Wish You All a very very Happy New Year 2012

Coming up the exclusive Fly Peace Campaign... to know more details contact 9983762103

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Gender Workshop

PJI hosted an eye-opening workshop on gender, perceptions, and stereotypes yesterday. We were lucky enough to host a pair of young activists who designed this innovative program, Nandan Latwal and Sundeep Choudhary. They have also worked with the comMutiny Youth Collective and Pravah Delhi. About 20 PJI volunteers attended the session and came away with many new learnings and reflections on the topic.

The session started with participants being asked to express themselves on a sheet of paper, and then try doing so while imagining themselves to be another gender. Afterward, the workshop moved on to discussing various gender stereotypes with the use of creative short films on the topic.

We discussed what sorts of expectations and identities we are given as a result of our gender--things like, "you are a boy, so you should focus your career on earning for a family," or "you are a girl, so you can't stay out late or speak too loudly." We also got an education on the difference between gender and sexuality, the various genders that exist, and other clarifications on this important topic.

"In a place like Jaipur, where the gender issues are very untouched, it was actually very moving for us to see the individuals participating in the entire process," said Nandan. "It's a very serious issue, which is generally not talked about, so we should promote such efforts."

The volunteers who participated in the workshop learned a lot. Keshav Modi said that he had been unclear about different terms, including transgender, and understood better after the session. "I always thought boys are just lucky, but seeing the films and having spoken about the topic, I realize that there are expectations and difficulties for guys as well," said Shivangi Dadich during the workshop.

We want to thank Sundeep and Nandan for enlightening us on this topic and hope to continue engaging on this important issue in the future!

No comments:

Copyright 2010-2011 Pravah Jaipur Initiative. All rights reserved.