Just Jo

Today will be marked in the history of Keralam as the first queer pride parade in Keralam is happening at Thrissur today. It starts from Regional Theatre, Thrissur at 4 PM today and will come back to a public meeting at 6 PM. Why today, July 2nd? Their blog says, “July 2nd of 2009 is the day when the Delhi High court decriminalized homosexuality by rereading section 377 of Indian Penal code. We celebrate pride on this day as we see the judgment as a historical moment in the lives of queer people.”

I think it will be really interesting to see the response of common public to this event, particularly in a conservative society like Keralam. It wouldn’t be so surprising but still, the shock treatment would begin today.

Checkout their blog here.

I have a thing against the Burqa. I think that thing represents a system of oppression designed by religion and men. Burqa, in my mind, has always remained to be a symbol of oppression, no matter how much those religious folks try to justify it by calling it a way of “protection”. So I was slightly amused when this Burqa-clad woman followed me on Twitter and had a look at her profile and there she is – A Burqa-clad woman who is fighting the very same thing that I think Burqas represent – Oppression.

Meet Masarat Daud, who is working to set girls of our rural areas free from oppression using education as a tool and bringing an event like TEDx to India’s villages, even with fighting the religious orthodoxy. Masrat runs an educational program called 8 Day Academy. She is changing the face of education in rural India through her work and is responsible for hundreds of girls getting the opportunity to attend schools. Since February 2009, Masarat has held three sessions of 8-Day Academy in her hometown Fatehpur, Rajasthan, training teachers and students from a local school in Computers and in Public Speaking & Communication skills. After eight days of Computers training, the team was able to use MS Word, MS Paint and know the theory of computing. All this by people who had never seen a computer before!

And then she brought TEDx to Shekhavati and you can read/listen more about her exciting and inspiring stories here and here . Also see her TEDx Shekhavati speech below:

From the house of “Story of Stuff”, now comes a new video which again makes you think. That makes me think, why are we not demanding to the Government for clean and safe drinking water for us all? Though we had a good news recently when an expert panel setup by the Kerala Govt suggested taking label steps to realize Rs. 216 crores for multi-sectoral damage in Plachimada, we have to wait to see it in action. Plus, we need to make sure that our politicians and bureaucrats do not eat up that money and would rather spend it on ensuring clean water available to all.

If the wealth of mineral extraction is funding social welfare spending, The Economist should ask why ordinary rural communities, like those I met in Jharkhand’s Karanpura valley, persist in a six year struggle to keep coal mining companies and thermal power plants from their land. And too why resistance groups like Jharkhand Mines Area Coordination Committee would sooner face imprisonment than capitulate to myths about development. People living in places like the Karanpura valley are not stupid. They have seen their mineral wealth shipped out to benefit others. They understand better than anyone else that local communities must be at the forefront of the decision making process if they are ever to challenge the powerful interests that exploit Jharkhand’s wealth and continue to deny human rights to those who are being forced from their land.

We have heard it before and we keep hearing. And we keep believing all those big talks of how they help in protecting our future or how much they spend on enhancing our lives. Now, head over to see and read this excellent photo essay at Tom Pietrasik‘s blog on the reality of mining in India.

Dr. Gaurva Chhabra had shared a link to his 2 minutes long short film through FB. The short film is titled The Mudcake. Watching the video has brought a smile (as most of us can relate to the childhood memories of playing with mud – I don’t think that kids these days do it though) and it certainly left something to think about towards the end of the video. Garurav has submitted this video in a U.S. Govt, Video contest @ Exchanges Connect and he needs around 150 more votes before 28th Dec (10 AM, 29th Dec, IST) to go to next stage. Voting happens when you ‘Rate’ the film. It requires a ‘Sign up’, ‘email confirmation’ by clicking on the sent link and then ‘Rating’ by clicking on ‘Stars’. Go ahead and do it if you like the film. I just did.

There is an NGO called Jananeethi in Thrissur that works in many areas such as micro-credit, self-help groups etc. and their primary focus is on bringing help to poor people for legal assistance. For the past 2 years, they are in a financial crisis and even the staff is working without salaries. They are looking for more project funds from government and other sources, but in the meantime to survive they need private donations.

Now they have come out with a plan and are looking for a contribution of Rs. 5000 per year and for 3 years. Those who would like to make monthly installments of payment can also do so. The bank account details are as follows:

SB A/c No. 9387, Catholic Syrian Bank, Main Branch, Thrissur – 680001.

Jananeethi is a charitable society registered under the provisions of the Travancore-Cochin Literary, Scientific and Charitable Societies Act XII of 1955, Reg. No. 193/92 TCR. All contributions can avail tax exemption granted under 80 G of Income Tax Act, 1961.

Here is their website for more info: http://www.jananeethi.org

Here is a music video directed by K P Sasi that talks about the present day exploitation of tribal land and forests in the name of development. This video is inspired by a song by Bhagwan Maaji, leader of the adivasi struggle against bauxite mining in Kashipur.

Playing For Change: Peace Through Music is a project where a song travels around the world and people from different countries add their part to it – vocalists and instrumentalists. The whole process is captured in video as well. Check out this beautiful video of a cover of the Ben E. King classic, Stand By Me, by musicians around the world. This and other songs such as “One Love” will be released as digital downloads soon; followed by the film soundtrack and DVD early next year.

Sign up at www.playingforchange.com for updates and exclusive content.

Plan India is a Child-Centred Development organisation that works towards promoting Child Rights and improve the quality of life of vulnerable children. They have launched a campaign “Learn without Fear” against violence faced by children in schools and homes. This campaign is currently being launched in seven states (Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Bihar, Rajasthan, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh & New Delhi) in which Plan works, and will aim to directly improve the lives of millions of children in India.

This campaign is about preventing all forms of violence against children in schools. It includes corporal punishment, sexual abuse, neglect, verbal abuse, emotional abuse, bullying, peer-to-peer violence, youth gangs, use of weapons, and harassment in school and on the journey to and from school.

Plan India, has also set up a Children Advisory Board (CAB) wherein children from different stratas of society meet every month and discuss problems faced by them in schools, share their experiences and views and suggest solutions. They are also planning to work within communities, parents, teachers and children to end violence in schools.

Key findings of the study by Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India 2007*

1) 69 % children reported physical abuse, including corporal punishment, i.e. two out of three children were victims of corporal punishment

2) 62 % of the corporal punishment was in government and municipal schools

3) Most children did not report the matter to anyone

4) 53.22% children reported having faced one or more forms of sexual abuse

5) 21.90% child respondents reported facing severe forms of sexual abuse and 50.76 % other forms of sexual abuse

6) The states of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar and Delhi have almost consistently reported higher rates of abuse in all forms as compared to other states

* Study based on experiences of 12, 447 children, aged 5-18 years across13 states.

(Image courtesy: PlanIndia.org)
(Thanks to Kanika Kohli for the info)

A group of people from Chennai have started a forum and a community blog to discuss/preach/rave/write about Energy, Ecology and Environment related things. The team also includes Mr. T Jayaraman, who is a renowned expert on Energy saving Concepts and Controls. In one of their posts, Don points out to the hypocrisy of Citibank who says this on their website: Save Trees ! Say No to Paper ! Get your statement on e-mail.