We’re delighted to share with you an exciting piece of news—Feminism in India won the Social Media For Empowerment Award 2019 (#SM4E2019) on 2nd August under the Communication, Advocacy & Development Activism category by Digital Empowerment Foundation for two of our campaigns – #UnstereotypeCinema and #IndianWomenInHistory, in which we spoke about gender stereotypes in cinema and focused on stalwart women in India’s history.
#UnstereotypeCinema was a campaign by FII and Oxfam India to take a hard look at the films filling our theatres today, and look at ways in which they contribute to a society of rampant violence and rape culture. Through a mix of interviews and movie analyses, Oxfam India had released a research study on the ‘Impact of Films on Violence Against Women and Girls’. The findings from this study formed the basis of this campaign, and highlighted the extent of gender bias that our films embody.
Our campaign #IndianWomenInHistory came into being from the realization that history has long been a boys’ club, from the people being written about to the people writing the books. Women’s voices, stories and contributions have been silenced in the making of history. Every year, since 2017, we publish well-researched articles and long-form essays that talk about important #IndianWomenInHistory, or the role of Indian women in important historical movements. The entire month of March, which is celebrated as Women’s History Month all over the world, is dedicated by FII in bringing to light the very many the stories and legacies of #IndianWomenInHistory.
We’re grateful to everyone that shared the campaigns, wrote into us with their experiences, participated in our Tweet chats and Instagram chats and shared their views and opinions, and rejoiced in our feminist histories. We would have never been able to achieve this milestone without the love and support of all of you – our amazing FII family.
