An independent forum for scholarly discourse on gender, law, and policy.
Placing on Record exists to examine legislation, judicial developments, and policy frameworks through a gender-sensitive lens — carefully, in public, and on the record.
Why this platform
Gender runs through law and policy whether or not it is named. A statute drafted in neutral terms can distribute its burdens unevenly; a judgment can settle a doctrine while leaving the people it concerns unheard. This platform reads for those effects — closely, and without assuming the answer in advance.
It is independent and non-partisan. The aim is not advocacy but rigour: arguments that hold up, claims that are sourced, and disagreement conducted in good faith.
What we cover
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Legislation
Statutes, amendments, and the drafting choices that decide who the law protects.
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Judicial Developments
Verdicts, referrals, and the reasoning that shapes how rights are read.
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Policy Frameworks
Schemes, guidelines, and the institutional design behind them.
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Guest Blogs
Contributions from students, practitioners, and researchers beyond these three.
“I started Placing on Record as a law student because the conversations I valued most — about how gender lives inside the letter of the law — too often happened in the margins. This is an attempt to move them onto the page, and to keep them there.”
Aanya Mehrotra
Founding editor · B.A. LL.B. (Hons.), HNLU · Class of 2027
How we work
Sourced and specific
Every claim is tied to a statute, a judgment, or a document a reader can check.
Argument over assertion
Pieces make a case and engage the strongest version of the other side.
Open to many voices
Students and senior practitioners are read by the same standard.
Write for Placing on Record.
We read pitches and full drafts on a rolling basis from students, practitioners, and researchers. Guest pieces need not fall within our three core sections.