17. ““We kept on fighting, we did not fear anyone,” Bano Bee said. “Even today, we are ready to fight.”

14. Among these activists is Bano Bee — a survivor in her mid-seventies who tried to flee the poison cloud on the night of December 3rd, 1984 and ever since, has been on the frontlines of protest.

11. I met about a dozen women survivors and activists in Bhopal — and heard stories of both immense pain and bold resistance.

9. “Our uteruses are also harmed,” Krishna Bai said. “It has affected us severely.”

8. Families, such as Prem Bai’s, did not know they were consuming and bathing in poisoned water. People, including children born long after the original disaster, began to suffer from cancers such as leukemia, skin problems, and reproductive issues.

5. Ramkali’s eldest son was just two years old at the time of the disaster and grew up with an intellectual disability. In his mid-twenties he wandered from his home and was found in another state seven and half months later. Now, he is confined to the home for his own safety.

“These women are brave and strong,” Luz said. “There is unity among women in sustainable and organic agriculture.

To pay for her hospital bills, Luz’s family was forced to sell their land even as the plantations, just steps from their home, continue to profit.

Luz’s home is surrounded by industrial banana plantations owned by a corporation that on the one hand employs her husband, like many in the community, and on the other, has impacted her family’s health.

Luz — the vice-president of Kababaihang Nagtataglay ng Bihirang Lakas (KNBL) or women with extraordinary strength — shows me around her garden in the district of Tugbok on the Philippine island of Mindanao.

#InternationalWomensDay

A few photos from reporting in the Philippine's far northern Cordillera region. L-R:

- Lolo with little one in Hapid, Lamut.
- Rice paddy and carabao in Lagawe.
- Marceline and Virgi pick starfruit and guava in the hamlet of Olilicon.

Looking at photos from my reporting trip in central India last year (while I procrastinate from writing the actual story) and remembering what a privilege it was to spend time with this group of women — the story will be out in March.