‘Change Champ’ for change in mindset

Srishti Bakshi , one of the winners of United Nations ‘Champion for Change’ 2016-17 was in

Bhopal

as part of her ongoing 3,800 km walk in 260 days from

Kanyakumari

to Srinagar. The walk is meant to sensitise citizens about violence against women and help them fight it through financial and digital literacy. In a telephonic interview, she spoke to TOI , here are the excerpts:
In 2016-17, there were only 6 Indian women who were awarded the ‘Champion for Change’ by UN. Why is the number so less?

The number might look small when we are talking about 1.25 crore people. But there were about 4,000 to 7,000 applicants, so we do have a fair idea about the exact number of people who took part. Our generation is not sitting idle. This is something very positive.

What issues did you come across in your three days here?

I read about the Bhopal gangrape incident and how the survivor and her mother took steps to catch the accused since the system failed. We only come to know about such incidents when the system fails. No one reports about positive events. A lot of change is happening here. The night bazar of Bhopal, where girls can go shop at late night is one such initiative that I applaud. Domestic violence is something to be concerned about.

If mentality of the people does not change, how will campaigns make any difference?

This is the basis of our campaign. I always do an activity, where I bring a board and divide it in ‘man’ and ‘woman’ columns. We ask participants to say the quality that comes to mind when we think about them. We have realised that ‘strong’ always falls under ‘man’ while ‘patient’, ‘polite’ are attributes that fall under the ‘woman’ category. The mindset of people needs to change as it plays a greater role than laws, concerned authorities and the government.

You once said that education alone does not lead to empowerment. Please elaborate.

When I say that education alone does not lead to empowerment, I know people who are pursuing higher education only as a qualification for marriage. This is what I meant with ‘education alone does not lead to empowerment’ because these women still don’t have the freedom to make their own choices in life. But we have also met women who are not educated but are very empowered and they have changed their lives and are confidently making headway and living independently.

Many people take up challenges but quit when their efforts don’t bear results. How is your campaign different from the rest?

I am aware that India will not suddenly become safer for women at the end of my campaign. I am not going to able to impact lakhs of lives or change the mentality overnight. I am more focused on individuals rising up to create change.

A word of advice for the women of Bhopal.

If you want to change your life, just go ahead. You are the only person who is standing between your current situation and betterment. It is important for us to desire and seek change.

Once the wish to change things arises, then action follows. My job is to make women realise that they have a voice, an opinion and capability to change things.