Meet Eesha – FII’s Featured Writer Of May 2020

We have been featuring the best writers from our writers’ 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 writers’ community that we have steadily been building over the last three years. This May, we feature Eesha.

From smashing gender stereotypes to bursting myths around menstruation, Eesha’s exceptional flair of writing has covered a host of topics, keeping us hooked to her articles and her activism. Some of her other popular articles are Why Problem Do Men Have With Period Jokes?, Do Women Keep Themselves Away From Pleasure? and many others.

FII: Tell us a little about yourself and what you do.

Eesha: I’m a Psychology grad who’s passionate about writing, social justice, and writing for social justice. I write primarily on gender, sexuality, pop culture, and socio-political developments. Currently, I’m working at FII as a Hindi content creator and I’ve previously worked as a digital journalist at OddNaari (affiliated with TheLallantop.com).

FII: How did you become a part of the FII writer family?

Eesha: I joined FII as an intern after I had come across a call for applications for the office-based internship. This was in January 2020. I interned for one month after which I was offered a full-time position. This was a golden opportunity and I accepted. I joined the team in March and my few months here have been really rewarding. My FII journey so far has played a big role in my personal growth besides being a major high point in my career as a writer. I want to contribute to this platform in as many ways as I can.

FII: How and when did you become a feminist? Which issues within feminism are close to your heart?

Eesha: For most of my teenage years, I was in a phase of internalized misogyny. I believed that society has progressed past the need for a feminist movement and now it is women who dominate instead (LOL!). I identified more with “men’s rights” movements on the Internet and tried to disassociate from ‘feminazis’. It was only through long conversations with my mother that I could come out of that phase and it was in college that I fully embraced the label of feminist. Feminist issues close to my heart are LGBTQIA+ rights, sexual politics, and intersections with caste, class, and religion.

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?

Eesha: My favorite piece by me is “Are Pink Masks Only For Girls? Taiwan Health Officials Say No!” It is on the gendering of colours and how gender bias is subtly programmed into us from childhood. It’s tough to pick a favorite from among the others as I feel all the pieces are equal in their depth, nuance, and brilliance. One piece I’ve enjoyed reading is ‘Here Is A Step By Step Guide To Manage Savarna Privilege’. It’s an important piece as I feel savarna ‘allies’ need to be called out on their internalized biases, and stopped from developing messiah complexes.

FII: What do you like to do when not writing about gender and social justice?

Eesha: I like watching movies. I try to watch a movie or two whenever I’m not working. Besides that, I enjoy writing poetry and journaling. I was a very active member of the Creative Writing Society in my college. Reading is something I’m very fond of too and I’m trying to go back to my habit of voracious reading during this lockdown.

FII: What do you like about FII and our work? What more would you like to see from us?

Eesha: The work FII is doing to educate the masses on feminism, intersectionality, social justice and everything in between is amazing. As a core team member, I’ve seen first hand the sheer hard work and creativity of everyone in the FII family. I hope FII branches out to more Indian languages.

FII thanks Eesha for her timely and valuable contributions. We are incredibly grateful to have her as a part of our writers’ community and appreciate her for her deeply informative writing. You can follow her on Facebook.