Completing one FAT year!
By Shivani Rekha Gupta
It’s been over 365 days since I joined FAT, and yet it feels as if it was only yesterday when I had come for the interview. I remember the cold January morning in the Tech Center. The place took me by surprise instantly. The colourful posters made by young girl on the issues of gender, patriarchy, sexuality and feminism were more than welcoming. Every poster demanded rights and justice with abundant energy. I couldn’t resist the charm of walking through the center even though it was a formal interview. As I exited the office after the interview I was touched by the warmth displayed by everyone at FAT.
Since then till today, I have felt the same excitement and kindness amongst everyone at FAT. This infectious energy makes working here exhilarating, even on the most humdrum days. This has, been the case not only because of the dedication each one of us display towards our work, but also because of our absolute commitment towards a feminist ideology that concurs with the ideas of equality, justice, rights and respect for everyone. I joined FAT as a research and advocacy person – and while I have fulfilled the requirements of this position and enjoyed immensely, I have been associated with FAT in so many other capacities, each of which has been an enriching experience.
But the most intellectually stimulating and compelling part of my work here has been the workshops I take with the girls who attend technical classes at the Tech Center. When I was initially asked by Asha (former FAT employee who took care of the Tech Center) to take classes at the center, I remember feeling scared and under-confident. The idea of discussing social issues with girls seemed like heck-of-a-responsibility because it also suggested that every spoken word from me had power to change something (for good or bad). My fears were put to rest when Asha suggested that I should start with a simple, ice-breaking session. Following this, I took English class with the girls. This class went off surprisingly well and gave me the confidence to interact and engage with the girls without alienating them and myself.
After this I took the bigger challenge of taking a workshop on the issues of gender, patriarchy and feminism. My excitement was uncontainable and so was my nervousness. For an entire week, I read introductions and book on these topics. It was at this point that I realized that there is very little written and translated in Hindi on these issues. The pressure to make it as fluid in Hindi as it was for me in English was also tremendous. I didn’t even know what the words for patriarchy and feminism in Hindi were. I remember using Google translate for every other word. This was also the time when I realized how easily I have neglected a language that is popular in North India (where I have grown up for most of my life) and unfortunately, so had the academic world.
After an intense preparatory session, I finally took the workshop and it went off well. There were intense debates and discussions on whether gender discrimination exists in all of our households or not and whether only men perpetuate patriarchy or women are a part of it as well. We discussed that women and other marginalized sections of our society, all over the world, have to fight and struggle everyday for even the most basic rights. Girls fiercely shared their stories of fighting at home to come to the Center. They even shared how most simple actions upset their parents but if the brothers do the same thing, it doesn’t have any negative repercussion.
We all agreed that patriarchy is the structure on which the rest of our society is build on and unless a conscious decision is made to fight it, women will continue to be oppressed as well as be oppressors of other women at times. We also reached a conclusion that the fight towards patriarchy is incessant and needs to be fought at the most micro level without losing heart or courage. By the end of the session, most of us agreed on the claims of feminism and its core essence of equality. The workshops gave all of us a sense of satisfaction of knowing and recognizing the evils of patriarchy and identifying a medium to fight it – feminism. While this was my first workshop with the girls, I have taken many more workshops since and each of them has given me insights into lives of young girls who have always fought feminist battles without actually terming themselves as such – the term being introduced later was embraced swiftly and cheerfully.
The stories of courage and change amongst the girls have not only made me strong but have pushed me to fight both in private and public spaces. It is important and certainly not an exaggeration to state that the girls, my colleagues and FAT itself has taught me my everyday feminism. It furthered my attempts at translating my feminist ideologies into action. One year a FAT has made me a feminist of not just ideologies but also actions and reactions. And I hope to see this in every woman entering and exiting this space. The warmth that FAT gave me on my first day has stayed with me and gives me hope to work towards changes that most of us are striving to achieve and I am sure it will continue to do so with many of us who are and will be a part of this women-friendly space.
Note: This piece is written in solidarity with all the young feminists who have really taught me the power and reach of feminism.
Shivani Rekha Gupta is a Programme Associate at FAT who handles research and advocacy of the organization. She completed one year of being associated with us this month.
