When Me Too hit India last October, it felt like something of an inevitability. Online spaces had been simmering since Nirbhaya, and hashtag activism around it felt like the logical conclusion to this online accumulation of rage.
India’s #MeToo was the case study in the convergence of online and offline activism. Twitter handles of popular feminists shared DMs from victims who wanted their stories heard. Screenshots circulating online led to the formation of workplace committees to address harassment and of grievance circles where victims shared their stories in public spaces. It was one of those gargantuan moments in the history of feminism when a new medium for activism had finally started to show the extent of its power.
As with every online campaign or movement that urban feminists have championed in the last decade, #MeToo was tainted by the blot of elitism. Domestic workers were underrepresented. Dalit women were underrepresented. Women in the farthest corners of rural India weren’t represented at all. This was, by no means, an inclusive movement.
Those at the heart of it dismissed these critiques, claiming that it’s dangerous to invalidate a movement because it isn’t inclusive enough. A fair point. After all, the urban upper-middle-class women who were most empowered by Me Too had a lot to be angry about: street harassment; workplace sexism; the constant, leering threat of rape, regardless of privilege. And considering the much narrower exclusivity of feminist movements championed by this milieu before — think the Pink Chaddi campaign, Blank Noise, The Friday Convent — Me Too’s embrace of its own critics and criticism along the way did a lot to ‘visibilise’ marginalised people. In some ways, it felt like a real sign of progress.
Bu hikaye Verve dergisinin August - September 2019 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Verve dergisinin August - September 2019 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Making Amends
This generation’s penchant for thoughtless consumption gets Madhu Jain roiled up, and she wonders if nature is getting its own back for our missteps…
Diamonds With Provenance
In keeping with the company’s commitment to environmental and social responsibility, Anisa Kamadoli Costa, chief sustainability officer at Tiffany & Co. and chairman and president at The Tiffany & Co. Foundation, enlightens Shirin Mehta on the efforts that make the jewellery giant an industry leader in transparency
SARTORIAL ECONOMICS
Sisters Tashi and Tara Mitra demonstrate to Akanksha Pandey how deviating from the mainstream can bend the way we think, live and dress
NOTES TO SELF
An anthropomorphized tiger’s perspective, a viscerally worded futuristic interpretation of loss, a critique of performative activism, a meta reflection on the earth’s crises. Told through different lenses, Janaki Lenin, Indrapramit Das, Keshava Guha and Roshan Ali’s stories — written exclusively for Verve — attempt to make sense of the fraught reality that we exist in today
The Eternal Optimist
As Generation X and xennials grapple with fully transitioning to conscious living, young millennials and Generation Z are leading the charge to reverse human-caused environmental damage. Sahar Mansoor, founder and CEO of the Bengaluru-based zero-waste social enterprise Bare Necessities, has a simple overarching philosophy: consume less and stay positive. Verve gets deeper into the mindset of the action-oriented earth advocate
Redemption SONGS
Indian music festivals have been demonstrating a refreshing sense of responsibility in terms of their ecological impact. Interacting with stakeholders who strive to make these large-scale events greener, Akhil Sood investigates the reasons behind the improved attitudes of audiences and the increase in corporate support.
earth hour
Crafted using nature’s elements, these dials draw inspiration from the many heterogeneous materials and hues around us.Verve turns its lens onto a mesmerising few
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
Children are holding adults accountable for both the grim future they are facing and the toll this is taking on their mental health. Madhumita Bhattacharyya initiates conversations with families of young climate activists and observes the extent to which parenting has changed in the face of catastrophe
NATURAL JUSTICE
Most of us are only just waking up to the urgency of climatic action. When the stakes are so high, what can individual action solve? Mridula Mary Paul, an environmental policy expert, is proof of the tenacity needed to effect systemic change. It’s not glamorous, and the rewards are few and far between, but that doesn’t stop her from aiming big, finds Anandita Bhalerao
Along For The Ride
Navigating Indian streets as a woman is hard enough. But what is it like while riding a bicycle? Bengaluru-based Shreya Dasgupta, a regular cyclist, speaks to five urban women about the pros and cons of this increasingly popular means of transport.