FOOTBALL
Last two years we involve in sports. Sports in general but football, in particular, have become a phenomenon that has huge potentials as channels and tools for social development. Football was seen as a way not only to in still life skills in the girls but also encourage them to be regular in school and complete their education. It was not easy for us.
Residential workshops: The aim of holding this workshop is to create space where all these women who are struggling with violence and gender based inequalities and discrimination in their lives can be brought together to first of all share their own unique problems and issues, then to extend this talk from family to society, as to how the individual problems of women together make a larger social issue which are being constantly ignored by family, society or even state. The topics of discussion revolve around domestic violence, inequalities to women in society and various structures like patriarchy and gender which bind women.
This discussion tries to break down the image of women as helpless and weaker individuals and imbibe in them values like self-reliance, independence, dignity and equal rights in society. This socializing also provides an opportunity for these women to get out of their homes and feel free to think about starting a life afresh.
Film Festival: Aawaaz-e-Niswaan promotes women’s empowerment and gender equality by engaging and mentoring young women and girls to stop and prevent gender-based violence against women. Aawaaz-e-Niswaan primarily engages young women and girls in schools, colleges, and targeted communities in the conversation around sexual health, relationships and preventing violence against women through leadership driven training.
Photography: In 2009, Aawaaz-e-Niswaan, in collaboration with Point of View, conducted a photography workshop called ‘Sculpting Lives’ with 16 Muslim women, many of whom were survivors of domestic violence. The objective of this workshop, which was led by the members Photography Promotion Trust, was to challenge the stereotypical representation of the Muslim women as weak , helpless, and destitute and gave them a novel medium to tell their stories in their own way.
“Sculpting Lives” represented an invasion of public space by women who have never had access to it. Through this project, women got an opportunity to travel out of their hometowns and gain perspective on issues of women’s rights and domestic violence and how it manifests differently in different contexts. The images produced out of this workshop were shown at two exhibitions which received an overwhelming response at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival of 2010 . Some of the exhibits were sold for as much as Rs 2000 and many others were sold as wall art and stationery. One of the biggest wins of the workshop was it allowed women to explore photography not only as a means of self expression but also as a means of livelihood. It also let women perceive themselves as creative beings and active agents of social transformation.
Conference on Fundamentalism and Law
This workshop was designed to challenge the patriarchal structure and religious fundamentalism in a rigorous manner. This workshop intended to take the participants through the complexities of Muslim identity in secular India, covering issues such as fundamentalism, religious impositions, communalism, politics of development, lack of autonomy, and the denial of rights over ones own body. The objective was to reflect on the interactions between the personal and political; and the implications of activism for the rights of Muslim women. The attempt was also to collaborate with groups to work together on feminist and secular values.
“16 days of Activism” is a United Nations initiative that began in 199, stretching from The Day of the Girl (November 25th) to International Human Rights Day (December 10th). Awaaz-e-Niswaan is an enthusiastic annual participant in this! While our activism stretches beyond 16 days (it’s more like 365 days to be exact), we nonetheless take this opportunity to empower women as agents of social change. We encourage all mediums of activism and no topic is too taboo! In the past, our 16 days have consisted of dramas, interpretive dances, songs, poetry, and much more.