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Ashwini's Perceptions -
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    • A-Z Challenge 2018
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    • #AuthorChatter
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Poems

Personification of ‘Sorry’ (Poem)

May 9, 2018 by ashwini 10 Comments
I am hesitant
I am a courtesy text
I am measured politeness
I am naive
I am an empty grand gesture
I am a balm veiled as a suture
I am rare
I am a pearl of sincerity rolling down a cheek
I am the solace that both seek
I am powerful
I am the first step in the right turn
I am your faith restored in the world
Reading time: 1 min
A-Z Challenge 2018, Feminism, Hindi, Poems

ज़माने को चलो बदलते हैं (Zamaane ko chalo badalte hain) Hindi Poem

April 30, 2018 by ashwini 12 Comments
Essence of the Hindi Poem in English
Come, let’s change the world, let’s walk towards a new era
Let’s accept that some lives are incomplete
Let’s listen to every voice, let’s give courage to every scream
Let’s not hide our differences under the blankets of tradition
Let’s ask ourselves what our gender has got to do with our dreams
Let’s differentiate between ‘My truth’ and ‘The truth’
Let’s work continuously towards creating a world without any differences
Let’s not compete, let’s work together. Come, let’s change the world
Join me. Let’s undertake the journey to equality together. 
Reading time: 1 min
A-Z Challenge 2018, Feminism, Poems

Visage

April 25, 2018 by ashwini 28 Comments

VISAGE
She looked in the mirror 
And searched for signs of beauty 
So futile, she reminded herself 
When her strength was her vanity 
The attack had melted the veneer 
But her face was not her only identity 
Her spirit was recovering 
She refused to live like a faceless entity 
The world had turned its back 
Judging her for the blisters of vengeance 
But she had done no wrong 
Then why was she begging for acceptance? 
Her damaged eyesight didn’t impair her vision 
Her crinkled body was now thick-skinned 
Her scarred lips didn’t quiver anymore 
Her shriveled ears tuned out the din 
She will put on her game face 
And contour a winsome future 
She will pursue justice 
For she was not a Victim but a Victor.
Three Acid Attack Victors that inspired this poem:
Pic Source: Deccan Chronicle
Laxmi Aggarwal is a 29 year old Acid Attack Victor who today is a television host, winner of the International Women of Courage Award and a mother. She survived an acid attack at the tender age of 15 when she rejected the love of the then 32 year old friend of her brother.

“I believe that acid resides inside a man’s heart before it reaches his hands and gets thrown at someone like me. Two minutes ago someone said they loved you and it took no more than those two minutes for them to do something that does not even kill you but condemns you to a life worse than death?”

Pic Source: thestorypedia.com
Reshma Quereshi was 17 when 2 attackers poured acid all over her face as instructed by her sister’s estranged husband. Today, she has a YouTube channel where she gives makeup tutorials, at the same time spreading awareness against acid attacks. She has also walked the ramp at the New York Fashion Week and the Surat fashion show for Archana Kocchar.
“There is more acceptance of acid attack victims abroad — however, perhaps less awareness. It’s complex, but abroad, especially the West, acid attack survivors are given rehabilitation, emotional care, carry on to get married and lead normal lives. In countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iraq… a person is defined by that attack for life. “

“People still stare a lot and feel sorry for me. They shouldn’t feel sorry for me, they should feel angry with me.”

Pic Source: TheLogicalIndian
Monika Singh, is a UN Women Global Youth Champion and has not let the stigma stop her from pursuing her dream of making her mark in the fashion world. She also wants to help other victims turn victors through the Mahendra Singh Foundation, named after their late father which she co-founded with her brother Nikhil in 2015.

“Hit hard back. Prove that you are a leader of your own life and no one can take that from you.”

An Acid Attack is a crime of revenge. Its main purpose is to disfigure the victim’s face. The physical and consequential social scars make a victim feel lonely, broken, shamed and un-loved. Since most of these crimes are against women, it is up to us as a society to question the sense of entitlement that allows a man to easily cross the threshold of disappointment to vengeance. According to statistics, 300 acid attacks take place every year in India but by taking into account an estimate of the unreported cases, this number could be as high as 1000. Acid attacks are punishable with up to 10 years in prison but with acid available fairly easily, the crimes are not being contained. Organizations such as Acid Survivors Foundation India (ASFI), Chhanv – a support centre for acid attack survivors  and Make Love Not Scars are providing some much needed support to the victors.
The worse aspect of the crime is the impact on the victim’s confidence. This is something that we as a society are responsible for. Obsessed with beauty, we shame others who do not match the conventional standard. Here’s the request, next time you see someone who has already been scarred, let’s not add to their troubles.
Let’s not stare. Let’s not express pity. Let’s smile at them. Let’s send across some positive vibes their way. They deserve it.

Let’s also begin to appreciate beauty in a non-superficial way. This will ensure that the attackers will not have an incentive to carry out the attacks in the first place!
Reading time: 3 min
A-Z Challenge 2018, Feminism, Poems

Patriarchy’s Deep Roots

April 17, 2018 by ashwini 19 Comments

Possibly a system that emerged out of insecurity,
An attempt to protect now is authority.
The father is supreme and the son gets the property.
Rules and norms further intensify the disparity.
Independence and equality shall be doom, is the prophecy.
As they whistle and stare they also preach morality.
Rape is the culture that worships virginity.
Can’t see the gaps in rights, pay or opportunities?
Humiliation, guilt and blame are tools to tame the temerity.
You know we are talking to you. Spare us the insularity.

*The above poem has been written in the Acrostic style of poetry where the first letters of each line spell out the word.

Patriarchy is an invisible monster and as a society we need to put an end to the power struggles it propagates. When we trust and believe in one another, we will all be able to grow. It’s not idealism, it’s practicality. More women in the workforce will only lead to more prosperity. 
As per this year’s Economic Survey, we have made significant improvements in gender inequality in a lot of aspects. But on close inspection, we still have a deep-rooted gender bias against women. This is reflective in our “meta preference” for sons. Parents have children until they have a desired number of sons – taking the number of “unwanted” girls to 2.1 crores according to this year’s Economic Survey. Mind you, before you begin to think that this happens only in impoverished rural families, the Survey pointed that it prevails also in middle and upper-middle class families as well. 
Sex determination is an offense. No problem! We still have a way to circumvent it…keep having kids till we have a son! 
Our workplace statistics are startling: 
a. The labour force participation rate for women is falling: from 37% in 2004-05 to 28% in 2016. 
b. The Pipeline for Women Starts Small and Continues to Shrink 

c. Women earn 57% of what their male colleagues earn for performing the same work with the gender pay gap widening with her education and advancement in her career. 
d. Read more about the pay gap issue in Women’s Cricket here. 
I have already spoken about the representation of women or lack thereof in our films and the Indian legal system. 
Whether a woman has the right to go out or the right to raise her voice against assault or name her assaulter or change her name, it is not a decision for the system to make – it is hers and hers alone. We need to abort the growing sexism. 
My fight against the system of Patriarchy, makes me an Incorrigible Feminist. When will you become one?
Reading time: 2 min
A-Z Challenge 2018, Feminism, Poems

One for all and all for one: Feminists & the Queer (Poem)

April 16, 2018 by ashwini 24 Comments

Equality does not discriminate. 
The rights of the woman or man 
Or the queer one’s fate 
Is not for the supreme power 
To calculate. 

There is need to educate. 
Being born as a girl 
And not a boy, does not make you inadequate. 
Being queer is natural, 
It’s not a joke or illness, so don’t humiliate. 

We must contemplate. 
Why the queers are not allowed 
To procreate. 
They also can’t marry or parent 
Lest they contaminate? 
Accept, don’t differentiate. 
Let her race wearing her spikes
Or lead in her heels in a corporate
She can choose to marry or not
Or celebrate her same sex soul mate.

Recognize talent that’s innate. 
Why stare at her assets 
Or laugh at his effeminate voice to subjugate? 
Equal pay for equal efforts 
Should be a basic mandate. 

Victory is but a stalemate. 
Misogyny and Homophobia 
Reduce us to slave state. 
The same traditions and customs 
Also make you suffocate. 

Time to embrace and liberate. 
Aren’t we all
Just as ‘queer’ as we are straight? 
Ditch the binary. Adopt the plural. 
Let us give our gender norms an update. 

We won’t yield. So don’t dominate. 
We are unified against oppression. 
We won’t let you manipulate. 
Feminists and the Queer- we have but one aim, 
Patriarchy, soon you shall disintegrate.

The destination of a Feminist and the LGBTQ+ community is the same, then why should our journeys be different?
Note: When I use the word queer in quotes, I refer to it being strange or odd. But when I use it without quotes, I refer to the umbrella term for sexual and gender minorities who are not heterosexual and/or not cisgender.
Reading time: 1 min
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About me

image Dreamer. Untamed Spirit. Freelance Writer & Blogger.

I try and keep my writing as honest as possible and write from the perspective of a 'Happy Feminist'. If you like reading heart-felt long posts on contemporary and relatable topics, you have reached the right place!

I also enjoy interviewing interesting personalities. If you are an author, a blogger, an entrepreneur, a sportsperson, or someone who believes your lifestory must be told, I am all ears! I would love to share it with the world. :)

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