For the audience at Delhi's Pullman Hotel in Aerocity, joy and tears alternated to the beats of a dhol.
At The Quint's 'Me, the Change' event, presented by Facebook India, on Thursday, 17 January, 10 incredible women exemplified the spunk and grit of India's first-time women voters.
Acclaimed actor Taapsee Pannu felicitated the women achievers from across India – including a Santhali RJ, an international rugby player, a female dhol player from Punjab and a wrestler from Delhi – and spoke to them about their path-breaking stories and tricks of the trade (like the wrestling move from 'Dangal Queen' Divya Kakran!).
Watch the entire event here:
The event began with a conversation between Pannu and Raghav Bahl, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Quint.
Pannu said, "I was delighted to get so many fan mails from women after Marmaziyaan for portraying a bindaas girl who was confident about her sexuality, who was okay with her flaws. Why should women control what they think?"
“You know yourself better than anyone else who tells you that you cannot do something,” the actor added.
Wrestler Divya Kakran also had something to say about breaking stereotypes – something she knows all too well since her wrestling career began with fighting boys in the akhaara. The Commonwealth Games medalist is now a fearless advocate for financial support to sportspersons. "Earlier, people would say extremely bad things about me to my parents. They would say: ‘Will you get her to do anything for money?’ Now the same people ask for my autographs!"
She also said, "When I needed help, no one offered any. Now everyone comes to take credit and congratulate me for my medals."
Beyond ‘Log Kya Kahenge’
Not caring about ‘log kya kahenge (what would people say)‘ was a constantly referred to during the event. Mariam Rauf, a child safety educator in Kerala and a child sexual abuse survivor, questioned why she should be ashamed about her experience. "When I finally confessed to my mother about the sexual abuse I had faced, instead of saying log kya kahenge, she told me go tell whoever I want."
All of the 10 women didn't just change their own worlds, but through their achievements, have proven to be an inspiration for so many others. Like Shikha Mandi, the only woman Santhali RJ in India, told The Quint: "Women from my area are asking me if they too can be RJs. They are thinking beyond sarkari naukris (government jobs). They now feel that they too can do their mann ki naukri (the job that they want).”
Requesting the government to support acid attack survivors so that they can live independently, Anshu Rajput spoke about how she was attacked with acid when she was 15 years old. "Face har kisi ke paas hota hai, lekin dil sirf kuch kuch logo ke paas hota hai (everyone has a face, but not all have a heart)."
Jahan Geet, India's youngest female dhol player spoke about how she had decided to take up the instrument, saying: “Playing dhol had its stigma – because of its weight. So the society always thought that only men can play the dhol.”
Asha Devi, the mother of the December 16 Delhi gang-rape victim, told the story of her struggles. "Haq se maangna aur milna bahut alag hai (asking for something that’s rightfully yours and getting it are two different things). Six years since the Nirbhaya incident, I still haven’t got justice. I'm still standing in 2012, waiting for when justice will prevail for my daughter."
Shelley Thakral, Facebook’s Head of Policy Programs for India, South Asia and Central Asia, joined in the conversation and said, " Facebook has tremendous potential to become a tool for democracy. More than ever, women are an important voice in the 2019 elections. Facebook is doing everything it can to build integrity.”
A Charter on What Women Want in 2019
The 10 women we felicitated would be voting for the first-time in the upcoming general elections and had different demands specific to their situations. However, we didn’t ask just these 10 women. During the state elections held in 2018, The Quint went on ground to talk to young women in Hyderabad, Raipur, Indore and Jodhpur about their aspirations and their expectations from the government.
For more perspective, we also looked at the results of a nationwide survey conducted by Lokniti-CSDS as part of the ‘Me, The Change’ campaign. The respondents of this survey were first-time women voters from towns, villages and cities from across India. Combining these insights, The Quint released a charter of demands at ‘Me, The Change’ event:
The event evening ended with a dhol performance by Jahan Geet, with all the other achievers dancing to its beats.
Befittingly, it seemed as if dhol beats had heralded the arrival of the first-time woman voter. She's ready to change India; are we ready for her?
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