed for release in a time-bound manner."Measures that sex workers employ for their health and safety (e.g., use of condoms, etc.) must neither be construed as offences nor seen as evidence of commission of an offence."The Central Government and the State Governments, through National Legal Services Authority, State Legal Services Authority and District Legal Services Authority, should carry out workshops for educating the sex workers abut their rights vis-a-vis the legality of sex work, rights and obligations of the police and what is permitted/prohibited under the law. Sex workers can also be informed as to how they can get access to the judicial system to enforce their rights and prevent unnecessary harassment at the hands of traffickers or police," the bench said.The apex court passed the directions on recommendations of a panel formed for the rehabilitation of sex workers.The top court was also informed that the Government of India has certain&nbsp;reservations in respect of the recommendation that sex workers are entitled to equal protection of the law and the police must refrain from interfering or&nbsp;taking any criminal action.The bench said that every individual in this country has a right to a dignified life under Article 21 of the Constitution."The constitutional protection that is given to all individuals in this country shall be kept in mind by the authorities who have a duty under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956. The other recommendations that are made by the panel shall be taken up after summer vacation," the bench said. The apex court was hearing a plea that has raised the problems faced by sex workers due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The plea has highlighted the destitution faced by sex workers on account of COVID-19 and sought relief measures for over nine lakh women and transgender sex workers across India.—PTI

Observing that human decency and dignity extend to sex workers and their children, the Supreme Court has directed police forces in all states and Union Territories to treat sex workers with dignity and not to abuse them, verbally or physically.

Treat sex workers with dignity, not to abuse them: SC to police

New Delhi: While gender-sensitive language should be encouraged, use of derogatory terms that perpetuate gender stereotypes and undermine the dignity and rights of individuals based on their gender should not be used in legal documents and pleadings, the Delhi High Court has said.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma made the observation while hearing a woman's plea challenging a trial court's grant of anticipatory bail to a man accused of raping her under false pretenses of marriage.
While the court did not cancel the anticipatory bail, it strongly objected to the derogatory language used by the accused against the woman in his counter affidavit.
Justice Sharma cited the recent 'Handbook on Combating Gender Stereotypes' launched by the Supreme Court, suggesting its use in drafting pleadings, orders, and judgements.
The court noted that legal professionals can contribute to dismantling entrenched biases by challenging and discarding gender stereotypes in their language, actions, and interactions.
The court called upon the legal community to promote a culture of gender sensitivity and uphold values of fairness and respect in both professional conduct and legal documents.
While recognising the adversarial nature of the criminal legal system, the court stressed that strong language should not cross the line into offensiveness and should always align with the dignity of the legal profession.
The accused had employed inappropriate language, making derogatory remarks about the woman's character and marital status.
Justice Sharma condemned the use of such language, stating that it went beyond the permissible boundaries of language expected in legal pleadings.
The court said that using derogatory language that undermines an individual's dignity based on their gender is incompatible with the principles of equality, dignity, and respect.
—IANS

While gender-sensitive language should be encouraged, use of derogatory terms that perpetuate gender stereotypes and undermine the dignity and rights

Delhi HC urges gender-sensitive lang in legal documents, pleadings

Mumbai: Maharashtra Congress Working President M. Arif Naseem Khan has demanded the permanent suspension of Bharatiya Janata Party MP Ramesh Bidhuri for his insulting remarks in the Lok Sabha, here on Saturday.
Khan has written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking Bidhari’s ‘permanent suspension’ from the House for his slur against BSP MP Kunwar Danish Ali and DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi.
“The Parliament is referred to as the ‘temple of democracy’ and it works on the principles and ethos enshrined in the Constitution. The fundamental principles on which the nation stands in Secularism, which underlines respect for all religions, beliefs and promotes unity in diversity,” said Khan.
However, Bidhuri’s comments completely deviate from these cherished values and are an embarrassment to our democratic institutions, he said on the issue which has sparked a nationwide furore in the past two days.
“It is very unfortunate and disturbing that language which was earlier confined to street debates related to organisations like RSS and VHP has now entered Parliament through BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri,” said Khan.
Such an insulting and shameful statement is not only an insult to an MP but an insult to Parliament, the sanctum sanctorum of our democracy, Khan said and asked for the permanent action against Bidhuri to uphold the dignity of the Lok Sabha.
Besides Khan, state parties like Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar), Samajwadi Party and others and their top leaders have slammed Bidhuri’s unparliamentary remarks and demanded stringent action from the Lok Sabha Speaker.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and others called on Ali while NCP MP Supriya Sule moved a notice of privilege against Bidhuri, and Kanimozhi also wrote to the Speaker and demanded that the issue be referred to the Privilege Committee on Friday.
—IANS

Maharashtra Congress Working President M. Arif Naseem Khan has demanded the permanent suspension of Bharatiya Janata Party MP

Maha Congress demands suspension of BJP MP for insulting Oppn MPs

New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Harnath Singh Yadav on Sunday condemned the use of unparliamentary words used by party colleague Ramesh Bidhuri but also said that using words like 'Neech' (meaning despicable) by Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MP Danish Ali for Prime Minister Narendra Modi is wrong as well.  "I do not support at all what was said by MP Ramesh Bidhuri during the House proceedings in the Lok Sabha, but I also do not support the usage of the word 'neech' in reference to the Prime Minister. This was done by Danish Ali. Perhaps in response to this, Ramesh Bidhuri's objectionable statement came," the Rajya Sabha MP said in a letter written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Sunday.
Yadav said that he was enraged by the fact that the derogatory word, 'Neech' was used for the Prime Minister in the Parliament and requested the Speaker to hold a thorough investigation into the incident. "I am angry by the fact that the word 'neech' was used in the Parliament for our respected Prime Minister Narendra Modi...I humbly request you to hold a thorough investigation into the matter so that the truth comes out," he wrote. The BJP MP also requested the speaker to ensure that MPs holding constitutional posts respect the Prime Minister in the House.
"It is my humble request to you that just as the entire world and the people of the country respect and honour Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he should also be respected by MPs holding constitutional posts," he said. Condemning the leaders of INDIA bloc who came out in full support of Danish Ali, Yadav said, "It is surprising that people sitting in the opposition give political colour to every issue." He said that no opposition leader took note of the Danish Ali's "uncivilized conduct" in the house and even reached Ali's residence to spread hatred.  Taking a veiled dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his 'Mohabbat ki Dukaan' (shop of love) remark, Yadav said, "All limits were broken when the love shop owners and those who speak ill of the country in foreign lands reached Danish Ali's residence to light the fire of hatred." Harnath Singh Yadav said that it has become a common practice to speak ill of the Prime Minister whether inside or outside the House. "Parliament is the sacred temple of democracy. The Constitution is the soul of democracy and MPs are the protectors of democracy. We can protect democracy only by protecting the dignity of the Parliament. We should ensure the protection of parliamentary values, traditions and dignity at all costs," the BJP leader added. Ramesh Bidhuri's objectionable remarks against Danish Ali in the Lok Sabha on Thursday have triggered anger among the Opposition parties, with their demand for strict action against Bidhuri. The BJP has issued a show cause notice to Bidhuri on the instruction of party president JP Nadda for his use of unparliamentary language against the BSP MP.&nbsp;
—ANI

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Harnath Singh Yadav on Sunday condemned the use of unparliamentary words used by party colleague Ramesh Bidhuri

Danish Ali’s use of word Neech for PM is wrong as well: BJP’s Harnath Singh Yadav on Bidhuri remark row

New Delhi: Congress leader Manickam Tagore on Wednesday condemned two organisations for conducting a mock funeral of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and his Karnataka counterpart Siddaramaiah over the Cauvery water dispute and urged them to protest with dignity.  In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Tagore said, “Condemn the two organisations for insulting the People’s elected Chief ministers of Tamilnadu and Karnataka.. Protest with dignity. Show your anger in a decent way. Cauvery is an important issue for both of us and we have the right to claim ours. Let’s do it with decency,” he added.  He also attached the photographs of the farmers in Tamil Nadu and another organisation in Karnataka holding mock funerals of chief ministers and staging an agitation with dead rats near their mouths over sharing the water of the Cauvery.
—IANS

Congress leader Manickam Tagore on Wednesday condemned two organisations for conducting a mock funeral of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin

Congress leader Manickam condemns mock funeral of TN, Karnataka CMs

New Delhi [India]: Under fire from the members in the Treasury and the BJP-led Centre over his mock impersonation of Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on the Parliament complex, suspended TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee on Wednesday clarified his conduct saying he was intending to hurt anyone. A video went viral earlier showing Banerjee mimicking Dhankhar's mannerisms and physical limitations during a protest by the suspended Opposition members on the stairs of the Parliament on Tuesday.
The viral clip drew sharp condemnation from the ruling BJP. The chairman of the Upper House, too, took a serious view of the mimicry and expressed his anguish over it. Addressing reporters on Wednesday, Banerjee said, "I wasn't intending to hurt anyone. I do not know why he is taking this on himself. Does he act like this in the Rajya Sabha?" He added that he respects the Vice President as they both belong to the same profession -- law. "I respect Dhankar Sahib a lot. He's also a senior advocate, I'm too. I've great respect for Dhankar-ji. Firstly, he belongs in the same profession as me and secondly, because he was formerly a governor (of West Bengal). He is our Vice President," Banerjee said.  Also hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the TMC MP said, "Even the PM mimicked Opposition leaders in the Lok Sabha between 2014 and 2019. He did it. But everyone took it as harmless humour, not seriously. Now, if they are taking it seriously in my case, I can't help it." Meanwhile, reacting to the mimicry incident, the chairman in the Upper House asked the LoP to prevail upon Opposition members to not indulge in indecorous conduct. He said he would swallow personal insults in the discharge of his duty to protect the dignity of his office. After convening for business on Wednesday, the Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 12. Earlier, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said as a mark of protest over the mimicry incident, members in the Treasury benches will stand during the Question Hour.  "The President has expressed her dismay over the mimicry incident. As a mark of protest and solidarity with the chair, treasury benches will keep standing during Question Hour," Joshi said in the Upper House. Earlier in the day, expressing concern over the mimicry incident of Rajya Sabha Chairman by suspended TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee outside the Parliament, President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday said that she was "dismayed to see the manner in which the Vice President was humiliated". Taking to her official handle on social media handle X, the President said that the people of India are proud of the conutry's Parliamentary tradition and expect them to uphold it. "I was dismayed to see the manner in which our respected Vice President was humiliated in the Parliament complex. Elected representatives must be free to express themselves, but their expression should be within the norms of dignity and courtesy. That has been the Parliamentary tradition we are proud of, and the people of India expect them to uphold it," the President posted on X. Meanwhile, weighing in on the mimicry row, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday claimed it was a ploy to deflect public attention from the suspension of 141 MPs from the Parliament. The members were suspended for raising a ruckus and disrupting proceedings in both Houses over their demand for a statement from Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the Parliament security breach incident of December 13. Earlier, on Tuesday, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi demanded an apology from the INDIA bloc over the mimicry incident of Dhankar and said that the opposition members tried to belittle the image of the Vice President adding that they are against the tribal and farming communities of the nation.  While expressing concerns in Rajya Sabha over the mimicry incident, Joshi said," Leader of Congress, a former Congress President who could not manage his own party affairs was trying to encourage this unfortunate act. This incident has circulated on social media and people are condemning it." The suspended TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee, during the protest with other suspended MPs at Parliament's Makar Dwar, was seen mimicking the Vice President while Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was seen filming the Trinamool MP using his phone. Forty-nine more opposition MPs were suspended from Lok Sabha on Tuesday for 'misconduct" for the remainder of the monsoon session. The total number of MPs suspended from Parliament is now 141.
—ANI

Under fire from the members in the Treasury and the BJP-led Centre over his mock impersonation of Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar

"Wasn't intending to hurt anyone, don't know why he's taking this on himself": TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee amid mimicry row

The Vatican: In a significant address to Vatican-accredited diplomats, Pope Francis urged a worldwide prohibition on surrogate parenting, denouncing it as a practice that gravely violates the dignity of both women and children. The pontiff labeled the use of surrogacy as "deplorable," highlighting its exploitation of vulnerable maternal situations.  The Pope's stance, likely to provoke controversy among pro-LGBT+ groups, follows his recent decision allowing priests to bless same-sex unions. He emphasized the need for an international effort to universally ban this practice, condemning it for its ethical concerns and the exploitation of women's material needs.  Surrogacy statistics remain elusive due to its illegal status in many countries globally and in certain U.S. states. Critics warn of a potential bias against financially struggling women who opt for surrogacy, while interest grows among those delaying pregnancy and same-sex couples seeking alternative family-starting methods.  Italy, neighboring the Vatican, has banned surrogacy, and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's coalition aims to reinforce this ban by penalizing couples traveling abroad for the procedure.  Additionally, Pope Francis reiterated the Vatican's stance against gender theory, emphasizing its perceived dangers in negating essential differences between genders in the pursuit of equality.
—Input from Agencies

Pope Francis advocates a worldwide surrogacy ban, citing dignity violations. Sparks debate on parenting ethics and rights in surrogacy.

Pope Francis Advocates Global Ban on Surrogacy, Citing Dignity Violation for Women and Children

New Delhi: The Election Commission on Wednesday issued show-cause notices to BJP leader Dilip Ghosh and Congress leader Supriya Shrinate for their offensive remarks against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Kangana Ranaut respectively.
Ranaut has been fielded by the BJP from Himachal Pradesh's Mandi Lok Sabha seat for the parliamentary elections.  Their remarks were 'undignified and in bad taste', the Election Commission (EC) said.  The poll panel said that prima facie, the two remarks were violative of the Model Code of Conduct and its advisory to political parties to maintain dignity during electioneering.  The two have been asked to respond to the show-cause notices by March 29 evening.
—PTI

EC issues notices to Dilip Ghosh & Supriya Shrinate for remarks against Mamata Banerjee & Kangana Ranaut, citing violations of the electoral code of conduct.

EC issues show-cause notices to Dilip Ghosh, Supriya Shrinate for remarks targeting women

Sam Ben-Meir*
New York (The Hawk): The Käthe Kollwitz exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art is a reminder of why art exists, and, at its best, what makes it of timeless, universal value. Kollwitz’s work fulfills the condition of truth, which as Theodor Adorno observed, is to let suffering speak. Or in her own words: “I felt that I have no right to withdraw from the responsibility of being an advocate. It is my duty to voice the sufferings of men, the never-ending sufferings heaped mountain-high.” Her work also compels us to reflect on the nature of feminism, especially as it relates to art. Compare for example any piece of Kollwitz to the pretentious, corporate feminism of Judy Chicago who recently enjoyed a full-scale exhibition (sponsored by Dior) at New York’s New Museum, with the unfortunate and adolescent title of “Herstory.” Kollwitz’s Love Scene I (1909-10), sketched with black crayon on white paper, is far more sensuous and erotically charged than the sleek, shiny rings of Chicago’s Pasadena Lifesavers (1970), in which she supposedly sought to capture the “dissolving sensation” of orgasm. There are various approaches to feminism, to be sure. Kollwitz’s feminism is, in a word, the feminism of revolt and is truly universal: it is the feminism that says women have lead uprisings in the past. See for, example, the extraordinarily dramatic and unprecedented Charge, plate 5 from Peasant’s War (1902-03) depicting “Black Anna,” the sixteenth-century revolutionary as she, with arms raised high, leads her followers into the fray of violent struggle. Kollwitz insists that women can continue to lead the revolution against the degradation of humanity that we now call neoliberalism: unregulated capitalism, with its shameless exploitation of children – even here in the United States – with its sweatshops and slums, its obscene concentration of wealth, and its economic inequality which has reached such staggering heights that it literally defies imagination. It is perhaps worth noting that Kollwitz was from the city of Königsberg, as was the philosopher Immanuel Kant, for whom this April 22 marked the three hundredth anniversary of his birth in 1724. Kant was the philosopher of human dignity, par excellence, and I would suggest that the same concern ultimately drives the work of Kollwitz. The exhibition commences with Kollwitz’s Self-Portrait en Face with Right Hand (1900), notable for its full command of itself and its materials, its comingling of confidence and vulnerability. Kollwitz emphasizes her right hand because it is representative of her vocation as an artist – not unlike the way Rembrandt would emphasize his hands in the Self-Portrait (1658) at the Frick Collection. The six etchings of Woman with Dead Child (1903) which precede its seventh and final iteration reveal an artist tirelessly at work upon an utterly devastating theme – one that is evocative of a long tradition hearkening back to the La Pietà (1498-99) of Michelangelo. Kollwitz worked and reworked the piece until it finally came to the point where it achieved its maximum potency. One does not need to read the news of today, with its daily reports of children, infants, toddlers, dying in Gaza and elsewhere to feel the potency and the truth of this image. Look at it, study it ‘long and long,’ as Whitman would say: observe the mother’s hand, her anguished, half hidden face as it presses into the child’s lifeless torso. The image is so powerful, so intensely true, so universal in its timeless significance that one can barely keep one’s eyes upon it without choking. This is what art is for. Yes, art is joy. But if its joy is real then it is a joy born from sorrow, joy in defiance of infinite suffering. Her work confronts head on the burden of the proletariat, it refuses to quit the fight; her work is the very emblem of fidelity, of faithfulness. Fidelity to the struggle for justice, for human dignity, for giving meaning to those who have gone before us. Kollwitz knows that right along beside every revolutionary, every worker marching towards to a new world are the ghosts of revolutions past. The dead live on when we are faithful to the universal meaning that their life embodied. In her 1888 etching, March of the Weavers, each worker is an individual, each is a person, but their individuality is incomprehensible apart from their unity, apart from the universality that binds them. In the foreground, just off center is a woman who bears on her back a sleeping child. Some of the workers bear scythes, and mallets, their faces gaunt with hunger. But the mother, hunched over, is the figure that brings the image together, that lends an irrepressible power: she is bowed, but not bent. She is also the only woman in the group. It is as if Kollwitz is reminding us that the workers are struggling not simply for themselves, to fill their own stomachs, but to save their children from the life of desperation, malnutrition and soul-sapping hardship. The child cannot fight, he is his mother’s burden. But he is also her strength, the reason she must march, he embodies the very necessity of resistance. A Weavers’ Revolt (1893-97) was Kollwitz’s first print series, and it depicts the story of an 1844 textile workers’ uprising, a pivotal moment in the history of Germany’s socialist class struggle. Need we remind ourselves how garment workers continue to be among the most exploited workers from Bangladesh, to Myanmar, Vietnam, Pakistan to right here in the United States, from Southern California to New York City? According to the Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR) “over 60 percent of New York’s 7,000-plus garment factories operate in sweatshop conditions.” The Los Angeles Daily News reported in March 2023 that workers in Southern California’s garment industry “remain victims of wage theft and illegal pay practices, with some earning as little as $1.58 per hour...” These facts are simply meant to demonstrate that the same exploitation which Kollwitz was dramatizing with unerring focus continue to plague workers right now, today, and not in poor, distant countries, but under our very noses. The stench of greed is so strong and pervasive that we’ve grown accustomed to its contamination of our lifeworld, even as workers’ rights are being trampled on with often devastating consequences. War is a portfolio of seven woodcuts which were published in 1923 and grappled with the terrible four years between 1914-1918 which gave a new, and horrifying face to the madness of modern warfare. Kollwitz is driven in no small part by the loss of her own son during the first World War, but in pieces such as The People where blackness predominates, we see that Kollwitz is confronting far more than her personal loss. A female figure on the right gnashing her teeth is evocative of Renaissance depictions of hell, which is just her point: war is indeed hell, a hell made more terrible by the forms it has assumed under conditions of modernity. One cannot but be reminded as well of Goya’s extended treatment of this theme in his series of 82 prints, The Disasters of War (1810-1820) of which Kollwitz was doubtless aware. And like Goya’s Saturn Devouring His Son (1820-1823), Kollwitz wants to underscore in plates such as the Sacrifice and the Widow II, that war is all-consuming: that it leaves us bereft not only of those who we treasure most in this world but of our humanity itself. Another notable piece is Kollwitz’s first woodcut, In Memoriam Karl Liebknecht (1920) which pays homage to the fallen communist leader who led a failed uprising in Berlin in 1919. Liebknecht was captured and brutally murdered by paramilitary units. His shrouded body lies horizontally across the lower foreground, while mourners gather round in various postures of grief, including a mother and her babe. (The composition resonates with Kollwitz’s virtuosic etching The Downtrodden (1900) in which a nude and emaciated Christ-like figure is similarly placed stretched across the bottom center foreground.) On the chest of the martyred hero a worker has gently placed his powerful hand, reminding us not only that these are workers who live by manual labor, but that they remain strong, determined and faithful to the truth for which their leader gave his life. Kollwitz’s final print portfolio, Death, was completed between during the years in which Naziism came to power and they can certainly be seen as a premonition of the horrors that awaited Europe – but the three crayon lithographs on display are also a testament to a lifelong need to confront the reality of the end, the finality of death; which, in one of the most harrowing pictures of the exhibition is personified as a gaunt figure seen from above as it clutches at several children cowering in terror. One child can be seen from behind darting away left. That will to life stands in some contrast to the Call of Death (1937) in which we see Death coming for Kollwitz herself: only its hand is visible as it reaches for her shoulder, while she, seated seems to be turning to face it: all fear has gone and only resignation remains. This is a woman who has spent her life peering into the darkness, in giving voice to the voiceless, in letting suffering speak to the world. In this mesmerizing work she seems ready at last to leave behind this vale of tears.
*Sam Ben-Meir is a professor of philosophy and world religions at Mercy College in New York City.

The Käthe Kollwitz exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art is a reminder of why art exists

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