'Women Must Stake Claim To Leadership Roles And Public Life To Improve Their Condition'

SHEHLA RASHID SHORA, Political Activist, former Vice-President JNU Students’ Union and Ph.D. Scholar at JNU, is one of the few young women leaders in the country today. Unafraid to speak her mind, she is often in the midst of controversies and at the receiving end of online trolls. In an interview with PARI SAIKIA, the feisty youth icon says that the struggle is worth it as it will encourage more females to come out and claim their legitimate share in leadership roles that have been denied to them.

Q- On the occasion of International Women’s Day, what message would you like to give to the women of our country?

A- Women have to start staking their claim in positions of power and decision making, and we must not be ashamed to do so. It is okay for men to be ambitious and prioritise their career and their ambitions of leadership. We, women, need to stop being ashamed of prioritising our goals. One tangible result of women’s participation in public life and representation in leadership roles is that there will be a decline in sexual violence. We have to pave way for women of the next generation. We must understand that we are just beneficiaries of the struggles by women in the past. We have not had to fight for the rights and freedoms that we have. So, we must not squander our freedoms, but expand them further for the sake of younger women.

Time and again, you have been vocal against various harassments, be it online or on roads, and have become a face of the youth of India. Can the voice of a female activist help change prejudiced mindsets?