An online campaign by Japleen Pasricha aims to redefine feminism in India
India needs feminism because no woman deserves to be called raapchik or item,” reads a placard held by a lady who looks at you with a warm smile. She’s not taking part in any rally for women empowerment but creating awareness on gender inequality, that is prevalent across all parts of India. Inspired by a recent photo campaign in the US which attempted to “reclaim the term (feminist), deconstruct the misconceptions attached to it,” a group of people in India started a campaign which has now become talk of the town. Called I Need Feminism, the campaign was launched by social activist Japleen Pasricha.
Pasricha organised the campaign this year on April 15 to promote the cause. “It is a public awareness campaign aimed at asking people why and how feminism is important to them. It is directly inspired from a similar campaign organised at the Oxford University and at the Cambridge University, which later became a rage at many campuses across the globe,” she wrote in her blog.
The trigger behind such campaigns is conspicuously the deplorable state of Indian females, which is repeatedly questioned by these campaigns. Their major objective is to make people aware of why feminism is needed in the country. “We need feminism because we need to bring so many issues to light. There are too many of us getting groped in public, stared at, catcalled, insulted, teased and abused. There are too many headlines about girls being raped. Too many people are trying to fit both the male and female genders in a box. Too much of ‘girls can’t do this’ and ‘boys should do this’,” writes Japleen.
The slogans and statements used in the American campaign have been accused of “depoliticising feminism and making the label available for everyone.” One of the reports said, ‘I drink my scotch neat and I am a feminist,’ and ‘I like cigars and I am a feminist’ says, essentially, nothing at all.
The ones used in India, on the other hand, are more relevant to the society and treatment of females in the country. For instance, mocking the Indian preference of fairer brides was, ‘India needs feminism because I don’t need to be fair to be lovely.’
Taking Pasricha’s drive forward, Buzzfeed recently went across the country asking people why they feel India needs feminism. Among people who participated were names like Kalki Koechlin, Monica Dogra and Rajat Kapoor. While Kalki cited statistics to express the need for feminism, Rajat was terse and witty in his, “India needs feminism because you need to ask.” At times darkly humorous and at other times jotting down facts, the campaign digs deep into the issue and talks about all the aspects, from female foeticide to the recent rape case.
One of the best slogans that rightfully spoke for all the others was, ‘For a billion voices to be heard, half of them can’t be gagged.’