This episodes speaker is Bishakha Datta. Bishakha Datta (@busydot) works on gender and sexuality in digital spaces, runs the non-profit Point of View in Mumbai, writes and films non-fiction and is part of the wikipedia family. In all her work, Bishakha explores marginal, invisible, and silenced points of view - or those considered illegitimate.
Her documentary work includes In The Flesh, a film on the lives of three sex workers, and Taza Khabar, which explores Khabar Lahariya, a unique women-run rural newspaper. Books she edited include Nine Degrees of Justice, a collection of essays on the struggle against violence on women in India; and And Who Will Make the Chapatis?, an anthology on rural women's political participation. Award-winning online publications she’s founded include Deep Dives, which publishes long-form narratives on ‘the way we live now’ and Skin Stories, which runs first-person narratives at the intersections of gender, sexuality, and disability.
Since 2015, Bishakha has led Point of View’s flagship program on gender, sexuality and technology which equips and enables women, girls, trans and non-binary people to inhabit digital spaces – freely and fearlessly. Bishakha, who was a trustee of the Wikimedia Foundation (of wikipedia fame), is currently on the board of the global non-profit Association for Progressive Communication.
Durga as a citizen sector organisation wants to build power and resilience in youth to act against sexual harassment in public spaces and also work towards a Gender Just society. Towards this, we do various strategic activities around engaging with youth in various places like colleges, schools, events, online forums, and also through active campaigning. Some of our efforts include VOICE (Gender Justice) labs in educational institutions, DAREs (Real Heroes who will be active bystanders) on streets, Unlikely Allies (with men, BMTC drivers, and Paurakarmika women) as well as social audits of public spaces that women should rightfully occupy.
To continue with this and show support to the Global 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence, Durga launched the India Gender Equity Week leading to the first-ever virtual forum named NGAGE to bring youth and others together to create awareness on the women’s movement, the issues of intersectionality, and also solutions aligned with the constitutional rights bestowed on citizens. The Fireside Chat is a continuation of the NGAGE forum. Through the Fireside Chats, Priya from DURGA speaks to Gender Justice activists across the country on their activism and inspiration to youth to further the movement.
Do you want to know what drives a true Activist? Listen to our Fireside conversations with some of the best Gender Justice Advocates, curated only for you - to question and dissent in your own way!
