By Nabodita Ganguly, FHI Kolkata
The best part about the beautiful moments of life is, they help us to recover our vehemence and makes life worth living. Every moment in life, prepare us for something important, and makes us strong and dignified person. Being a part of Fly Higher India NGO – FHI, made me realize how significant moments can create a difference; a difference which helps us to grow. It is trying to meet the current needs of society by making children aware about public issues, and making them show the broad aspects of life.
According to Mahatma Gandhi, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Fly Higher India, tries to change society for better and helps to build a society where the constitution is a living reality and there is no inequality. Change is never supposed to be easy. We always have a tendency to stick to our norms, and hence people might chide one for changing the society. However, one should never stop trying to create a change because as Marx said that change is the only constant of life.
In a country where so much of emphasis is given to the empowerment of woman, where there are so many fundamental rights such as Article 15 which prohibits discrimination of any person on the basis of religion, race, sex, caste, creed and place of birth; still today there are families who weep if they are blessed with a daughter instead of a son and prenatal sex determination test (even though it was banned in India in 1994) often happens where the child is killed before birth if it’s a girl. Considering the given scenario, we decided to talk about the concept of gender equality on behalf of FHI for the October Event held at Deenabandhu trust in KOLKATA. There we spoke to the children about gender equality and highlighted the fact that the inequality that woman face is made by society. As Simone de Beauvoir said, “One is not born, but rather becomes a woman” We also showed the kids at Deenabandhu trust an animated film titled “Muskaan”. The film revolves around Muskaan (a small girl) and the way she becomes demoralised when her grandmother insists her mother to do a prenatal test and not give birth to the child if it is a girl. The film ends with Muskaan’s grandmother understanding that basically there is no difference between a boy and a girl. That day, we explained to the children the common gender stereotypes that exists in society; most common being that a girl should play with dolls and a boy should play with cars. We told them that it is alright if a boy desires to play with a doll and vice- versa. After speaking about it, we asked the children to speak about their opinions, and it was good to see that most of them spoke about creating a change. They desired to create a world where there is no gender equality. In that event, we met a boy named Subhankar who is ten or eleven years old. After talking about the animated film, we asked some children to dance.
“Who wants to dance here?” I asked the kids. Subhankar raised his hands with a big smile.
“What will you dance?” I asked him.
“I will dance Mor Bhabonare (a Rabindra Sangeet),” he told us.
“Do you learn Classical Dance?” I asked him.
“No, I learn dance steps by watching some videos,” he told us.
“Alright. Best of Luck!” I told him.
As I started playing the song, Subhankar danced with grace, with passion and infinite amount of dedication. He went on smiling and danced with joy, euphoria.
There are times in society where a boy is criticised if he starts learning classical dance and he is considered as a “girl”. In his life, Subhankar might be questioned for doing classical dance by society, but his smile reflected his capability to fight against all odds and go on shining. The event of FHI, made him more confident about his own identity, and he knows that he will live life the way he wants to; not by following norms and tradition.
The October event of FHI, made the kids more proud to be in their own skin and helped them to understand that it is time that we start respecting the constitution of India where gender equality emphasised.
FHI has talked about many issues bothering the society which needs immediate attention such as talking about “mental health”, “environmental degradation” and also about “good touch and bad touch”. In the September event which was held at Ektara in Kolkata; the volunteers of FHI decided to talk about the concept of sexual abuse with the children and make them aware about what is the meaning of “good touch” and “bad touch.” We spoke to the children about the power to say “NO” if someone was touching them inappropriately because it is their body. The volunteers also mentioned the kids about the concept of “safe-touch” where our parents might touch us to show their love or the doctors might touch us to detect any disease.
Almost every other day, children all across India suffer from sexual exploitation, and the one of the most important ways to stop it is to make them feel that it is not their fault, but fault of the person who did this. FHI not only stressed the children to understand when to say “NO”, but also made the children memorize the child helpline number, as it is rightly said that prevention is always better than cure. The FHI event of the month of September, provided a platform to the children to be aware of a critical issue and made them prepared for the bigger race of life where things might be unfair at times, but we have to go on fighting till the end.
FHI has not only made it a point to talk and discuss about important issues which bother mankind, but it also makes kids more confident by giving them a platform to speak about their experience, dance if they feel like or make crafts which makes them feel confident, happy, and hence help them to nurture their personality.
The circumstance we face might be despicable and not our choice. However, the way we interpret them and lead life is definitely our choice. By spreading smile across their face, FHI makes the children look at life in a better way amidst all odds and makes the children create:
A life sans inequality,
A life sans negativity,
A life sans violence,
Hence, FHI seeks to create a better and bigger picture of life. A life where happiness is the only constant.