Championing a Feminist Perspective for Development in the State

In the late 1990s most people in Assam felt that women centric issues should only be addressed and dealt by women rights organisations and women themselves. In other words, there was almost stubborn resistance in terms of acknowledging the fact that there is an urgent need for a positive attitudinal shift across all quarters and institutions of society in terms of ushering women's rights and addressing and resolving their issues.

I was a student at Guwahati University when I heard of North East Network for the first time in 1995. This was essentially the year of it's inception too. If I look back I will say that I was drawn to this organisation because it is a radical forum and spoke from a feminist perspective. Another reason that attracted me was the leadership. The firebrand and dynamic Monisha Behal, one of the two co-founders greatly inspired me to get associated with the cause of women rights and empowerment.

I must also say that if one looks at the history of Assam it is evident that women have always played a turnkey role in various social and political movements starting from the struggle for Indian Independence. The Student's Movement and Assam Agitation too had unbridled participation from women. As a child in the late 1970s I would often accompany my mother, grandmother, aunts to various processions and protests and would get scared when policeman came hurling lathis at us. However I also stood unflinching in my stand to accompany my elders as I realised that all the women were brave and were questioning something important- something that deserved to be questioned. I later realised that they were questioning injustice and discrimination. All these were part of my inspiration to join NEN.

At NEN through discussions and dialogues with Monisha Behl and other women leaders and frontline activists I realised that although women in North East and particularly Assam have always spearheaded important social and political movements they have somehow always remained on the sidelines. I wanted to be part of NEN's journey and endeavours to change this fact and mainstream the voices of women from all spheres and stratas of society.

NEN as a forum envisages facilitating women so that they can exercise their rights. I started my work at NEN at a very grassroot level. The one insight that struck me the most in those early days was that women related issues and injustices are actually universal. This realisation dawned through numerous interactions with fiery feminists and very fierce and vocal women rights activists from various parts of India and abroad who regularly frequented our region and organisation with the objective of learning and understanding our typical challenges and enriching us with their on ground insights.

If I have to cite the cardinal challenges that I faced in the early days of my work I would talk about the false perspective (rampant in Assam in those days) that people harboured in terms of women issues and their redressal. Most people largely felt that these issues should only be addressed and dealt by women rights organisations and women themselves. In other words, there was almost stubborn resistance in terms of acknowledging the fact that there is an urgent need for a positive attitudinal shift across all quarters and institutions of society in terms of ushering women's rights and addressing and resolving their issues. The fact that men are equal and important stakeholders in the mandate of women empowerment was barely recognised in those days. I acutely realised that if the collective consciousness does not emerge all policies and schemes for women empowerment will just remain altruistic visions.

In my two decade plus journey of working with women I have come to conclude a few things. I strongly believe that if the women of our generation want to carry forward the legacy of empowerment (that is gradually but surely building up through concentrated efforts of visionaries and women activists) we need to be collectively conscious that there is no under representation of women in the public, legal and even the business sphere. Be it the Assembly Elections or the judicial system we cannot afford a situation where women candidates or representatives are dwindling. Often we see that history is replete with the feats and contributions of men and the contributions of women have by and large been sidelined. Ofcourse many heroic and worthy women have etched their names in the pages of history for eternity. However, many more have been pushed to oblivion after their time on earth. Simply out, if there is under representation of women in civic spheres there is a danger of history getting skewed.

I have contributed to the growth of NEN from its nascent stage at various levels from micro grassroots mobilisation to the macro policy level, combining activism with advocacy and academia. Shaping rural women's leadership at the grassroots level has also been my forte. To cite an example, I have been instrumental in building women's feminist leadership at the grassroot level by setting up Gramin Mahila Kendras (village women's centres) in four districts of Assam. These centres are now recognised by the government and community in general as safe spaces for women and girls. The Kendras provide psycho social care and counselling to aggrieved women. I also started connecting women survivors of violence to livelihood which is now popularly known as Saneki Weaves. I am also a resource person on women's issues to several government, non- government, UN agencies , educational institutions and public sector undertakings in the state and am a professional trainer on different gender issues. I have also lead my team in publishing fact sheets and research reports in order to influence policy makers and also mould public opinion on issues of discrimination and abuse on women.

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