As the voices of the marginalised continue to be subdued by authorities of power, it is now more than ever that the country needs voices from these communities to speak up against brahminical patriarchy and speak for equality and social justice. Although historically as well as in contemporary times, these voices have been shunned repeatedly to maintain status quos and casteist forms of oppression, we cannot and must not let history repeat itself. Rather, as people with relative social mobility, we must contribute in the upliftment of the oppressed groups by amplifying their demands, their experiences of subjugation, their histories, solidarities, cultures, biographies, work and much more.
The Blue Club, a grassroots media organisation by and for the marginalised, run by Priyadharsini, is committed to magnifying Dalit women’s voices and provides filmmaking mentorship. Priyadharsini is an independent filmmaker. She graduated from the Asian College of Journalism and is also an aeronautical engineer. Having worked with several media outlets, including India Today, she now does independent filmmaking full-time. She is also a guest lecturer at the Quaide-Milleth International Academy of Media Studies (QIAMS).
As the voices of the marginalised continue to be subdued by authorities of power, it is now more than ever that the country needs voices from these communities to speak up against brahminical patriarchy and speak for equality and social justice. Although historically as well as in contemporary times, these voices have been shunned repeatedly to maintain status quos and casteist forms of oppression, we cannot and must not let history repeat itself.
The Blue Club is proud to launch its unique fellowship for Dalit Women+Dalit Queer Writers this 13th September, 2020. The fellowship’s core vision is to strengthen the narratives of Dalit women and Dalit LGBTQIA persons in journalistic media. This, we believe, is essential to challenge the oppressive authority of both the privileged savarna voices in the general media space and the patriarchal gaze within anti-caste media spaces.
Reflecting the core values of The Blue Club, the fellowship will be a safe space for Dalit Women+Dalit Queer persons to critically engage with several issues through an anti-casteist feminist lens. While the fellowship involves intensive training, we believe in compassionate and enabling approaches to support the fellows through mentoring, especially mindful of the fact that the process will be online due to the pandemic.
Also read: Dalit Women Learn Differently: Experiences In Educational Institutions
The fellowship is scheduled to run through November 2020 to January 2021, during which period the fellows will be attending online workshop and lecture series on various topics pertaining to caste and gender plus their interactions with socio-political realms in our country, from media to education, law, work, environment, and so on. They will be trained to write and publish journalistic articles, news reports, opinion pieces on these issues while also receiving one-on-one mentoring from experienced writers.
Reflecting the core values of The Blue Club, the fellowship will be a safe space for Dalit Women+Dalit Queer persons to critically engage with several issues through an anti-casteist feminist lens. While the fellowship involves intensive training, we believe in compassionate and enabling approaches to support the fellows through mentoring, especially mindful of the fact that the process will be online due to the pandemic.
So, if you are a Dalit woman or a Dalit queer person who wishes to meet and engage with a variety of journalists, writers, experts and social activists across several fields, who is keen to learn and write, or is tired of the limits of what savarnas and men write even in radical spaces, and is looking for an enabling sisterhood that makes you feel belonged, then we strongly encourage you to apply.
As the motive of the fellowship is to enable and nurture unrecognised talent among Dalit Women+Dalit Queer persons, we encourage applicants with minimal or no publishing experience; a keenness to learn, engage and dedicate considerable time towards writing about the multilayered oppressions in our society is essential. Moreover, the fellows will be receiving a stipend of Rs. 30,000 for the period of the three-month fellowship.
Also read: The Search For Caste Solidarity: Dalit Women In India And Nepal
If you have any queries, please send an email to tbcmediafellowship@gmail.com. We are looking forward to your application!
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