Vizag as the Britishers coined it for lack of the ability to pronounce Vishakhapatnam, was the port town that gave access through the east coast to the wonder called India. We reached Vizag on the evening of September 10th for the session planned the next day at Gitam deemed university.

Early the next morning we planned to go towards the beach before setting out for the session. The Ramakrishna beach was some 4km from the hotel and we decided to walk in the light drizzle to build an appetite before breakfast. I was pleasantly surprised by the roads winding up and down the hilly terrain. It is indeed beautiful to trek down the road that opens up beautifully to the wide expanse of the east coast. Vishakhapatnam is beautiful. We were mesmerised by the pull of the Bay of Bengal. Ill-prepared as we were to experience her in all her glory, we were taken aback by her ferocity. With the waves hitting the shores akin to lightning, the Bay of Bengal was raging. We retreated soon enough and enjoyed her unremitting waves from a distance.

It was only later that we discovered the Bay of Bengal as experienced through the east of India rages all through the coastlines from Vishakhapatnam to Orissa. Unlike the sea on the west coast of India which allows swimmers to enjoy diving or playing a sport. All sports and even swimming close to the coastline are discouraged on this side where there have been many fatal incidents without so much as a trace left behind. That said the coastline is gorgeous. We thoroughly enjoyed our drive winding up the hill with the ocean as the view opened up to the horizon.

The session itself was scheduled for 4 pm. Gitam university’s 110-acre campus sits beautifully atop a hill overlooking the ocean. And if you happen to be there in the evening the air is rent with a spiritual fervour with the sounds of the Aarti performed in the adjoining Sri Venkateshwar temple aarti.

We, Vanshika (Josh Talks intern who flawlessly organises these sessions coordinating with colleges) and I were given an extensive tour of the campus. The university boasts 12 ‘Bhavans’ each of which is a dedicated college to a specific stream from sciences, liberal arts and so on.

Combating violence against women is a subject very close to my heart and to get such an opportunity to be able to conduct these sessions, I remain grateful to JOSH TALKS and TVS Radar. for conducting These pertinent sessions aim to proactively affect real change targeting the youth of the country, equipping them with the necessary information & tools and most importantly motivate to stand for what’s right.

The session was attended by 200 plus students including both girls and boys. I realised just like in Chennai, here too the students were shy to come out and speak openly. But soon enough as the session ended I had young girls approach me with their individual experiences, resonating with the need for such sessions. A simple decision of being on the organising committee for the football club had questions raised on the intention of the girl, shared a student. And not from boys but other female students. These unconscious biases affect women as much as they do men is an undeniable fact. While the said concern may seem trivial but it reflects the deeply ingrained biases which may play out not so trivially moving on. And hence the need for all genders to be aware and mindful of their intention, choices and actions.

We were also lucky to experience an almost full moon rise on the drive after our session.

If you would like to have us conduct this 90-minute session in your college or company just drop us a mail with the details of the institution and the prefered dates at suparnaa@simplysuparnaa.com.

Links for further study

To read about the Chennai Chapter click here>>

To read about the Prayagraj Chapter click here>>

To read about Assam Chapter click here>>

To read about Kolkatta Chapter click here>>

To read about the Kanpur Chapter click here>>

To read about the Purnea, Bihar Chapter click here>>

To read about the Pune experience click here>>

To know more about the online session experience read here >>

PS: if you stand for what is right – team SABERA (Annual Awards and Summit by the  Simply Suparnaa © Media Network) jury is looking for you Register here>>

The post Vizag Chapter I Combating Violence against women appeared first on Woman Endangered.

The sessions on standing up for what’s right and combating violence against women have had us travel extensively across different state universities in India. After successfully conducting sessions with the youth from Maharashtra (Pune), Uttar Pradesh (Kanpur & Prayagraj), Bihar (Purnea), West Bengal (Kolkatta) and Boko (Assam) we reached Chennai on 21st September. A beautiful sculpture of Devi Ma welcomed us at the airport and the resolve to visit Kanchipuram Shaktipeeth to offer our gratitude to her for being able to do this work became stronger.

My gratitude also for the opportunity to both JOSH TALKS and TVS Radar, for conducting these sessions. Vanshika (Interning with JOSH TALKS ) continues to manage and coordinate with the colleges ensuring all goes smoothly. She also adds the much-needed perspective of a student (of sociology) herself which further connects with the audience we are addressing.

The SRM UNIVERSITY has a large campus that can qualify as a small town itself. It houses Asia’s largest library and offers all undergraduate and post-graduate courses barring marine engineering and Veterinarian sciences, as I was informed by the dean of Management Studies, Dr Subhashree Natrajan.

Interaction with the faculty before the actual session always orients us to the cultural and regional nuances that the students are exposed to. The students are conservative here, the dean apprised me. But violence and discrimination are rampant. While the campus itself is safe, I was told of an incident that happened on the campus by an outsider who beat up a girl! The student had not complained as it was something she had, alarming, grown to accept. While other cities across Tamil Nadu also experience gender-based violence, Coimbatore, in particular, is notorious on this front, shared the dean.

The session was attended by 300 plus students including both girls and boys. I realised soon enough what the Dean had prepared me for, the students were indeed shy. However, while they were distracted, to begin with, the faculty including Dr Sriram M stood testimony to the rapt attention and pin drop silence throughout the 90-minute session. Dr Sriram over lunch (at the hotel management wing) later, vouched to include gender sensitivity in his teaching or at least orient it such that the students felt comfortable to confide in the faculty with any issues relating to the same.

The sun is definitely harsh in the afternoon in Chennai, but that didn’t dampen our spirits to visit Kanchipuram after the session. Vanshika (A young student intern with Josh Talks) and I tried booking a cab through the app and realised soon enough that most cabbies solicit passengers using the app but negotiate later for a higher price and cash payment. This seemed to be an unwritten norm given the huge transaction fees the apps charged and the high diesel prices as explained by our cabbie en route to Kanchipuram, Kamakshi ShaktiPeeth.

The Shaktipeeth are 51 places across the country where different parts of Devi Ma’s energies are revered as the mother and creator of the universe. Given our 3rd consecutive visit to her Shaktipeeth, we are blessed in gratitude for her to choose us for this work to make for a safe and peaceful world for all.

If you would like to have us conduct this 90-minute session in your college or company just drop us a mail with the details of the institution and the prefered dates at suparnaa@simplysuparnaa.com.

Links for further study

To read about the Prayagraj Chapter click here>>

To read about Assam Chapter click here>>

To read about Kolkatta Chapter click here>>

To read about the Kanpur Chapter click here>>

To read about the Purnea, Bihar Chapter click here>>

To read about the Pune experience click here>>

To know more about the online session experience read here >>

PS: if you stand for what is right – team SABERA (Annual Awards and Summit by the  Simply Suparnaa © Media Network) jury is looking for you Register here>>

The post Combat gender-based violence I Chennai Chapter appeared first on Woman Endangered.

Shakti continues to be our guiding force, it was but natural for us to pay our obeisance to her in Kamakhya as soon as we landed in Guwahati. Being a Shakti (energy) devout, it was my long-standing desire to visit Kamakhya Devi which was fulfilled thanks to the sessions that are taking us across the remotest corners of the country.

Grateful for the opportunity to both JOSH TALKS and TVS Radar, for conducting these sessions. Vanshika (Interning with JOSH TALKS is a bright student of sociology and diligently manages all coordination for this project) and I are grasping the sights, sounds and cuisines of the beauty that our country holds across its length and breadth. The cherry on this particular trip was the view of the majestic Himalayan peak of Mount Everest on the flight!

Boko is a tribal belt in Assam, a couple of hours on road from Guwahati. The road winds through virgin forests, sparse native dwellings and paddy fields. The Brahmaputra flows in its full glory along these roads and our cab driver further entertained us with Assamese popular songs.

We were pleasantly greeted by a large banner announcing our session at the Jawaharlal Nehru college premises and were promptly escorted to the Dean, Mr Tapan Dutta’s office by the student coordinators. Here we also exchanged notes with the head of the Gender equity cell and the Vice Principal. While they shared the unique challenges of the state including witch hunting (!), I increasingly became aware of the different dialects and felt uncertain if the students would be able to grasp all that we had come to share. My apprehensions grew stronger as we were apprised that the majority of students were from the different tribes of the region including Rabha, Karbi, Garo, Hajhong, Bodo and Damaso just to name a few.

I was requested to go slow and speak predominantly in Hindi (am sure I breathed a sigh of relief at this point) as the students were well versed in Hindi, English and Assamese.

300 students from undergraduate and postgraduate courses attended with an equal number of attendees from both genders. The principal’s endeavour is to include other genders in the near future as well.

While the internet played truant so did the AV equipment but speaking from the heart didn’t require much beyond an honest intent to connect in spite of all stumbling blocks. The testimony to these sessions is the interaction of students. The faculty are often amazed at the honesty with which the students ask questions and share extremely personal anecdotes. So was the case that morning in Boko. We managed to create a safe space for students like Abantika to ask a question that had never been satisfactorily addressed by anyone in the past. Not even by her mother.

After a traditional Assamese thali in the canteen with the faculty, which comprised of the staple rice, Moong daal, and different vegetables (we had requested a vegetarian meal), it was time to head to the airport. Vanshika and I bid adieu to the college taking with us a host of gifts including the traditional Jappi, a headgear worn by farmers in the field, a stole woven by the Rabha tribe and Gamuchha with traditional motifs (similar to the one in Bihar). It was time for us to head home after another fulfilling session.

These sessions are a part of the marketing initiative of TVS Radar that JOSH TALKS is helping conduct through the help of their network with educational institutes across states that are the target segment for TVS.

If you would like to have us conduct this 90-minute session in your college or company just drop us a mail with the details of the institution and the prefered dates at suparnaa@simplysuparnaa.com.

Links for further study

To read about the Kanpur Chapter click here>>

To read about the Purnea, Bihar Chapter click here>>

To read about the Pune experience click here>>

To know more about the online session experience read here >>

PS: if you stand for what is right – team SABERA (Annual Awards and Summit by the  Simply Suparnaa © Media Network) jury is looking for you Register here>>

To support our initiative Woman Endangered contribute here.

The post Standup for what’s Right I Combat violence against women I Assam Chapter appeared first on Woman Endangered.

Universal suffrage may not yet be universal across the world but any idea challenging or opposing it, shall, without the slightest doubt, be uproariously decried, not by the women organizations or activists but universally, or almost. India on her freedom was fortunate that such a right for women to vote was enshrined in the Constitution and has been scrupulously practiced, without opposition or reservation. But most countries in the world had to struggle to realize this right that seems so naturally available to us. Even Britain, whose legacy is writ large on and has deeply impacted every institution of consequence in our country, has a record of long, sustained, and often bitter struggle to get it for her women. And one person whose determined and untiring struggle could make it possible was born this date 163 years ago.  

The Radical Thinker

Emmeline Pankhurst was born Emmeline Goulden, on July 14 in 1858 in Manchester, England in a family of radical thinkers. She was a militant champion of woman suffrage whose 40-year long and often frustrating campaign achieved complete success, ironically in the year of her death. She died in the year 1928 on June 14 at the age of 69. It was the same year when British women obtained full equality in the voting franchise, but only a few months after her death.

In 1879 Emmeline Goulden married Richard Marsden Pankhurst, lawyer, a friend of John Stuart Mill, and author of the first woman suffrage bill in Great Britain (late 1860s) and of the Married Women’s Property Acts (1870, 1882), which allowed women to keep earnings or property acquired before and after marriage. Her husband had a deep impact on her thinking and significantly shaped and refined her approach to the causes she took to heart. His death in 1898 causing her great stress and disorientation as she lost her strongest pillar of support.

Her first foray into organized protests was through the Women’s Franchise League, which she formed in 1889. Her first major success came when she secured for married women the right to vote in elections to local offices (not to the House of Commons) in 1894. From 1895 she held a succession of municipal offices in Manchester, but her energies were increasingly in demand by the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU), which she founded in 1903 in Manchester. The union first attracted wide attention on October 13, 1905, when two of its members, Christabel Pankhurst (her own daughter) and Annie Kenney, thrown out of a Liberal Party meeting for demanding a statement about votes for women, were arrested in the street for a technical assault on the police and, after refusing to pay fines, were sent to prison. WSPS gained much notoriety for its activities and its members were the first to be christened ‘suffragettes’. Such was the underlying passion of their conviction that in 1913, WSPU member Emily Davison was killed when she threw herself under the king’s horse at the Derby as a protest at the government’s continued failure to grant women the right to vote. British politicians, the press, and the public were astonished by the demonstrations, window-smashing, arson, and hunger strikes of the suffragettes. It was then that Emmeline’s description of broken window panes as “The argument of the broken window pane is the most valuable argument in modern politics.” caught the public fancy.

The Maverick

She was a maverick, a path-breaker, a rebel, and a strong-willed and pugnacious personality, who, once committed to a cause, will spare no effort and brook no opposition. She used public demonstrations and acts of militancy to tip public opinion in favor of equal suffrage.  She allowed the movement to turn militant and justified it in the following words,

“The condition of our sex is so deplorable that it is our duty to break the law in order to call attention to the reasons why we do.”

She did not mind going to prison. In fact, she relished the prospect. Between 1908 and 1909 Pankhurst was jailed three times, once for issuing a leaflet calling on the people to “rush the House of Commons.” From July 1912, the WSPU turned to extreme militancy, mainly in the form of arson directed by Christabel, her equally committed daughter from Paris, where she had gone to avoid arrest for conspiracy.

Pankhurst herself was imprisoned, and, under the Prisoners (Temporary Discharge for Ill-Health) Act of 1913, also derogatorily called the “Cat and Mouse Act”, by which hunger-striking prisoners could be freed for a time and then re-incarcerated upon regaining their health to some extent. She was released and rearrested 12 times within a year, serving a total of about 30 days. She was not a great admirer of the judiciary’s role in the dispensation of justice and a quote that ‘Justice and judgment lie often a world apart’ is famously attributed to her.

With the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the suffrage campaign was called off, and the government released all suffragist prisoners.

Pankhurst’s autobiography,’ My Own Story’, appeared in 1914.

During the war, Pankhurst, visited the United States, Canada, and Russia to encourage the industrial mobilization of women. She lived in the United States, Canada, and Bermuda for several years after the war. In 1926, upon returning to England, she was chosen Conservative candidate for an east London constituency, but her health failed before she could be elected.  

In her own lifetime, dividends on her valiant, heroic, and determined efforts began to materialize. In 1918, the Representation of the People Act gave voting rights to women over 30. Emmeline died on 14 June 1928. The Representation of the People Act of 1928, establishing voting equality for men and women(at 21) was passed a few weeks after her death. She must be a happy, contented soul with a gratifying, spontaneous, and generous smile on her otherwise tense and terse clipped face, as she awaited her tryst with the Lord.

The Activist

That Pankhurst as a leading British women’s rights activist, led the movement to win the right for women to vote, is well recognized. But what is her legacy and what must the leaders of women’s movements need to imbibe and implant within their ongoing struggles. Obviously, the contours of challenge and the nature of issues have undergone a transformation, and so have the strategies of protest. A major upshot of securing legal rights for women is to recognize the dichotomy and binary of ‘rich and resourceful’ and ‘poor and resource less’, that has come to divide and stratify the women’s universe with the same pernicious and pervading effect that plagues the society in general. Another formidable challenge is to understand the discrimination and exploitation of women by women themselves.

Emmeline thrust denial of voting rights to British women into the public consciousness. She channelized the public discourse by sheer dint of her conviction and commitment. She believed in ‘deeds and not words’, which so eloquently describes and justifies her often controversial strategies to draw public attention but caused serious concern to authorities. She, singlehandedly, brought the issue of denial of equal voting rights to women to the political fore in an era that was seized with, as most then believed, far weightier and graver challenges.

God is a woman

For her, God was a woman, as she will often say,” Trust in God – She will provide.”

Women have often been neglected as major contributors to the history of the world either through commission or distortion. It’s a delight for us to have taken on the challenge to unearth these overlooked gems and keep relevant the stories of amazing women in history.

The author was the former Information and Broadcasting Secretary, GOI. Mr. Uday Kumar Varma, serves as an esteemed jury member on the SABERA The Social and Business Enterprise Responsible Awards 2021 Jury Board.

You may also like to read our article on Margaret Thatcher

The post Emmeline Pankhurst- right for women to vote appeared first on Woman Endangered.

At a time when women in our country are making Indians proud like DeepaKarmakar, the first female gymnast from India to have made it to the Olympics, and several others who have made it to our collective national consciousness through their courage, hard work and confidence, it makes me pensive and sad about how certain others are coping with their lives. And before you overlook this article as another rant about women’s lib and rights, let me narrate an incident that set me thinking.

My live-in domestic help who I had mistakenly thought would be with me forever left for her village quite suddenly and I was left to cope with a part time help. As I extended her timings and asked her for some extra assistance in the days to come, I was surprised to find that instead of being ecstatic about an increase in her wages, she was excited about that one amenity we all take for granted: a toilet. She knew spending more time at my place meant she could use the spare toilet and much of her misery in life was taken care of. As is clear, she does not have a basic toilet in her small one room house (if we can call it that) and has to go out for defecation. Not only her but her daughters too have to step out of the house at all odd hours for the same.

As I gave her a fresh soap, towel, shampoo her joy knew no bounds and every day she turned out cleaner and happier after her bath. The face that was till then dull and lifeless had taken on a healthy hue. I was amazed to see how much of a difference it made to her confidence.

Why is it that we still have so many people who are denied these basic rights? Although, the Swachhbharatabhiyaan is on in full swing, there are miles to go before we would have covered even half the ground. In 2014-15 , the government managed to build 5.8 million toilets, but the result was quite unexpected. Firstly, many of these were not functional due to lack of water and drainage issues and secondly, rural households were not ready for this lifestyle change. Mere building of toilets would not solve the problem. What is needed is a cultural shift and a change in mindsets of people who have never used toilets since childhood.

Open defecation has been found to have grave consequences. It remains the single largest threat to health and nutrition. It is also a threat to the safety of women. Open defecation can be a source of diarrhoea and other infectious diseases. Sanitation facilities in public places as well as households is the need of the hour. Very recently, I came to know to my utter shock that open defecation also leads to stunting in people. Lack of sanitation is one of the major causes for stunted growth. 62 million children under the age of 5 are stunted in India. Of course, other life-threatening diseases which cause malnutrition are also a fallout of poor sanitation. This brings me back to the topic of hygiene and how important it is for child survival, nutrition and growth.

My maid is just a case in point but there are thousands in India who are not even aware of the benefits of sanitation and hygiene and are living in pathetic conditions without even knowing the importance of hygiene. For women, as expected, things are only worse. Spreading awareness should be the first step, swift and efficient execution should follow to provide a dignified life to each one of us.

Rashi Bisaria

The post This is not a country for women… appeared first on Woman Endangered.

HOCKEY: Slogans like Jassi (Jasjeet) jaisi koi nahi or “Golden girls of hockey,” rent the air as the Indian women’s hockey team beat Japan 1-0 in the finals of the Asia Cup. The win made no difference to their lives. They knew that after the party was over, it would be back to their humdrum lives — travelling by sleeper class, catching a bus to office, arguing with families over marriage plans and struggling to make ends meet with a paltry salary of Rs 5,000. “We are stars for just a day,” says Suman Bala, part of the Indian hockey team. “No one recognises us the moment we are out of the hockey field.” This, from a person who has represented India a dozen times.

Any spin-offs? “A few thousand rupees as salary and a few more as cash reward — hardly sufficient to run a family,” says a player who wanted to remain anonymous, fearing vindictive federation officials.

And that’s the way their life has been. Be it the federation, government or people — support and recognition have always evaded them. Concern too. For these golden girls, the night Bryan Adams crooned Night to remember at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (JNS) here, it truly was a night to remember — they hardly slept amid all the music.

That’s not all. After a hard day’s training, they wake up early to wash clothes. They are kept in dormitories at the stadium while players of visiting foreign teams stay in five-star hotels. However, the secretary of the Indian Women’s Hockey Federation (IWHF), Amrit Bose, maintains that “the girls are more comfortable in the JNS room.” She even tells captain Suraj Lata Devi to “tell this to the press.” Devi obliges. Explains a player, “Many who protested against the high-handedness of the federation have been given the boot. Beggars can’t be choosers.” Is it any wonder then that rather than ask for another shirt for playing, these players prefer to wash the ones they have in the night and iron it the morning?

Jobs: Women hockey players have limited options. Most try to get into the Railways; a few unlucky ones have to be content with a constable’s job. The Railways recruit them as junior clerks; promotions happen in a few years. Few go on to be superintendents. __Travel: What’s the attraction then? Free travel passes. Domestic level players are given second-class sleeper passes while international players get AC passes. “We got them only after we won the Manchester Commonwealth Games gold in 2002,” says Surinder Kaur.

Those who miss this `gravy train’ play on a contract basis for A-I. “Apart from getting a job, there’s no other attraction in playing for India,” admits one player.

Match fees: Guess what they got after winning the Asia Cup? Rs 25,000 each. The men’s hockey team on the other hand was given Rs 1.5 lakh by Sahara India Parivar for the same achievement a few months back. Plus, the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) had promised Rs 1 lakh each. Dhanraj Pillay, for example, is an officer with IA and he’s not even a graduate. The men also endorse products and make money by attending private functions.

Promises to these girls by politicians have been galore. Rarely has the money reached them. For example, out of the Rs 10 lakh promised by Union sports minister Uma Bharti after the Commonwealth Games, only Rs 2.5 lakh has reached them.

Endorsements? “None,” says 16-year-old Jasjeet Kaur, the star of the Asia Cup. “I fail to understand why corporates don’t have faith in our capabilities,” says Devi. No sponsors means lack of funds which means lack of foreign exposure. Net result? No result.

CRICKET: Women cricketers are little known, unlike their glamorous male counterparts. Does anyone remember Mithali Raj’s record feat of 214 runs against England in 2001 — the highest score in women’s Test cricket? Some photo-ops, interviews and felicitations later, she went into oblivion. The captain of the Indian women’s cricket team, Anjum Chopra, says that people’s response, the government’s apathy and the federation’s limitations all add to the misery. “Everyone is indifferent.” she says. Even in a cricket-crazy country like ours. “The sport is the same but the treatment of women is different. However, since the rules of the game are the same, women have to work harder to achieve the high fitness levels. But the revenue is different.”

Jobs: The same as hockey players. Chopra is an exception due to her high qualifications — a post-graduate with an MBA. She’s an officer in the Bank of Punjab and gets a salary of about Rs 15,000. Most women quit cricket because they don’t find a placement. It is after all an expensive and time-consuming sport.

Match fees: When they played a Test and five one-dayers against England recently, the women were given just Rs 7,500 each. Compare this to the men who get nothing less than a lakh. As for endorsements, forget it. Only the kit is sponsored.

Travel: By train unlike the men who fly executive class. “Forget AC or first class. That’s only for players of the Railways. For the rest, it’s the same sleeper class,” says Chopra.

Training: She would love to have someone like Andrew Leipus training their team. “A professional physical trainer would take care of our injuries too.” But she knows that’s a pipe dream. They hardly have much choice in the diet as compared to men cricketers. “We don’t get a variety in juices or food items. We can’t demand it either,” she says.

The scene here? Women footballers try hard to get away from cooking aloo gobhi a la Bend it like Beckham, but ultimately end up doing that only. The story is the same: lack of encouragement, lack of proper planning, funds, foreign exposure, training facilities and job opportunities. They either give up the sport or take up coaching.

The post Indian sportswomen: Still the second sex appeared first on Woman Endangered.