The Blind Spot
"Good evening everyone"
She started her speech in front of class 11 students of an International school, sitting quietly in their uniforms, "My name is Anvisha Singh, and I represent the Women's Right Association, which is an NGO with more than 50 offices across India, and more than 650 volunteers like me, working since years to fight for rights for women in our country." She took a pause to see children's reaction. There was none. Though a couple of teachers sitting on the last bench, to maintain discipline were more than ears. "Today I am here to make you aware about the world outside" she went on, by adjusting her dupatta casually, and walking in small steps to her right and then left, with an intent to own the place "I am sorry to bring you the bad news, but the world outside is cruel. Male dominant. Lewd. And sadly, we are not taught to fight against it, or raise our voice for what is right. Today i am here to talk about safety of us and our women..."
And she went on and on, for another half hour and showed numerous statistics and charts. She also mentioned why government is at fault and not doing anything about it. She said with the firm voice "we have to be our own protectors. We, Our NGO, have developed an application named WithYou. And you can download it for free on your iOS devices. It will constantly track your position and in case of emergency, it will send sms to 5 trusted people about your location, and you can.." And she started explaining that with her iPhone. For another half hour.
Teachers on the last bench were listening to her, feeling proud about their decision of arranging this guest lecture, after regular hours of school, at 5:00 pm. They were concerned about safety of the girls of their school, and increased crime rate in their city.
Finally she concluded the talk, by re-emphasizing on using this app, and feel powerful. She was cheered by a few claps. She smiled and asked if anyone has any question. She answered a few, with same passion and enthusiasm. Then she looked at the watch and asked "ok guys, I can take one last question before I take your leave" and she wasn't expecting anyone to ask now, but one girl raised her hand. The former, surprised, gave the latter permission to speak up. The girl stood and stared speaking.
"i have one question for you. But before that, I want to ask you one simple one. How did you travel here and how do you plan to go back?"
She was taken off guard, and said "I...I came here in my car, i drove. I mean, we have to travel a lot and .."
"Thanks Miss. Now here is my situation. I don't have a car, nor a bike or anyone to pick me up and drop home. I travel by a bus everyday, which i take at 5:30 PM after school, and after changing two buses, I reach home by 7:45 or sometimes 8. Today, because of your lecture, i missed that bus, and right now it's almost 6:40 and my next bus would be now at 7:30, and will be at home by 9:30 to 9:45. Bigger risk, right?"
"Yea, ...yea, i mean, i underst.." She baffled, still wasn't sure where this is going, but she couldn't respond or interrupt her.
" And here, I could really use your app to make myself feel safe. Because in our city, traveling alone at night for a teenage girl is very vulnerable. Now finally, here is my question. I am a middle class girl studying in this fancy school, not rich as others. Do you think, since i cant afford an expensive smart phone, which everyone else is having , that i should feel more vulnerable and unsafe?"
And there was some noise and whispers, students were looking at Miss Anviksha to answer this, which she couldn't. She left after a minute's pause and silence, and so did everyone, including the teachers.
What do we need? A better handset, or a better mindset ?
- Asthir Amdavadi
She started her speech in front of class 11 students of an International school, sitting quietly in their uniforms, "My name is Anvisha Singh, and I represent the Women's Right Association, which is an NGO with more than 50 offices across India, and more than 650 volunteers like me, working since years to fight for rights for women in our country." She took a pause to see children's reaction. There was none. Though a couple of teachers sitting on the last bench, to maintain discipline were more than ears. "Today I am here to make you aware about the world outside" she went on, by adjusting her dupatta casually, and walking in small steps to her right and then left, with an intent to own the place "I am sorry to bring you the bad news, but the world outside is cruel. Male dominant. Lewd. And sadly, we are not taught to fight against it, or raise our voice for what is right. Today i am here to talk about safety of us and our women..."
And she went on and on, for another half hour and showed numerous statistics and charts. She also mentioned why government is at fault and not doing anything about it. She said with the firm voice "we have to be our own protectors. We, Our NGO, have developed an application named WithYou. And you can download it for free on your iOS devices. It will constantly track your position and in case of emergency, it will send sms to 5 trusted people about your location, and you can.." And she started explaining that with her iPhone. For another half hour.
Teachers on the last bench were listening to her, feeling proud about their decision of arranging this guest lecture, after regular hours of school, at 5:00 pm. They were concerned about safety of the girls of their school, and increased crime rate in their city.
Finally she concluded the talk, by re-emphasizing on using this app, and feel powerful. She was cheered by a few claps. She smiled and asked if anyone has any question. She answered a few, with same passion and enthusiasm. Then she looked at the watch and asked "ok guys, I can take one last question before I take your leave" and she wasn't expecting anyone to ask now, but one girl raised her hand. The former, surprised, gave the latter permission to speak up. The girl stood and stared speaking.
"i have one question for you. But before that, I want to ask you one simple one. How did you travel here and how do you plan to go back?"
She was taken off guard, and said "I...I came here in my car, i drove. I mean, we have to travel a lot and .."
"Thanks Miss. Now here is my situation. I don't have a car, nor a bike or anyone to pick me up and drop home. I travel by a bus everyday, which i take at 5:30 PM after school, and after changing two buses, I reach home by 7:45 or sometimes 8. Today, because of your lecture, i missed that bus, and right now it's almost 6:40 and my next bus would be now at 7:30, and will be at home by 9:30 to 9:45. Bigger risk, right?"
"Yea, ...yea, i mean, i underst.." She baffled, still wasn't sure where this is going, but she couldn't respond or interrupt her.
" And here, I could really use your app to make myself feel safe. Because in our city, traveling alone at night for a teenage girl is very vulnerable. Now finally, here is my question. I am a middle class girl studying in this fancy school, not rich as others. Do you think, since i cant afford an expensive smart phone, which everyone else is having , that i should feel more vulnerable and unsafe?"
And there was some noise and whispers, students were looking at Miss Anviksha to answer this, which she couldn't. She left after a minute's pause and silence, and so did everyone, including the teachers.
What do we need? A better handset, or a better mindset ?
- Asthir Amdavadi
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