Growing women’s activism in India

In the words of Martin Luther King:

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

The Disha Ravi episode wherein the police drew up a bizarre link between a young girl’s activism on social media with seditious conduct against the Indian state has left the nation and its youth shell-shocked. Hail to the Indian government! Such activism cannot be viewed as a one-off instance rather, it is a phenomenon that will multiply in the times to come. General awareness, self-confidence and grit are the key characteristics of the ‘new girls’ of India who would soon become a force to reckon with.

At this juncture, it is pertinent to ask: What has given rise to this sudden spur of activism by young Indian girls particularly, against what they believe is the government’s unjust and discriminatory laws and policies.

First, the gradual rise in internet penetration among India’s female population in both rural and urban areas and easy access to social media has exposed Indian girls to global information and knowledge like never before. Although, factors such as caste, class, creed and community separate individuals from each other, social media acts as a great leveller and brings together the activist and an individual victim of a human rights violation.

Digital platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp et cetera offer the activist an opportunity to voice one’s concerns, question the government’s actions, gather support and display solidarity with the aggrieved individuals and their community.

Second, when young girls from largely urban settings learn about instances of discrimination, oppression and marginalisation which they are typically not accustomed to in their immediate social environment; maybe, because of more or less gender-equal dynamics at home, a study of the ‘equality’ doctrine in the school curriculum, active participation in college politics, and the ‘equal opportunity’ culture at workplaces; they feel even more strongly about injustices and feel necessary to stand up for their fellow citizens and actively participate in condemning inequalities and injustices.

When Licypriya Kangujam, the nine-year-old climate change-environmental and indigenous peoples’ rights activist from Manipur was selected amongst the inspiring women of the country under the Indian Prime Minister’s #SheInspiresUs initiative in March 2020, after much thought she decided to turn down the honor and tweeted in unequivocal terms: “Dear Narendra Modiji, Please don’t celebrate me if you are not going to listen to my voice.”

Third, many girls may be drawn to activism not out of individual choice but circumstances. Hailing from a poor Dalit background, Nodeep Kaur identifies with the Indian labour and understands how it feels to be invisibilised, overlooked and marginalised by society and the state. As a trade union leader, she has brought to the centre of the national debate, the intersectionality prevailing between labour oppression and farmer exploitation in India.

Reasonably, based on their individual nature and nurture, the ‘new girls’ are endowed with a potential to perceive social, political, economic, climatic-environmental ramifications of the state’s laws and policies and a capacity to stand up against the resultant injustices. These girls are not just stirring mass movements but reshaping existing discourses on relevant topics.

Also read: At the helm of rebellion: Women who are the face of protests in India

Fourth, everything becomes difficult when society and the state do not know what to make of these young girl activists. Disha Ravi was charged with sedition, Nodeep Kaur faced police brutality and Kangujam was heavily trolled by racist online trolls. However, the retail, advertising and commercial sector has been an outlier in this regard.

Recently, some private companies recreated and redesigned their marketing, branding and advertising strategies to make them more inclusive and accommodative; in tune with the Indian girl’s choices, dignity and respect. Recently, Myntra, India’s leading fashion portal revised its logo across its website, mobile applications and packaging material after a woman activist complained that the logo was ‘derogatory’, resembling a woman’s raised legs wide open.

Contrarily, the Indian society and state have still not come to terms with the reality that it is difficult to ‘reign in’ the growing girl activism in the country. The Indian activist girl-in-waiting has finally broken free from the shackles of ‘silence’, ‘dependence’ and ‘self-doubt’; and it would be a rather sensible approach to create a tolerant space for her to engage in an open, free and unhindered dialogue.

(Prerna Dhoop is a human rights lawyer and Vandana Dhoop is an independent research consultant)