Beautiful Initiatives

USA's Former secretary of state Madeleine Albright once said, “There’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.” I wonder if there is a special place in heaven for women who help other women? If it is so, then Sheryl sandberg, Nandita das, Sunitha Krishnan have their corner offices booked there already. :) 

 Let me explain how...

• Lean In

 

 Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg‎'s  bestselling book Lean in  is in her own words " sort of a feminist manifesto, but one that I hope inspires men as much as it inspires women." we hope so too, Sheryl. In this book, she has talked about issues that a 20-something female just starting out her career, a housewife, a 40ish career woman will find equally relevant. It tells women that you can't expect perfection from yourself in every role, but you owe it to yourself and coming generations to not give up half your life in order to accommodate social norms; and men that a woman from dual income household does not owe it to the husband to bear so much domestic responsibilities that it appears to her like a 'second shift' and men need to, not as a charity but a duty take up half the domestic responsibilities.If you need further convincing read this.

• Dark is beautiful
  
  
   

Nandita Das recently joined Dark is beautiful, an awareness campaign. Launched in 2009 by Women of Worth, the campaign challenges the belief that the value and beauty of an Indian woman is determined by the fairness of her skin.It has long been a norm in India,especially north India to consider fair as beautiful,which has been reinforced by fairness product ads following the same storyline (of protagonist being able to realize their dreams/get a job/get a gf or bf,only after getting fair using the said product).As such,It is an exemplary action(Dark is beautiful campaign) that will greatly help bring about a change in traditional attitudes, perceptions and definitions of beauty.  

• Prajwala
  
  
  
   Prajwala is an anti-trafficking organisation that helps trafficked children and women, rescues and rehabilitates them. Dr Sunitha Krishnan the co-founder of prajwala, herself a survivor of gangrape by eight men at age of 15,has rescued more than 3000 females in about 18 years since she started the organisation.Watch the Tedtalk given by her in 2009 at Infosys Campus, Mysore to see for yourself, her intense resolute determination.
   
• Project Unbreakable Grace Brown 
  
  Grace Brown now 21, started Project Unbreakable at the age of 19.It is an online photography project featuring pictures of rape survivors holding a poster quoting their attacker.Its mission is "to increase awareness of the issues surrounding sexual assault and encourage the act of healing through art".   
  Update: Grace Brown wrote this article for Huffington Post recently
  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/grace-brown/why-i-stopped-talking-about-what-happened_b_5186175.html
  I'll keep on adding anymore such rays of sunshine i come across.If you know of any such project/organisation/campaign please let me know in comments i would like to include it too.

   "So when you spot violence, or bigotry, or intolerance or fear or just garden-variety misogyny, hatred or ignorance, just look it in the eye and think, 'The good outnumber you, and we always will."  -Patton Oswalt