This year, we have been featuring the best writers from our writer community for their committed contribution to FII, making it what it is today. FII would not exist if not for the passionate and loyal feminist writer community that we have steadily been building over the last three years.
This December, we feature Mudra Mukesh. She has a knack of writing data-driven journalistic pieces as well as re-imagining common words in the context of women. Some outstanding pieces shes’s written have been on the gender wage gap, motherhood and women at work.
So without further ado, let’s meet the writer herself!
FII: Tell us a little about yourself and what you do.
Mudra Mukesh: I’m a lecturer in Marketing – so teaching and research is what I do professionally. I am currently based in London, and I love the diversity of the city that embraces everyone who ventures within its realms. Exploring new places and cultures is something that I enjoy passionately. I fight the patriarchy everyday (tirelessly!) using research, poetry, satire and most importantly – by asking the right albeit uncomfortable questions. (Example of a recent question: Why do people have children?; Yes, I am widely hated for asking it)
FII: How did you become a part of the FII writer family?
MM: I stumbled upon Feminism In India (FII) on Twitter a year back when several women were discussing incidents of sexual harassment, with their voices being shut down by men trying to trivialise their experiences. I read some of the articles on FII and I realised that this was a platform I wanted to be a part of – by way of reading and sharing my ideas. I then pitched some ideas to Asmita, and was given the go ahead to write my first piece.
FII: How and when did you become a feminist? Which issues within feminism are close to your heart?
MM: I don’t think there ever was a moment in time I could delineate and say that it was then I became a feminist. I have an inkling, I was always a feminist (even as a child), which came from growing up in a very egalitarian household, and having strong women around me. But I didn’t truly assimilate with the feminist movement until I was around 24 (I’m 32 now). A lot of the credit for this goes to a Belarussian friend who I met while doing my PhD in Spain who gave me a copy of the Second Sex by Simone De Beauvoir.
FII: What is your favourite piece on this site that you have written, and your favourite piece on this site that you have read? Why did they strike you?
MM: My most favourite writing at FII would have to be the first one: 11 Seemingly Benign Words Re-explained In The Context Of Women. My most favourite piece on FII? There are so many! However, since I have been thinking about this a fair bit lately, the article on Chivalry resonated with me quite a bit: Is Chivalry A Subtle Form Of Sexism?.
FII: What do you like to do when not writing about gender and social justice?
MM: Perusing maps, planning trips (some of those which materialise and many don’t!), taking photographs of mundane things, reading and writing poetry in the wee hours of the morning (the darkness and the quiet makes for a heady cocktail of creativity).
FII: What do you like about FII and our work? What more would you like to see from us?
MM: The passion of the women involved at FII, and their kindness of course, but really, it is such a prolific platform, displaying strong feminist voices through different medium (poetry, video, articles, listicles). The portfolio ranges from research based pieces to works on contemporary issues to even satire, and this well-rounded approach is definitely effective!
FII thanks Mudra for lending her enthusiasm and insight to our magazine and infusing it with her sharp, incisive commentary and data-based journalism. Read all articles on FII by Mudra here. You can follow her on Facebook and Twitter. To become a part of our writer community, click here.
