Girl Up Neev

  "Do not live someone else’s life and someone else’s idea of what womanhood is. Womanhood is you. Womanhood is everything that’s inside of you.”   Inspiration can be found in the darkest of times or the bright daylight if we only open our eyes to see them. From the last 19 years, I have been fortunate enough to see women who are not only trying to improve their lifestyle but also inspiring people around them. I think learning from the people around us, with whom we share personal connections gives us deeper insights and a more clear view of how things work out and how we should tackle them. Stating one of my biggest inspirations, my grandmother who is approximately around 82 years old and still carries that igniting a fire inside her to learn new & difficult things which are completely outside of her understanding zone. Last month, she got adamant and ordered a smartphone for herself because she was so fascinated to see how the whole world is at her fingertips. I ...

Have you ever observed that you feel particularly proud and content on your most productive days? Or that you can feel disappointed or unhappy if you haven't completed duties or met personal or professional goals? For many of us who link who we are with what we do, this is a typical occurrence. We live in a society that tends to place a premium on our achievements over nearly everything else. Resting, imagining, reflecting, feeling, laughing, and connecting with ourselves and others are all part of living a multi-faceted existence. We also need to step out of productivity mode from time to time to deal with difficult emotions, low energy, bereavement, illness, and other unanticipated aspects of life. There is also a notion that if we are not as productive as we should be, we should feel shame or guilt in some way. We fail to acknowledge, however, that our productivity isn't the only factor that determines our self-worth. We can't judge our self-worth or value by what we can...

The baby girl is wrapped in a pink blanket, She’s bought a house kitchen set and barbies to play with, She is told not to wear short skirts by teachers, She’s silenced not to discuss her periods, She’s told to sit in a certain manner, A woman is not supposed to be “loud” and “disrespectful”, Are you sure you even know anything at all about sports, She’s bold, brave and fierce but all she gets to hear is if it’s that time of the month, Her success is perceived as if she slept her way, A married woman is told to give birth, her biological clock is ticking, A guy can roam freely but a girl has to constantly worry, A mere thought of women driving scares off men, She’s supposed to be maternal and take care of her family,  A woman looked like just a household material & never career-oriented, Subtle sexism is ingrained in our lives, a product of patriarchy. Women can take the reins in their hands, rule the world She’s not to be mansplained and we are tired of hearing of being sexuali...

Crimes against Women (2001-2014) A case-study We have all heard blood-boiling stories of rapes, human trafficking, abusive assaults against women but often all we can do is sympathize towards the victim and eventually, the story gathers dust at storage rooms of police or media archives.  This is an attempt to shed some light on these crimes. At 3,44,124, WEST BENGAL has the highest Cruelty by Husband or his Relatives accounting for 15.40% of the cases. It is a linear graph translating to an increase in cases with time. After 70+ years of Independence and amelioration of human rights and science, Dowry Deaths are still a common sight in India, which is not only shameful but also hideous and pathetic. At 57,256 , UTTAR PRADESH had the highest Dowry Deaths accounting for 26.57% of Dowry Deaths.  A general uptrend is abysmal. 2003 had 12,416 cases (least) and 2011 had 17,236 cases (maximum).       Rape is one of the most shamele...

  The term 'Harassment' is a form of discrimination. It includes any unwanted physical or verbal behavior that offends or humiliates you. It covers a wide range of behaviors of an obnoxious nature. Such behavior affects the physical and mental well-being of a person.The ‘Me Too’ movement gave courage to numerous people to speak openly about offensive conduct at the workplace.Yet, many are still skeptical about opening their mouths and reporting harassing behaviors of managers or colleagues. Workplace Harassment is common but not openly talked about in utmost work surroundings. It can ruin a job and could turn a company into a poisonous terrain. Many individuals are not even sure of what is considered to be harassment at the workplace because of which a lot of cases go unreported and it continues to be a problem. The ‘Me Too’ movement has enhanced the awareness of sexual harassment. There are a lot of employees who leave ...

We live in a world where we still fight for equality and justice for women and the queer  community. We still beg for equal opportunities and it is yet so difficult to voice our opinions because when we do, we are titled as ‘stupid’ or our opinions are declared ‘void’. Apart from fighting for all these existing issues, one of the things that still remains the same is the taboo  of menstruation or to put it differently, “Shhh, do not tell your father about it! He is a  man!” Talking to our male counterparts on this topic of menstruation is still taboo in society. People hesitate, rather feel embarrassed to talk about this with their fathers or brothers, thinking, “They do not even know about this, is it even fine to talk to them?” and the same feeling of ignorance is also encountered in men as they feel embarrassed to talk about periods. They term it as a ‘disease’ or ‘apshagun’ (meaning: unholy). Men feel like it is wrong by their masculinity to speak about or address the...

  We live in a society that is engulfed in pop culture thanks to media. Media, in some fashion, is a part of almost everyone’s daily routine, and because of this, pop culture is a powerful and influential force for each individual in our society. Regardless of quality and accuracy, media coverage and portrayals are highly modelled and valued by those who partake in any form of popular culture. Unfortunately, several groups of individuals “suffer unequal treatment both in and outside the media,” and one of those groups is the LGBTQIA community. Several studies indicated that the influence popular culture has on individuals both within and outside the LGBTQIA community is striking, as LGBTQIA individuals were likely to be portrayed in a negative or stereotypical manner. The media's portrayals of LGBTQIA individuals have been increasing and are becoming less stereotypical over time, but realistic portrayals are still quite rare. However, there’s a glimmer of hope after all. Thanks t...