As we all know that the “The Oscar Selfie” smashed twitter. It was retweeted more than any other tweet in the world. Nowadays, if there’s anything you want to express or want to be heard, it has to be online. That is what the women of India have taken to. These Indian women have used the online world to have their say, express their emotions and rebel against injustices. Here’s a look at some of the initiatives that the Indian women have taken online:
- Please Mend The Gap:
‘Please Mend the Gap” was started by Rosalyn D’mello whose friend was harassed in the Delhi Metro by a drunken man. . As reported in the Daily Mail the 26 year old said ‘The fact that the incident took place at 10:30 am, when metros are jam packed with working professionals and students and yet no one came out to support my friend was shocking,’
This incident was not the first one of its kind. This usually is the case in the metros, even in the compartment which is termed as reserved for women only. Men rudely occupy spaces and dismiss women who ask for their rights.
The first step taken by this initiative which has around 1200 followers on its Facebook page was to sign an online petition to the Delhi Metro Railway Corporation (DMRC) and the Chief Minister to induce methods to make the metro a safer place for women commuters.
- Fund-A-Cause:
This online initiative was the brainchild of Chandni Parekh a Social Psychologist who has taught post graduate courses and conducted workshops on sexual abuse and counseling. After acclimatizing with twitter Chandni thought of sharing financial appeals of NGO’s and individuals to the world at large. After getting a good response she changed her twitter handle to ‘Fund-A-Cause’ and has never looked back.
When asked about humans and their pretentious approach Chandni says “The belief behind F-A-C is that once we learn about someone’s financial need and are motivated to shake off the lack of empathy or trust that might be preventing us from helping, we will contribute”.
- Kracktivism:
Bridge the gap, bring the change is the motto for Kractivism. The approach led by Kamayani Bali Mahabal with multitudes of talent focuses on closing the gap between offline and online activism. Kamyani believes that the social media is the way to go to bring change about in a country. She adds “The new technologies, particularly social media, are both a catalyst for democratic reform as well as an instrument to aid more traditional methods of protest and civil resistance, for me.”
In an interview, Kamyani explained how the online media has revolutionized itself “Basically, Twitter accelerates the energy promulgated by social activism; bloggers think, analyze and interpret the news in a deeper way than mainstream media; the Facebook-ers build strong social networks based on personal credibility. It all comes together in what’s been called ‘crowdsourcing’, where the minds of many people work together in a virtual environment to come up with ideas bigger than what individuals can generate. This is where social media derives its power.”
By Nousheen Zeeshan
