The Consortium of Pub-Going, Loose & Forward Women

There’s a high probability that you heard about the ‘Pink Chaddi Campaign’ back in 2009. With the kind of media attention and stir it caused among women of all ages in cities both big and small across the country, it was hard to miss. In a nutshell, it was a non-violent protest in retaliation to an act of moral policing that took place against a group of women at a Mangalore pub and to a threat issued by a Hindu orthodox right wing group.

The Consortium of Pub-Going, Loose and Forward Women, a group founded by Nisha Susan was started and she along with a couple of other young women launched the Pink Chaddi Campaign.  They solicited women from all over the country to send in a pair of pink chaddis which would be delivered to the office of the head of the right wing party. On Valentine’s Day, as promised, 500 pairs of pink undergarments were couriered by Susan and her group. News reports state that many more couriers were also sent directly to the party office by volunteers, groups and individual women from across India.

At its peak the group had over 30,000 members on Facebook (the account was subsequently hacked and vandalized.) The campaign got covered by every leading news channel, daily and was even picked up by the international press. It was blogged about, spoken about and debated on by women and men across age groups and social strata’s.  Nisha Susan had stirred the people.

This is the power that one woman exercised. She rallied the college girls, the house wives and even some upstanding men to come together in protest against an injustice. She had the attention of a nation and a critical mass behind her. She caused a change and she is just one individual woman, imagine what the 49% can accomplish.

A Bangalore Girl’s Cinderella Story

I’ve lived my entire life in the Garden City. I’ve watched it grow beyond its girth, seen it become a melting pot of cultures by an influx of people from other states, marveled at the IT boom and witnessed the slow and painful death of date night, dancing and a sense of security.

Ten years ago I could walk down almost any street in my city and feel safe. I could wear a pair of shorts and not be uncomfortable. I could do a late night coffee date. Five years ago, I could hit a club with my friend and go dancing. I could watch a live music performance and I could throw a house party that went on interrupted till 3.00 am. That was 2008, the year Bangalore started making national headlines and being the butt of many jokes for the enactment of some archaic law and the ban on dancing.

It might seem superficial that I complain about the death of my social life, but it’s so much more. As a working woman, I pay my taxes and I’ve never broken the law barring the odd parking ticket. Why then should I be afraid to drive home late at night or encounter the cops? Why should the state government get to decide that I can’t go out anywhere past 11.00pm, because the city shuts down and why do I have to put up with these senseless rules and laws about ‘no dancing’ or ‘no music past 10.00pm’?

I’ll tell you why… It’s because I didn’t and have never voted. I didn’t exercise my fundamental right to vote for the party in power in my state, so now I don’t get the right to complain. I thought ‘what difference will it make if I vote? Like one or a few votes by city girls like me is going to make a difference?’. Maybe it won’t, but what if every Bangalore girl showed up at the polling booths at the next election? We may not be enough to topple a government, but collectively we will be enough to get noticed… and that’s a start. 

Yes, there are larger more meaningful issues that this city, state and country has to grapple with, but the simple truth is every one of us, as an individual, votes for the person or party that best promised to fix the problem most painful to us. It could be taxes, infrastructure, educational reform or agricultural benefits, to us Bangalore girls, its wanting to feel safe and to be able to have a late night dinner again.

Women For Women

In Ahmedabad resides a trade union with a difference. The Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) is an organisation of self-employed women workers from across the country that acknowledges and addresses the needs of income, food and social security of those women who earn a living through casual labour or small, unregistered businesses.

Over 94% of the female workforce in India is in the unorganised sector. This means that their contribution is considered all but non-existent and that there is a glaring indifference towards their needs, insecurities and even towards their very identities.

SEWA is working towards filling that void by exercising their two-pronged strategy of Full Employment and Self-Reliance. Their services to those women who work in the unorganised sector include supportive ones such as savings and credit accounts, health care, child care, insurance, legal aid, capacity building and communication services. These are provided at the doorstep of the women in a decentralised and affordable manner. Further, these supportive services are, in themselves, a source of self-employment. For example, midwives charge for their services and crèche workers collect fees for taking care of young children.

At SEWA, the belief in the Power of 49 in terms of the woman’s role in society is inherent. Women are considered the determinants of culture, values, and plausibly, of the future of the nation. The clarity of thought in SEWA’s objectives and the team’s single-mindedness towards achieving them is truly an example of the power that the women of this country possess.

Read more about SEWA at http://www.sewa.org

What Do Women Want?

There are questions and then there is THE question – ‘What do women want?’

Stereotypical notions have been attached to this question; that women DON’T KNOW what they want. That they are confused because they perennially changing their minds. That they might think that they know what they want, but in reality, they don’t.

Multiple methods have been tried to arrive at the answer. Women have been quizzed, surveys have been conducted, psychologists have been summoned, books have been written, debates have been held, movies made – the list is endless.

But one method to discover what she REALLY wants seems to have slipped through the cracks; no one has ever tried hard enough to get her to VOTE.

Surprising, you may say? Think about it.

Ask a woman what she really needs. She will respond by first telling you that she can find a job, buy a car or own a home all by herself, she knows how. But working in an office that has no Sexual Harassment Cell makes her vulnerable. Driving that car that she owns puts her at risk if it’s late at night on a deserted stretch. Getting permits to own that home means doing under the table deals. So what she really needs is a system and a government that is accountable to and works in the best interest of her.

When you’re done asking a woman the big question, lead her to the answer, if she hasn’t arrived at it herself. Then ask if she wants to continue as though these are matters that need not be discussed. Ask her how much she really cares, as a woman, about the other women in her life… her mother, daughter, sister, friend, female colleague or even her house-hold help.

Ask every woman you know and then ask them to vote.

Because when all the women who constitute 49% of the vote bank in India go out and exercise that right, the question will be answered and all of us will know exactly what women really want.

The Primary Fix-It

When there is a short circuit in your home - you call an electrician

When you have a leaking faucet - you call a plumber

When you need new book shelf - you call a carpenter

When you feel unsafe in your own neighbourhood because the street lights don't work - what do you do?

You VOTE!

As a woman you are part of 49% of India’s voters. Yet, in spite of being part of such an immense voting block that could potentially play a huge role in India’s democracy, you remain oblivious of your power…the power of your vote!

If women’s safety and empowerment are issues that the country has been grappling with for some time now, why aren’t you, the woman, fighting for the solutions by leveraging your vote?

49% of the voting base is not just an influential mass. It’s one percent short of half of the total number of registered voters in this country. It’s enough to topple a government.

Think about this the next time you hesitate to walk down an unlit or unsafe area because it’s time to give YOUR VOTE the chance it deserves!

Waging a WARR

How many times have you been eve-teased, subjected to lewd name calling or been groped in trains or railway stations? How many times have you just stood there helpless and ashamed? WARR (War Against Railway Rowdies), a crowd-sourced initiative in Mumbai, is now coming to the rescue of distressed female commuters.

Who is WARR

A small group of about six young people from Mumbai initiated a crowd sourced movement and called it ‘War Against Railway Rowdies’. Dipesh Tank, a young media professional and one of the WARR founders, says that this is a movement by common people.

The WARR is on

Operating with hidden cameras and co-ordinating with Railway Police authorities, WARR volunteers are bringing ‘Railway Romeos’ in Mumbai back on the ‘decent’ track by catching them red-handed and detaining them.

Tank echoes our concerns: “Every time we catch a sexual offender, we’re catching a potential rapist.”

WARR capture the culprits yet avoid public shaming. They sent letters to senior railway officials about the gangs they encountered. Fortunately, Andheri railway police reassured them that an alert had been issued against rowdies.

Survey shows Sleaze in Mumbai Rails

In the very week the Shakti Mills gangrape of a photojournalist rocked Mumbai, WARR volunteers held a survey amongst 481 women at Malad, a busy railway station in the western suburbs. The results were shocking to say the least.

The "lifeline of Mumbai", ferrying over 72 lakh commuters to and fro daily - the Mumbai railways are a nightmare for women, going by the survey results. Over 84% women have admitted to encountering eve-teasing/sexual harassment at Malad railway station every single day. Consequently, over 82% women fear harassment at railway platforms.

WARR Speaks Out

“The worry isn’t that there are sexual offenders in the trains. The worry is when the rest of us choose to keep quiet. The journey of WARR hasn’t been easy. We have borrowed laptops, cameras etc. to help the Railway Police gather evidence in nabbing the culprits. We want to unite people who feel helpless but want to change the situation,” says Tank.

A small group of young people in Mumbai are keeping a strict check on sexual misbehaviour in the railway stations. If such a small group can make waves in the lifeline of Mumbai, imagine what the Power of 49 can achieve. Get together. Get aware. Make an informed choice.

Push the Pin on Unsafe Public Transport

WARR is planning to extend their drives to other railway stations in Mumbai. Help WARR identify unsafe spots in Mumbai. Push the Pin on unsafe public transport here

WARR is currently in need of volunteers. Help them make public transport in Mumbai safer. Connect with them on https://www.facebook.com/waragainstrailwayrowdies

You can share your opinions and help create a better movement. Fill up their survey here: http://bit.ly/1faP6Sy

Lesson Learnt in Time

A WARR volunteer along with a railway commuter caught this young man harassing railway commuters, specifically women from Malad to Bandra. At Bandra, he was confronted and then handed over to Dadar GRP police. Even you can catch train hooligans by calling GRP on 98-33-331111

Cleaning up India: The Ugly Indian

What do you call a group of anonymous citizens who come together in a city and clean up dirty streets by themselves?

They are called The Ugly Indians.

"Want to change the world? Start with your own street," believe The Ugly Indians.

Who is the Ugly Indian

They are a group of people who believe that together, they can make their city a cleaner place – and they set out to achieve just that.

Footpaths with litter strewn on them, open dumpyards, etc. are literally washed clean with the help of citizens and municipality staff; at times, even passersbys join in to help. The result - clean streets with manicured lawns make way for what was previously a heap of filth. Hand-painted walls with pretty designs replace the foul stench of the past. People, both young and old, literally lend a hand in these clean-up drives.

The group refuses to depend and blame civic bodies and maintain that people need to take responsibility for the cleanliness and maintenance of their localities.

Watch how they transformed a locale in Bangalore with their motto: "Kaam Chalu – Mooh Bandh!"

How The Ugly Indians came together

Their clean up drives are an inspiration to many, and TUI is an offshoot of Whitefield rising, We Care for Malleswaram etc. and other such local civic communities engaged in cleaning up their neighbourhood. Based on the success of TUI in Bangalore, Ludhiana and Bhopal have also begun their own citizen's clean up drives, as can be seen on The Ugly Indian Facebook page. They have already cleaned up well over a 100 spots in Bangalore.

Power of the Common Man

If a voluntary group of citizens can come together and help beautify and clean cities, imagine what the Power of 49 can do - 49% of the country’s voter base can get together and help clean up the system!

Get together. Get aware. Make an informed choice.

Push the Pin

Come forward and do your bit - Push the Pin on bad roads, unclean public toilets and other sanitation and infrastructural concerns in your neighbourhoods here.

From Farmer to CEO: A Mother's Tale

An agricultural labourer from Warangal is today the CEO of a multi-million dollar software company in the US. Jyothi Reddy recounts her inspiring journey

A painful and short-lived childhood

Jyothi lost her mother at a young age. Thereafter her father lost his job in the military during the Emergency, and placed her in an orphanage.

Owing to her poor background, her family got her married early. By the tender age of 18, she was a mother to two daughters. From 1986 – 1989, she worked as a labourer in the fields for 5 Rs. a day.

A young mother’s struggle for her daughters

Incidentally the opening of a night school ended her labourer’s hardship. Since she was the only educated woman in her village, she was hired as an educational trainer for 150 Rs. a month.

"At that time 150 Rs. meant a lot to me. I could buy milk and fruits for my kids," Reddy says.

Working in the education sector, she realized the importance of education and went on to pursue graduation and post-graduation. With a B.ED degree, she started working as a government teacher, much to the disapproval of her husband.

After working laboriously on many odd jobs, a chance meeting with a cousin from US stirred up dreams in her for her children. She worked hard to save up money for a passport and visa, and learnt how to use computers. After six rejected attempts, she finally procured a visiting visa and flew out to the US in 2000.

Jyothi Reddy in the Red Saree - back in 1990, when she was earning about 150 Rs. a month.

Turning her life around – United States

Working alone in an alien country, after years of juggling between jobs and saving every penny, she managed to get her US visa sorted. Eventually she started her own IT company despite the challenges and the turnover of her company reportedly stands at $5 million today.

Her daughters are engineering graduates and both are married and settled in the US.

1986 with Fear and Confusion...2012 with Courage and Confidence.

Giving back ten-fold to her homeland

Perhaps through philanthropy she found a way to give back to her homeland. She is not just an inspiration to the people back in her village, she is their guardian angel.

Reddy has given much more to the society than what they could give her. Sponsoring orphanages, old age homes, homes for the mentally challenged, supporting education of children in downtrodden villages and also sponsoring many weddings among the poor have fast turned her into the people's saviour.

Revisiting her elders - singing and rejoicing with those that taught her how to work in the fields in Mailaram, Andhra Pradesh.

100 birthdays with Reddy

"I have dedicated my birthday for the orphan girl child in India. Every year I celebrate almost a 100 kids' birthdays on my birthday – and buy new clothes and cakes to each individual in my village".

Offering Solace to Women

The hard life a woman endures in India may be close to her heart. Perhaps that is the reason she has worked closely with women and enabled them to stand on their own feet. "I have travelled across rural areas in Andhra Pradesh and worked with women's groups on education and employment. I want to enable women to face problems from society and want to show them how to live independently."

She worries that many women in rural villages are dependent on their parents or husbands. She is currently formulating an intensive programme that will train women between the ages of 18-35 years on various employable skills that will provide an opportunity for them to work.

Women should Vote!

On a closing note, she stresses that women should take part in elections by casting their votes. She says: "Politics affects us, be it any sphere of our lives. Women are treated as secondary in society and many problems arise. We can change that slowly – we have to recognise that as women, it is very important to take an active role in elections."

Women's safety in India: a crumbling illusion

I was 12 years old when I was first sexually assaulted. I was walking down the street and a man on a bike came and slapped my chest. I came home crying and told my mother about it. She told me, "I was dreading the day you would face this…"

Every single day single women, young girls, mothers and women from all walks of life are being assaulted, molested, and violated. The streets, public transport, public spaces in particular have become the territory of the hunters. While the ones already hunted down weep in silence or in disdain, the rest fight their way to a basic life with dignity.

There is an unspoken war on the streets. Young school and college going girls use books to shield themselves, other women wear full-covered attire to protect their bodies, and others avoid the mere glance of the roving gaze.

Is 2014 going to be any different for women in India?

We don't need to look at statistics to confront the horrid truth. News stories of women from all over India being raped, beaten, killed are flashed across us day after day – and we all are aware of it. The fatal Nirbhaya gang-rape saw an outpouring on the streets of Delhi – protests decrying the fragile status of women in India. Candle light marches, editorials examining the patriarchal and sexist traditions of our country, an awakening on social media – even conversations on streets revolve around the night they cannot forget: the night that took Nirbhaya.

Push the Pin and reclaim your right to safety

On Push the Pin site, an application that is compiling a nation-wide database of problems addressing women’s issues – there's been a flurry of activity.

The data is speaking for itself. It is confirming that everyday women are dealing with harassment from mild to extreme forms on our streets. How long will this menace go on for? What are we supposed to do about it?

With limited options in our hands, and with time fast flying us by, the onus is on us to wake up and do whatever it takes. 49% of India’s registered voters are women, and the Power of 49 together needs to demand a tougher India, yet an India that is sensitive to women. Women’s issues need to be pushed in every lobby until the leaders have no choice but to yield and take a hold on the crisis that looms across every street and every corner of India today.

Push the Pins now on issues that matter to you, we will make sure your voice is heard by those that matter.

This is the time we own up to ourselves. We stand by each other. Tall and proud. Brave and unfazed. This is the time we own up to India. No more Harassment. We want what we deserve - for us and for our daughters – a safer India for women.

5 things women in India need

5 things women in India need: an acid attack survivor speaks out

Eight years ago, a 15-year-old adolescent girl was brutally attacked with acid at a crowded market in Delhi. Today Laxmi SAA has finally taken the decision to come out of her veil. Laxmi is now the face of Stop Acid Attacks, a campaign touring India to educate and sensitise people about the abuse and life-long torment of acid attack survivors.

Today, women in India are asking for change, more than ever. Laxmi speaks to Jaagore on behalf of all women in India.What are the five things that the women of India need today? Read on to know her views.

Laxmi SAA: Acid Attack Survivor

Laxmi's voice is echoed amongst a million women in India today. What Laxmi wants, is what every woman needs. Are we waiting for another Laxmi to come forward to make us realise the urgency of things? In July, the Supreme Court, with reference to acid attacks stated, "Girls are being attacked every day in different parts of the country."

Use the Power of 49 before it’s too late. Come together and demand a safer country for our women. A brave and defiant woman, Laxmi SAA is standing with you in solidarity.