Surana was in the heart of the cosmopolitan city of Bangalore, unlike most of our previous excursions which have been in the remotest corners of the states from Puthoor in Kerala to Purnea in Bihar or even Boko in Assam. Even so, we were apprised of the unique challenges the private technical institutes faced in the bustling modern city.

Before the actual session we normally have an informal chit-chat with the dean or person incharge of managing the institute to get oriented to the culture of the college in particular and the state/city at large. At Surana we interacted with the chair of the student council Dr Chandana who introduced us to the principal Dr Kumar. Through our conversation Dr Kumar apprised us of the high fees levied by the private technical institutes in the region, which in some cases has led girl students into the trap of sexual favors. On being asked if the same has been reported or a any data available, he shared while no formal complaints have been filed so far but the the social media is rampant with such allegations. A casual search on the net reveals many instances of sexual favors being asked of students for marks in private universities in Karnataka.

The session itself was attended by over 350 students in their beautiful designed cedar wood finished auditorium in the basement. The energy was high after the ‘tech check’ of the sound system was done by presumambly beat boxing!

Each session, as Vanshika (The coordinator of all these sessions on behalf of JOSH TALKS for TVS Raider) and I mused, seems to have its own trajectory mapping the mood of the audience. While we cover all the essential points but the communication adapts itself to each college, city and state we’ve visited so far. While the medium remains Hindi and English, and the media a presentation and a few videos, my extempore interaction changes with each session with inputs from the previous workshops, some personal anecdotes and a gentle push for the students to contribute through their experiences as well.

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 preferred dates at suparnaa@simplysuparnaa.com.

Links for further study

To read about the Vizag Chapter click here>>

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) you must watch the annual event recognising the GOOD work across India. While the

The post Karnataka I Stand up for what’s Right appeared first on Woman Endangered.

One would imagine regions predominantly matrilineal in social construct to be safer for women. This myth was broken. Both in Assam and now here in Kerala. We were apprised of an incident in the neighboring school where young girls on a school picnic, complained to the school authorities of being molested by the bus driver/helpers who were inebriated. The school authorities in turn accused the girls of blowing things out of proportion and threatened to spoil their future course as they were ready to sit for the final exams. The parents too backed off scared of the consequences including shame that may be brought upon the girls. This made me understand the root of the lack of trust which essentially starts from our first point of contact which may be the family, school, society or institution. The further the point of contact with authority is perceived, the added increased in lack of trust it generates. Delayed redressal and justice (if at all) further compound the hesitation in reporting a crime let alone seeking justice through authorities. No wonder the percentage of reported crime is abysmally low (Only 86% through an estimate of crimes seem to get reported). In this case, the first point of contact was represented by the family and then the school. And with the complete apathy of the school for even acknowledging the crime let alone the redressal had left the students clueless about the further course of action.

Organisations working with abuse survivors or NGOs offering families support have an important role to play in bridging this gap. While there are some national-level support groups (Sheroes offers online counselling through their app) and government-aided helplines, identifying NGOs at the regional level can be a huge support. Unless the survivors and their families find the courage and trust to report such crimes, the perpetrators will get emboldened and continue to commit these in future.

Justice can only be delivered if the crime is reported first, I can’t lay enough stress on this. My conversation with IPS Chhaya Sharma earlier documents the step-by-step course of action in case of a heinous crime (or any crime for that matter) and the first step is to report it. We as a society will need to overcome this trust deficit which starts at the level of the family, school, institution and so on. I believe in the law of the land and in officers like Chhaya Sharma. Despite a very public media trial she caught Nirbhayas perpetrators and helped deliver justice through an episode that shook not just the city but the whole country. It also triggered the much-needed change in laws with the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013 .

The sessions to motivate standing up for what’s right have been fulfilling at many levels for me personally. We have travelled extensively across different state universities in India. We’ve conducted sessions with the youth from Maharashtra (Pune), Uttar Pradesh (Kanpur & Prayagraj), Bihar (Purnea), West Bengal (Kolkatta), Boko (Assam), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and now Puthoor in Kerala.

We reached Trivandrum on 16th October and made most of the day exploring the sites and sounds of the city including the beautiful backwaters of Pavoor.

Vanshika (Josh Talks intern who flawlessly organises these sessions and coordinates with colleges) and I reached Sree Budha college the next day after a 3-hour road trip. The idea is to be able to reach the remotest corners of the country, addressing the youth that is left bereft of important sessions like these. We were given a tour of the Sree Budha College of Engineering campus which sits in a beautiful locale next to the Karingalichal Lake. The college itself was established in 2002 and was initially known to be the Abdul Kalam Technological University. Besides others, it also offers Artificial Intelligence as an engineering degree.

The principal Dr. Krishna Kumar had, quite literally, a birdseye view of the campus with multiple CCTV screens in his office. Its the first thing I noticed as we were ushered in before the session by the department head of civil engineering, Dr Gauri Antharajanam. Sree Budha College has about 1000 students, most of whom are day scholars coming from neighbouring places. After the initial formalities with the faculty we approached to address around 400 of them in a semi-open auditorium.

The session was well received (even though the boys and girls sat segregated in the auditorium- my remark questioning why drew an energetic applause evidently resonating the students mindsets as well). And so we started the hourlong session on awareness, prevention & eradication of violence agaist women. Post which the incident at the neighbouring school was discussed including details on the plausible course of action.

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. We have been traveling extensively to conduct sessions to combat violence against women. These interactions aim to proactively affect real change by targeting the youth of the country, equipping them with the necessary information & tools, and most importantly motivating them to stand for what’s right. 

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 Vizag Chapter click here>>

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 Puthoor Kerala Chapter I Combating Violence against women appeared first on Woman Endangered.

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.