Blogs

I learned about my rights when I attended a workshop with the entire team of FAT. This workshop was conducted by Ms. Anisha Chugh of South Asian Women’s Fund. She taught us that our rights are our own and that no one is allowed to take them away from us under any circumstances. There are some rights that we are born with and it is important that we learn what they are and how well we utilize them. It is also important to remember that no one can forcibly take our rights away. Through this workshop, I learned that it is important to be aware about one’s own rights that one is entitled to.

When I sat to pen down my thoughts on my first job experience, I was indecisive about what aspect to write about. There was so much happening—a new job, living all by myself in a new city, transition from being a student to a proffessional. Everything was suddenly different now and I was struggling and adjusting with this new phase of life. I thought I was strong and independent but dealing with so many things on my own made me feel burdened. My workplace was not a stereotypical workplace, it was a ‘free space’ for 60 girls who come there everyday.This was called the Technical Centre. But this name did not express what really happened inside. It was so much more.

A feminist going back to a place that introduced her to feminism is like visiting her place of birth. This is because the place taught me the true meaning of womanhood and what it entails. who I am – a woman.  I received this wonderful opportunity when I was invitd by the Political Science Department of Lady Shri Ram College for Women, my alma mater, to speak on “Women, technology and feminism”. Needless to mention, I was surprised, excited and nervous all at the same time. I was about to go back to my college and speak to them about my new adventures, explorations and revelations with feminism and technology at Feminist Approach to Technology (FAT), my recent work and hangout place.

The girls at the Tech Center who were associated with the making of their film ‘Apna Haq’ recently organized a community screening at Narela. We explained the purpose and motive behind making this film and explained the issues we faced while filming it, how it all began, how the girls got together to work on this project and how we performed each of their responsibilities—from shooting, to report writing to editing—efficiently.

It’s never too late to find yourself and never too early to explore.   ComMutiny – the Youth Collective organised a film screening at the Tech Center where films based on the principle of “fifth space” – an exploratory space where one undertakes a journey from self to society by making the other four spaces of family, friends, career/education and leisure count. 

Support a project will help adolescent girls from socially and economically disadvantaged sections of society to use technology both as a tool and as a medium in helping them raise their voices and generate awareness on the issue of early marriage. Girls associated with our Technical Center would shoot and produce a film on early marriage that would highlight their daily struggles in countering this social menace. We need just $5000 for it for which we need your support! Donate to us and also help us secure a permanent place in Global Giving, a well known crowd funding platform.

I enter the Tech Center with a lot of inhibitions. About twenty girls who have never seen me before eyeing me from top to bottom. I adjust my dupatta. Maybe they are judging if it matches with the rest of my attire. My colleague, Shivani, who is about to take a session on “Feminism” with these young girls has repeatedly assured me how beautiful and wonderful these girls are. But I have my own set of inhibitions. This is my first entry into a world of young girls coming from urban poor slums wanting to know about feminism and curious enough to come together and listen about it. I take out my notepad to make notes, if any.

The Tech centre here at FAT is a place where girls come and share their life’s stories with me. Of all the girls that have studied here, I would like to share the story of one girl in particular with you. Raveena, a 19 year old young woman, is studying Bachelors of Arts at Delhi University and lives in the slums of Jalvihar near Lajpat Nagar. She came to the tech center in April 2011 to learn computer skills. Since her family income was barely Rs.7000 a month she desperately needed a job, however, she was afraid to take one up because she was very shy and reserved.

- A blog post by Asha Tiwari, translated by Mansi Virmani. Both Asha and Mansi are Program Associates at FAT.

FAT as an organisation is committed towards creating a world where the access, use and application of technology is gender neutral, and FAT’s tech centre is a big leap in that direction. Tech center is a space where girls get an opportunity to explore, experiment  and use technology. We do not identify ourselves as a charitable institution or simply a computer centre or even a skill building organisation. We have never believed in the idea of creating cogs to be fitted into machines fit for the market.