Introduction

The third day of the Webinar Series on ‘Gender Equality for a Sustainable Tomorrow’ for International Women’s Day, which was conducted by the Centre for Women, Child Rights and Gender Justice in partnership with Public Concern for Government Trust on 7th March 2022 and featured Japleen Pasricha, was another successful webinar added to the roster of CWCRGJ’s events. The Ceremony was kicked off by acknowledging Prof. Dr. Dilip Ukey, the Vice-Chancellor of Maharashtra National Law University Mumbai, and Prof. Dr. Anil G. Variath, Registrar of Maharashtra National Law University Mumbai, in their efforts to ensure an ongoing successful Webinar Series. CWCRCJ Faculty Coordinators Prof. Shraddha Gaikwad and Prof. Shriya Mokta were also welcomed in the inaugural speech. 

 

The Webinar was moderated by first-year Research Wing member Shriraj Dusane, and the interviews were conducted by Sameep Baral and Avisha Dhiman, both being first-year members of the Research Wing as well. 

 

The Guest of Honour, Miss Japleen Pasricha graced the event with her lively presence and enthusiasm. Her many achievements were enumerated to the audience by the Moderator, including her blog, Feminism In India (FII), where she currently serves as the Founder-Director and Editor-in-Chief. Feminism In India started off as a Facebook page in 2013, and has now become a leading bi-lingual digital platform for feminist and intersectionality research and literature less than a decade later. Her career began as a German instructor and she started FII’s Facebook page when she observed a gap for accessible resources on the feminist movement in India.  Miss Pasricha is also a TEDx speaker, a UN World Summit Young Innovator, and a Swedish Institute Alumni. She worked for several women's rights NGOs in India before founding FII, including Breakthrough India and Point of View. She has also collaborated on a research report and advocacy campaign on online violence against women with Freedom House, a non-profit based in the United States. 

 

Miss Pasricha went on the give a brief presentation about the effects of the internet in spreading both hate speech and misogyny, as well as powerful feminist ideas. The internet is a space for both empowerment and for violence. In her presentation, Miss Parsicha very eloquently highlighted the need for women and feminists to “take back the tech”, to reclaim the space for women so that they feel safe online. Miss Pasricha ended the presentation by stating that taking back the internet is a political act, intended to make the internet a safer place. The presentation was extremely engaging and provoked novel thoughts about the use of the internet as a tool to further the agenda of gender equality. 

 

The Interview Round

The Interview Round was conducted by CWCRGJ members Sameep Baral and Avisha Dhiman. Answering the Interviewers’ question on how Feminism In India has impacted Indian women and about any instances that hold particular value to her, Miss Pasricha talked about how Team FII would come together and edit and contribute to the Wikipedia pages of Indian feminist icons, in monthly events known as “Wikipedia Editathons”. Miss Pasricha also, in her answer to the next question, debunked the myth that feminism is anti-men, or seeks to advance the interests of women at the cost of men’s interests. The movement is about questioning the gendered power structures, which is why she describes herself as “smashing the patriarchy”. 

 

When asked about how challenging she found to change career paths, Miss Pasricha responded by saying that it is easy to forget that social media was not always as influential in people’s lives as it is now, and any career there was fraught with risks. She found the change in career risky and challenging, but the choice taught her to engage online. The challenges faced by many women entrepreneurs are that they are taken less seriously than men, and are subjected to sexism at any level. A remedy to these challenges that she found personally fruitful was to work hard and let her content an output speak for itself; and to stay out of start-up and venture capitalist circles due to their predominantly male composition, instead engaging with other women entrepreneurs. 

 

Miss Parsicha also cited Gloria Steinem, Kimberlè Crenshaw, Bell Hooks, Kamala Bhasim and Bhanwari Devi in her hypothetical round-table of feminist icons. She recommended feminist literature books such as “Seeing Like a Feminist” by Nivedita Menon, and “Feminism in India” by Maitayree Chaudhari, and books written by Bell Hooks and articles by Gloria Steinem for shorter readings. Miss Pasricha also shared some of the basic material on her blog for first-time readers, primarily the History and Intersectionality sections of her website. 

 

The floor was later opened to the audience to ask questions. Miss Pasricha answered a number typed in the chat box by a dynamic and engaging audience. 

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The Closing Ceremony

The Webinar was concluded with Miss Pasricha speaking to the audience about contributing to feminism. She stressed on the need for people – especially men – to call out sexism, to denounce misogyny in everyday life. The Moderator then presented the Vote of Thanks, and the Webinar was brought to an end. The joint efforts of the Centre for Women, Child Right.  and Gender Justice, MNLU Mumbai, Public Concern for Governance Trust and Maharashtra National Law University Mumbai led to a successful Webinar Series that appreciated and respected the spirit of International Women’s Day.