Celebrating Sisterhood

THE WOMEN-ONLY FACEBOOK GROUP 'HER TRIVANDRUM' RECENTLY ACCEPTED ITS 13000TH MEMBER AND CELEBRATED ITS THIRD ANNIVERSARY. THE CLOSED GROUP HAS A FEW STRICT RULES - MEN NOT ALLOWED, ONLY A MEMBER CAN ADD YOU, NO FORWARDS AND NO RELIGION OR POLITICS, AMONG OTHERS. BUT ONCE YOU ACCEPT THESE, YOU ARE IN FOR A HELLUVA RIDE!

- Asha Prakash

What could 13,000-strong, all-women virtual group be talking about all day? Husbands and children and of course, recipes, many presume. Well, nothing could be farther from the truth. In fact, these are some of the least discussed topics on Her Trivandrum (HT), says its sole admin, Anjali Manoj. Instead, they discuss everything about being a woman in the 21st century friendship, travel, women empowerment, entrepreneurship, mental health and more. And there would have been some heated debates on politics as well, if not for the strict admin rule.

The group which began as an informal one of friends from Trivandrum has now crossed the district, State and country borders to include women from around the world, from ages 18 to 84, who have become mentors, therapists, friends and cheerleaders to each other. “Frankly, the number I had in mind was around 100," says Anjali, recalling how she formed the group. "I was part of a handful of Facebook groups, and once I asked for a cupcake icing recipe in a few of them. In the next few hours, I received a flood of inbox messages from creeps, but not a single icing recipe. That was when I decided to form a group with only women. Only those I knew personally, from Trivandrum, where they could ask anything." Which is why she named it Her Trivandrum. The numbers slowly grew as each member started adding their family and friends, but the name remained, as Facebook does not allow a group's name to be changed once it reaches a certain number of members.