Girl Up Neev

Feminism is a movement that aims to achieve equality for all individuals, regardless of their gender. While it is often viewed as a movement for women, it imperative for everyone to be a feminist. A feminist society will benefit all its stakeholders which shall enable every individual to progress without discriminatory hurdles. Firstly, men should be feminists as they’ve a lot to benefit! While women disproportionately experience issues such as the gender pay gap, sexual harassment, and domestic violence; men are also affected by the patriarchal norms and expectations. Societal conditioning to be the “Provider” adds an undue mental strain on men. A feminist society can help men break free from these restrictive gender roles, allowing them to explore their interests and talents without fear of judgment. Societal pressure often discourages men from seeking help at the cost of worsening their own mental health. The privileges that men lose will work in their favour by unshackling them fro...

“In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist. We must be ANTI-RACIST.”  - Angela Davis.   What is Racism? Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioural traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. (source: Wikipedia)  Racism leads to discrimination based on ‘race’. Discrimination itself is an ill-practice that leads to feelings of hatred amongst individuals, and the sense of superiority that one race has over another can also lead to several problems, including violence.  People get bullied because of their race colour, something which they are born with and have no control upon. This behaviour has several negative effects on one’s mental and emotional health causing issues like inferiority complex, social anxiety, lack of confidence amongst people, depression, etc. Why do Northeasterns in India face racism? Northeast India is one such diverse and unique region...

Sold and destroyed like mere objects,  Their dignity shattered, no respect,  Taken from their homes and their lands,  Forced into slavery, by ruthless hands.  Their bodies used, their souls destroyed,  Deprived of their rights, and left devoid,  Of hope and freedom, they suffer in pain,  Their dreams and futures, all in vain.  We must raise our voices and stand tall,  To fight this evil, once and for all,  Give them strength and a brighter light,  To restore their lives, and end the fight.  For every woman who's trafficked and lost,  We must come together, no matter the cost,  And help them regain what they've been denied,  Their dignity, their freedom, and their pride. - Ria Dembla

Queer is an umbrella term that describes sexual orientation and gender identities apart from straight and cisgenders. As time goes by, we can see how the queer community as a whole is evolving and there are significant changes with respect to the growth patterns amongst the community and the platforms and opportunities they have been exposed to. When we talk about the importance of recognition, we can see the changing trends in that too. Looking back at the situation ten or fifteen years back, homosexuality was seen as a taboo and indeed a crime in India. As societies developed and transformed, the LGBTQ community gradually started getting the recognition they always looked for. The community has always remained closeted because they feared discrimination not just by society, but also amongst their own peer groups, families, schools, etc. Today, even though homosexuality has been accepted, understood and acknowledged amongst the younger generations, there have still been stories of str...

Startup Industry is at its peak right now in India and the world. In recent years, India has emerged as a hub for startups, with a thriving ecosystem of entrepreneurs, investors, and support organizations. According to a report by Nasscom and Zinnov, India is home to over 50,000 startups, and the country is poised to become the world's third-largest startup ecosystem by 2025. Women have historically been underrepresented in the startup world, with just a tiny fraction of venture capital funding going to female-led businesses. Despite an increase in unicorns and startup founders, women founders are still a very minute part of the pie and receive very less funding compared to their male counterparts. According to Pam Kostka, CEO of All Raise, in 2019, only a meagre 12% of U.S. venture capital funding was directed towards female-led startups, despite two years of record-breaking investments worth over $130 billion by U.S. venture capitalists. With the current economic recession, women...

To call women the weaker sex is slander. If she did not have more inner strength, self-sacrifice, and resistance then men and mankind would not have survived. India’s struggle for freedom, commonly referred to as the Indian Independence Movement was a series of historical events with an ultimate aim of bringing an end to the British colonial rule in India. Whenever the record of India’s freedom struggle is composed, the sacrifices created by Indian women will surely find the most prominent place in it.  Leaders like the Rani of Ramgarh, Rani Jindan Kaur, Rani Tace Bai, Baiza Bai, Chauhan Rani, and Tapasvini Maharani led their troops into battle against the British in the First War of Independence in 1857. We can’t talk about this battle without mentioning the heroism displayed by Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi, who valiantly defended the fort of Jhansi against the rebellion by the East India Company. Even after her troops were overwhelmed, Rani Laxmibai did not surrender.  Further...

A popular actress once said that “in the world of Kardashians, be an Audrey.” This is probably because of the beauty standards being defined as “a combination of qualities, such as shape, color, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight.” The Kardashian are known for creating trends which are now affecting the youth: losing a large amount of weight in less time, plastic surgery, fillers etc. The youth today is becoming so influenced that in order to feel capable and qualified, they need to be perfect all the time. While on the other side was Audrey Hepburn, who said that with beauty comes kindness and love for humanity, two polar different thoughts depend on which affects us deeply.   Being Indian, the beauty standards were always bothersome: “Oh look she is not fair like her mom.”  “Kitni Moti Hai re woh!”  (look how fat she is) “How can she even wear such clothes?”  Sometimes, I even wonder with going further in time if people are becomi...

I get ready to go out, wearing a strappy top and a relative tells me to cover up with a jacket.   "Your bra strap is showing." "You don't know how these boys' minds work!"  "Why do you want to show so much?" are some things I hear on the regular.   Walking out of my house, I'm met with the ogling eyes of the public as I tend to hold my bag closer to me, phone in hand in case I need to call someone urgently. I have seen my college berate girls on the basis of what they wear and in school I've been a victim of it. Every time my mother constantly pesters me with my location, the numbers of who I'm out with and keeps calling me if I don't message back, reminds me of the one basic fact that my life seems to revolve around. The fact that I'm a female in a male dominated world stuck in the deep embedded institution of patriarchy. You fight for something, you're triggered. You express emotions, you're hormonal an...

  While having held the privilege of better job opportunities, a say in the country’s systems & politics & the freedom to pursue whatever pleases one’s heart, men have also had to bear the brunt of the societal standards fixated on them. Because of the gender inequality that persists in society, it is not intuitive for anyone to understand the pressure men are under & society’s role in reducing it. For eons, men have had to shoulder the responsibility of being the sole bread earners of the family. Ever since childhood, they are taught to put up a bold face & face the world headstrong to provide for food on the table. It is ingrained in their minds that it is their sole responsibility to ‘provide’ for the family. If not, they are not fulfilling their moral duties. They have had to live up to the labels of being ‘strong’ & ‘successful’. Branching from this pressure is the machismo we see affecting both the men & women equally. Beholding the title of ‘the bread...

It’s a struggle for all women to find the perfect piece of shirt, jeans, or dress with pockets in it. And even if you are able to find one, much to your disappointment, it’s a fake one. The history of pockets in women's clothing goes a long way back. People used pouches made of leather and cloth to keep their valuables safe. The 15th century was when the pockets came into the limelight and almost everyone started using pockets. But they were mainly in the form of cloth hanging like purses from the belt area. It was the 17th century when the modern style of sewn pockets emerged but unsurprisingly that was for men’s clothing. Women continued to have bag-like pockets tied to and hidden beneath their skirts. There was gender inequality in even pockets in the clothing. As fashion evolved, the baggy pockets also dissipated and women were back to using bags to store their stuff. Their pockets were just to show and their bags could also hardly keep anything other than handkerchiefs and...

STEM is often viewed as an exclusionary and male-dominated field. It has been called a ‘gatekept’ discipline where the representation of women has changed unevenly over the past several decades. The gender gap not only reflects the unfair conditions and poor treatment of female contributors to the field but also reduces and affects the quality and scale of innovation and advancement. Young girls and women are held back by biases, expectations or social norms which affect their education and careers. Today, while the world has made significant progress towards bridging the gap, many challenges remain and we still have a long way to go. Women have significantly contributed to the field of STEM throughout history. However, it is still difficult for a person to name even five female scientists or inventors and talk about their foundations. Did you know that Ada Lovelace invented the Analytical Engine and that her algorithm to calculate the Bernoulli Numbers via the same is regarded as the...

President of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI), Ashish Garg quoted "Despite having the world's 10th largest and Asia's oldest stock exchange, India still has low per capita income, educational inequality, non-banking habits, informal borrowing and lending practices that have been going on for years. Thus, it is imperative for the country to now understand how to optimize its resources and boost the economic and financial backbone of the nation." India is home to roughly one-fifth of the world's population but just 24% of the country's population is financially educated. The fact that three-quarters of India's population is unaware of or unconcerned about the critical need to manage funds is concerning for a country whose progress and development is dependent on the economy. Financial literacy is the most fundamental and important ability that everyone should acquire. However, in India, discussing finances at home is not customary, and ma...

  The struggle to convince society that many of the things women do have economic meaning, has been a long one and even when they have been acknowledged as having some economic value, the social value is still missing. The status accorded to some types of work isn’t always linked to money but on what that work actually is, says Manjima Bhaattacharjya. Treating and viewing the women who perform that work in a not-so-respectful manner. The world of fashion in India shows us the work of models, and the difficulties it entails, to the fundamental question of whether fashion objectifies women or acknowledges their agency.   You could see clearly how time has changed the industry for example the story of Meera in the 1970s, participating in the pageantry was looked upon as taboo, she felt working in the industry pioneering because during that time it was believed that girls from good homes never really went all out like that and did those things. When she won Miss India she was aw...

When you hear the words climate change what’s the first thing that comes to your mind?  We’re sure the first thing you think about is the weather changing such as ice melting, ocean warming, sea-level rise, etc. We usually identify it as an environmental cause but it is more than that, it is a social crisis and compels us to address issues of inequality on many levels. For instance the differences between wealthy and poor countries; between rich and poor within countries; between men and women, and between generations.  It is always the most vulnerable people that bear the burden of the consequences of climate change while contributing the least to the situation. As the effects of climate change become more severe, millions of vulnerable people face growing challenges in terms of extreme events, health consequences, food security, livelihood security, water security, and cultural identity. Climatic change threatens crops through shifting climate and agricultural zones,...

We mostly associate bullying with teenagers and schoolchildren being targeted by mean classmates. However, the fact is that we never stop being bullied. Many adults suffer from intimidation, teasing, and criticism. Adult bullies are everywhere. They can be abusive romantic partners, rowdy neighbours, work colleagues, bosses, friends, or even strangers on the street. You might dismiss these encounters as a result of personality differences or someone having a bad day. But, adults get bullied almost as frequently as adolescents.   Bullying has many levels and manifestations, but regardless of how subtle or excessive it may be, it can have a damaging impact on self-esteem. It involves rumours, threats, attacks- both physical and verbal or deliberate exclusion of someone from the group.  This issue is often condoned in the workplace. It can take the form of a manager who is highly critical and consistently demands more work from you while dismissing you. Bullies among co-work...