Kiran Manral shares with us the story behind ‘India Helps’ – a group of volunteers who seek to help disaster victims, in their times of need.

By Kiran Manral

It started with the relentless live telecast of the 26/11 terrorism carnage which saw many killed, injured and stricken in Mumbai. The sense of helplessness at the plight of those who had their lives overhauled completely in those few minutes overwhelmed me. The emails and messages flowing back and forth between me and others across the city, the country and the world, led me to post details about those who needed help and act as an interface for people to help them directly.

India Helps was born then. Not as an NGO. But as a hands-on group of people who wanted to reach out directly to disaster victims and offer relief, assistance, hand holding and emotional support until they were able to pick up the shattered pieces of their lives and get on with living, at times without a loved one. And there were those who were injured and had lost their ability to earn a livelihood because of their disabilities. It was tough because no one in the India Helps team had a back ground in social work. It was the combination of a fierce determination to help, to make a difference and the willingness to go out there and visit, get involved with people’s lives that made it work. Also many people who wanted to help but didn’t know whom to approach and how to contribute felt assured that we had ground contact with the victims and knew us all personally.

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Indian woman are familiar with street sexual harassment, a.k.a “eve-teasing.” Meet Hollaback! Chandigarh, part of a global women’s network creating awareness.

By Rubina Singh

I am yet to meet a single woman in India who has not faced street harassment at least once in her life. Since I’ve started working with Hollaback!, I’ve heard numerous stories from women of all ages. Some are funny, some are brave, some are touching and some are downright scary!

Street harassment or eve-teasing is one of the most under-reported gender based crimes in the world. Not only is it most common, but it is also the least legislated against. Street harassment generally refers to unwelcome words and actions by unknown persons in public which are motivated by gender and invade a person’s physical and emotional space in a disrespectful, creepy, startling, scary, or insulting way (courtesy: www.stopstreetharassment.org).

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Orinam, a Chennai-based voluntary collective and online resource combating prejudice against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people on building an inclusive society.

By L. Ramakrishnan

As I write this, a crisis is unfolding in the life of Mala K.*a young woman from Chennai, whose parents discovered that their daughter is attracted to other women, not men.

Initial response: Panic. What will others say?

It’s a close knit and conservative society; everyone’s business is everyone else’s. A lesbian daughter would make them the laughing stock of the entire community.

Second response: Let’s cure her of this ‘disease’.

She is rushed to the psychiatric ward of a private hospital, where, fortunately,  the doctors tell the parents homosexuality is not an illness, and that medical science has no way to change her orientation. Others of her kind are less fortunate – drugged with anti-depressants or hormones, and administered electric shocks by unethical physicians – in futile attempts to make them heterosexual.

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Tulika Editor Niveditha Subramaniam discusses the heightened interest in children’s fiction in India, and the drive to make it more reflective of our diversity. 

By Niveditha Subramaniam

In 1996, a time when independent children’s publishing in India was nascent, Tulika Publishers was founded by Radhika Menon, along with Sandhya Rao. What began as a small team of three today comprises of 15 members. This piece looks at the changing face of children’s books in India and the challenges that lie ahead from an independent publisher’s perspective.

Children’s Publishing in India: The Big Picture

More than ever before, we need good stories and original ideas. Tulika’s focus is on picture books and we publish in English and 8 other Indian languages: Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi, Gujarati and Bangla. Finding new ways of representing the familiar to the reader and exposing children  to a range of social milieus, ideas, forms of art, ways of seeing and living, the experience of different childhoods ­and to make great stories accessible to children everywhere: this has been the greatest challenge.

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The Thasni Banu case shows that a society as educated as Kerala is still not able to tolerate an empowered woman.

By Preethi Krishnan

Last month, Kerala witnessed another incidence of violence against women. On June 19th Sunday, Thasni Banu was on her way to work in Kochi on a bike driven by her friend. Oh, how can I forget? Her male friend and it was 10:30 pm. According to her statement in this interview (it is in Malayalam), Thasni was to reach office for her shift at 11pm. Since they had some time, Thasni and her friend decided that they would stop for tea. In search of a tea shop, they took a different route and did find one. When they realised that there was no tea in stock, her friend bought a cigarette and together they walked towards the bike which was parked in front of the shop.

At that time, an auto rickshaw driver parked his auto near the shop and said to her friend in a degrading tone, “Drop the girl back home.” (Of course, translating the undertones from Malayalam to English is near to impossible). Her friend explained that he was dropping her off at her office, since she had a night shift and that she is just a friend. At that point, another person came by and asked them why they were standing there. Her friend repeated his earlier clarification. Both the driver and this person were drunk. Further, they asked him his name, address and even details on where exactly his house was located. He answered all of it.
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Protsahan, a young NGO explores art as a tool to teach children from tough backgrounds and help them learn marketable skills.

By Sonal Kapoor

Protsahan was born in the summer of 2010, when I was shooting a corporate film for an organisation I was working with at that time. By chance I got some time off. It was then that I ventured out with my camera and visited a slum that was nearby.

There, I met this family where a woman lived with her six young girls. She was expecting her seventh child. She told me that her husband was a panipuri-chaatwallah and made about Rs 2000-2500 per month. Her children observed me with inquisitive eyes, flies taking turns to feed on their muddy skin and unkempt hair. None went to school. I was curious to know what plans she had for her children and also for the one who was to be born. Her matter-of-fact reply made me gasp in shock. “If this time it’s a girl, I’ll strangle her the moment she is born,” she said.
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Our job is not only to fight domestic violence but to make women fall in love with themselves again.

By Amrita Sengupta

India is a country of love and where else to understand the essence of the same but our very own Bollywood that glorifies love with its innate qualities of acceptance, tolerance and sacrifice. The heart weeps and the soul aches. However, ironically when the reel’s fantasies are draped on reality ‘love’ becomes the sole responsibility of the woman. A woman is supposed to accept, tolerate and sacrifice for her husband, family and children. But is this submission supposed to be at the cost of the woman’s honour, self-respect and safety? Is a man’s honour quantified by the physical scars on his family? Can violence and fear form the foundation of a happy house?

Domestic violence is an act against humanity and is punishable by law. Breakthrough is trying to raise a voice against the same.

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A community in rural Bihar comes together to prevent child marriage and ensure a brighter future for young women.

By Dr. Lucy Mathen

Just over a year ago I found myself on a football pitch in rural Bihar, kicking a ball around with half a dozen Muslim girls. The early morning mist rose from the surrounding paddy fields and the sun was still low in the sky, framed by the goal-posts.Two of the girls wore full football gear including proper boots and shin-pads. One played in salwar kameez and bare feet. Also playing with us was Mritunjay Tiwari who runs the local eye hospital and Azhar Khan, his second in command.

This impromptu game had come about because I had told Mritunjay that, at home in London, I played football every Sunday morning. It turned out that he, too, was a football fan. He had suggested that we join the local village girls who were very keen. After playing for a couple of hours, I thanked the girls and returned to the eye hospital. Having had the company of bonny girls all morning I was suddenly acutely aware that there were no female employees at the hospital. I remarked on this fact.

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Sometimes love comes unlooked for: the story of a teacher who helps her students overcome poverty with love and determination.

By Anne John

Anand Koti, Founder of Colorss Foundation, an NGO based out of Pune, emphatically states, “Today it is her energy and hard work that has transformed Ambika into a confident young woman at Wadia college.”

He is talking about Mangal Dhokle, affectionately called ‘Mangal Madam’. A teacher in a government aided school called Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore School in Pune, Mangal was surprised to see a young girl child attend the admission process for the 4th grade with her neighbours, instead of her parents, many years back. Though she was intrigued by the conspicuous absence of the parents, she kept her thoughts to herself. The child, Ambika, proved smart enough to be selected and was admitted to the school.

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Praveena Sridhar contends that activism on women’s issues can drive long lasting change only through work done at the institutional level.

By Praveena Sridhar

Indian society has fought gender discrimination actively for over 100 years but ever so often we start and stop with raising a question- something like, “What is to be done?” Along with the discourse at various forums, conferences and seminars, academicians and scholars publish volumes of papers on the subject, out of which some studies make the national headline.

It is beyond doubt that we have had a splendid run in making gender issues get heard all over. Now for the progress report; one needs to ask if all this is really changing the situations that women find themselves in today? I’d say that it is about time we gave a fresh look at what forms of intervention can help women get their rightful place in the society and which they should get naturally – not out of someone’s “concern” for women or for “empowering” them! I’d like to share some experiences from my work in the development sector in India and more specifically in environment and water related fields. My argument is that there is a dire need to re examine the efficiency of the interventions that we make in conserving and ensuring women’ interests.

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