Tanvir Kaur's nomination for WAVE's Virtual Hall of Fame: Amelia Earhart

Bhoomika Kalam nominates tractor-driving Komal Gulab from MP for WAVE's Virtual Hall of Fame

वो जीत रही खेतों की जंग...
भूमिका कलम. भोपाल
नाम फुल सा कोमल गुलाब (बाई) और मेहनत इतनी कठोर की पुरूष भी शरमा जाए। अपने कर ( हाथ) और काम पर गजब का भरोसा। इतना भरोसा और मेहनत कि तसवीर और तकदीर दोनों बदल डाली। पहले से दोगुना ज्यादा लहलहाती फसलों के बीच अपनी सफलता पर खिलखिलाती गुलाब बाई।
मप्र के आदिवासी अंचल में बसे धार जिले के नालछा ब्लाक के छोटे से गांव आली में पली-बढ़ी गुलाब बाई जाट उन महिलाओं के लिए आर्दश हैं, जो जिद करो दुनिया बदलो की मेढ़ पर बिना थके बिना झुके चलने में विश्वास रखती हैं। गुलाब बाई ने कुछ करने की लगन और मेहनत के बलबूते खेती को न सिर्फ फायदे का सौदा बनाया बल्कि ग्रामीण इलाके में मिसाल बना दी।
अपने माता-पिता की इकलौती संतान गुलाब बाई गांव में "ट्रैक्टर वाली बाई" के नाम से जानी जाती है। गुलाब के इस काम को लोगों ने पहली बार शौकिया माना लेकिन जब वे ट्रैक्टर से अपने 65 बीघा खेत सहित अन्य किसानों के खेत जोतने पहुंची तो पुरूषों ने भी उनकी मेहनत के सामने हार मान लीं।
58 गांवों का प्रतिनिधित्व
कृषी को प्रयोगों के बलबूते नया आयाम देने वाली गुलाब खेती-किसानी के प्रति अपनी समझ और विशेष पहचान के कारण जिला कृषि उपज मंडी में संचालक के पद पर हैं। वे 58 गांवों का प्रतिनिधित्व भी कर रही हैं और एक कृषि उद्यमी के रूप में उन्होंने यह साबित किया है कि इस क्षेत्र में भी महिलाएं सफल हो सकती हैं।
48 साल की गुलाब किशोर उम्र से ही गांवों में साइकिल से दूध बेचने जाती थी। शादी के बाद काम छूट गया लेकिन 1985 में पिता के गंभीर बीमार रहने के कारण वे मायके आ गईं और खेती का काम संभाला।
संर्घष जीवन है...
संर्घष जीवन है लड़ना तो पड़ेगा... जो लड़ नहीं सकेगा आगे नहीं बढ़ेगा... की तर्ज पर अपने जीवन की कहानी सुनाते हुए गुलाब बताती हैं कि "आसान नहीं था पुरूषों के प्रतिनिधित्व वाले क्षेत्र में अपने को साबित करना। मेरे मोटर साइकल और ट्रैक्टर चलाने पर कई तरह की बांते हुईं। मैंने तय कर लिया था, कि किसी भी कीमत पर खेती में न सिर्फ सफल होना है बल्कि दूसरों से अलग काम करना है।"
एक साल जुताई में आई दिक्कतों का जिक्र करते हुए उन्होंने कहा जिनके पास ट्रैक्टर था उन्होंने जुताई समय पर नहीं की और हमारे खेतों के उत्पादन में कमी आई। इसके बाद ही मैंने टैÑक्टर सीखा और अगले वर्ष से अपने खेतों की जुताई खुद की। माता पिता जब खेती करते थे तो एक बीघा में पांच से सात क्वींटल अनाज पैदा होता था लेकिन अब नई तकनीकी के साथ यह उत्पादन 15 से 20 क्वींटल प्रति बीघा है।
गुलाब लागत हटाकर खेती से 3 से 4 लाख वार्षिक आय अर्जित कर लेती हैं। उनके यहां 6 दूधारू भैंसे भी हैं। उन्होंने उत्पादन बढ़ाने के लिए खेतों ट्यूबवेल लगवाया, बिजली के लिए ट्रांसफार्मर लगवाया।
दूसरों का उर्जा स्त्रोत
गुलाब ने बताया कि पहले तो लोग मुझे उपहास भरी नजरों से देखते थे, लेकिन मेरी सफलताओं के कारण अब तीन किलोमीटर दूर के गांव की एक और महिला ट्रैक्टर चलाना सीखकर खेतों में जुताई का काम कर रही है। मेरी बेटी भी ट्रैक्टर चलाकर खेती में मेरा साथ देती है। यह एक ऐसा क्षेत्र है, जिसमें महिलाएं अच्छा काम कर सकती है. सरकार को भी इस तरह के चुनौतीपूर्ण क्षेत्रों में महिलाओं को आगे बढ़ाने के प्रयास करने चाहिए।

Second entry: Educator Anarben Patel inspires Jyotsna from Gujarat

नमस्ते!
सबकी जिन्दगी में एक महिला तो होती है जो हमें प्रेणना देती है और वो महिला हमारी "माँ " होती है.
मेने अपनी माँ को खूब स्वमान से जीते हुए देखा है और उन ही से मुझे जिन्दगी में स्वमान से जीने की और पग्भर होने की प्रेरणा मिली है.
माँ के आलावा एक ऐसी महिला से में हमेसा से ही प्रेरणा पाती रहेती हु,उनका नाम है श्री अनारबहेन पटेल.
इनसे हमेसा ही कुछ ना कुछ नया सिखने को मिलता रहेता है,इनसे मेने प्रेरणा ली है की जो अच्छी चीजे हमने समाज से पायी है वो हम समाज को कैसे वापिस कर सकते है.


श्री अनार्दिदी गुजरात के पूर्व शिक्षण मंत्री और अभी महेसुल मंत्री श्री आनंदीजी की बेटी है.वो अभी "ग्रामश्री" नामका उद्योग सेंटर और मानव साधना संस्था के माध्यम से महिलाओ और बच्चो के साथ सेवा करती है.

हम सब जानते है की देश का भविष्य बच्चे है पर जब घर में ठीक से कमाई ही नहीं होगी तो वो बच्चे खायेंगे क्या और पढेंगे क्या?
महिलाए खासकर ज़ोपडपट्टी में रहेने वाली जो महिलाये है उनके बच्चो को अच्छी पढाई मिल ही नहीं पाती है क्यूंकि वो बहोत रित रिवाजो के नाम पर उन महिलाओं को ज्यादा पढे नहीं जाता है इसीलिए वो मजदूरी करके घर का खर्च उठाने में मदद करती पर उनमे उनका अपना स्वमान और इच्छाये मर जाती है .
रामापिर का टकरा जो अहमदाबाद का सबसे बड़ा slum है वहा पर श्री अनार्दिदी सेवा का काम करती है.
श्री अनार्दिदी का सोचना है जब तक महिलाये अपने पैरो पर खड़ी नहीं होंगी उनके घर का उद्दार नहीं हो सकता इसीलिए वो महिलाओ को भरत गुंथन का काम देकर पग्भर बनाने के साथ साथ आत्मविश्वासी और स्वावलंबी भी बना रहे है और मानव साधना बच्चो को value based education देती है.

वो हमेसा ही लडकियों को पढने के लिए प्रोत्साहित करती है और पढने में मदद भी करती है.

मेने उनसे शिखा है की अपने आपको कभी भी किसी से निचा मत समजो.
अपनी जिन्दगी में जो भी परिस्थिति आये उसकी जिम्मेदारी खुद लो.दुसरो पर मत डालो.
हमेशा खुद को up date करते रहो.नया नया कुछ शिखते रहो.
अपना खुदका कोई शोख पालो और उसमे अपने आपको माहिर बनाओ.
अपनी जिन्द्के खर्चे को खुद कमाकर पूरा करो.
किसी से भी मत डरो.
अपनी काबेलियत पर भरोसा करो.
मेरे लिए मेरी जिन्दगी में मेरी माँ के बाद श्री अनार्दिदी ही वो महिला है जो मुझे हमेशा " inspire " करती है.
आप वेब साईट पर से ज्यादा जानकारी पा सकते हो.
www.gramshree.org
www.manavsadhna.org

ज्योत्स्ना.

Look forward to more Virtual Hall of Fame entries - here's an article to motivate you!

Dreamers & Fighters
March 6th, 2011
Suchita Vemuri

It has been a century of struggle. A century of fighting for their rights; to be given their due in society and to be treated at par with men. And while today’s woman has come a long way since 1916, when Regina Guha was refused to be registered by the Calcutta High Court as a pleader (as lawyers were called then), she only has her ilk to thank for it.
The very fact that we are still dedicating reams of newsprint to the “emancipation” of women bears testimony to the fact that a lot more needs to be done. This does not, however, take anything away from the decades of strife women have undergone in India and abroad to improve her standing in society.
On March 8 we will be celebrating 100 years of the International Women’s Day and to try and list all the remarkable achievements of women in the past century would be futile. But try we must, if not for anything else but to convey the fact that for every act of defiance that we know about, there are hundreds of such instances that we are not aware of.
In the years between the first woman Congress president, Sarojini Naidu, and the latest incumbent, Sonia Gandhi, women have organised and led movements for political rights, a safe environment, education and livelihood. They have brought nationwide attention to injustices and proposed solutions for the same.
While women were fighting for their rights from much earlier, the example of religious and communal integration set by Aruna Asaf Ali, the heroine of the 1942 Quit India Movement stands out. Aruna was a Bengali Brahmo girl who, against centuries of social mores, married a Muslim gentleman from Delhi.
Decades later, in India’s quest for communal harmony, Teesta Setalvad from Mumbai would play a critical role, undertaking a well-orchestrated legal campaign to right injustices against minority communities.
Setalvad’s example proves that women are running neck-to-neck, if not forging ahead, of men in important worldly matters too. As leaders, women are better negotiators and peace makers; they bring about broader social legislation that benefits people across the spectrum. And when it comes to staying power in fighting for what’s right, women easily outlast men.
Take the case of Irom Sharmila. For the last 10 years, Sharmila has been on a hunger strike. It is a world record only because she has been force-fed by the authorities, who look on her as a criminal for attempting suicide. Her demand — repeal of the barbaric Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) — has been ignored in spite of nationwide protests. The AFSPA, a colonial legacy that suspends citizens’ democratic rights, allows the Army to kill and torture citizens without any repercussions.
Sharmila, a 28-year-old poet and human rights worker, started her fast-unto-death after Assam Rifles troops shot dead 10 civilians waiting at a bus stop in Manipur on 2 November 2000. But as she is force-fed in captivity, the AFSPA continues unabated in the Northeast and Jammu and Kashmir.
On a different spectrum, we have Amrita Shergil who not only established women as serious artists on the Indian art scene, but also brought women’s sexuality out of the closet. Thanks to her and others like her, today, women in India openly declare and campaign for lesbian rights and writers like Shobhaa De are celebrated for their sexual frankness and not relegated as smut.
Mathurabai of Gaintoli Village in Madhya Pradesh, India’s first woman sarpanch, significantly took forward the tradition set by Rajkumari Amrit Kaur and Sucheta Kripalani, India’s first woman minister in the Union Cabinet and woman chief minister, respectively. Today, women constitute a third to half the decision-makers at the village level and if all goes well, they will soon get reservation in Parliament too.
And then we have Medha Patkar who was one of the first social activists in India to focus attention on the plight of those displaced by mega infrastructure projects.
Similarly, environmentalist Sunita Narain and geneticist Suman Sahay have focused attention on issues of sustainable development, addressing a range of concerns, from polluted water bodies to genetically modified foods, and have proposed solutions that have positively influenced policy.
Author and activist Arundhati Roy perhaps puts it best when she talks of women’s standing in society 40 years ago: “I was the worst thing a girl could be: thin, black, and clever.” A far cry from today’s ad world and the fashion scenario where tall, dark and skinny models rule the roost.
And when we look at the corporate world, it is evident that the proverbial glass ceiling has finally been shattered.
Heads of global organizations like Indra Nooyi, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Chanda Kochchar and Naina Lal Kidwai have made it to the top in a traditionally male-dominated corporate world through sheer grit, intelligence and determination.
The fight of Sabrina Lal for justice for her sister Jessica — the Delhi model murdered on a whim by Manu Sharma in 1999 — is now immortalised on celluloid. While Neelam Katara’s struggle for justice for her son Nitish, murdered by the son and nephew of a UP politician in 2002, continues. The political influence of these murderers made it a hugely unfair fight, but these women would not give up.
If it is near impossible for these upper-crust Delhi ladies, we can only imagine what the fight for justice would have been like for a widowed peasant woman in Kaithal, Haryana. But Chanderpati, mother of Manoj, who was killed along with his bride, Babli, in 2007, fights on for justice. Manoj and Babli were murdered by a blood-thirsty khap panchayat while under police protection.
Chanderpati and her daughter, Rekha, live in isolation now, boycotted by the village that opposes their struggle for legal justice. Their farmland lies in waste, but their hope is unflagging. And the Sessions court’s sentencing five of the accused to death last year makes the struggle worthwhile.
While the girl child still takes second place to her brothers in access to education and healthcare, across India’s most backward states, a significant number of parents are asking for education certificates from prospective grooms as well as brides while arranging marriages.
Child marriages continue but the average age for the child bride has moved from nine to 16 in just six decades. And people like Ela Bhatt of the Ahmedabad-based Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) have quietly and steadily helped women to improve their livelihood and their economic and social status.
Fighting against all odds, women like them around the world show the real power of human will and determination. From Rosa Parks refusing to budge from her seat in the US that sparked the civil rights movement to the magic of Mother Jones in organising mine workers, the American dream was largely shaped by women.
Given half a chance, women have led the fight for dignity and freedom, from our Rani Lakshmi Bai to Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi; and in caring for people and the environment, like the tireless medical work of Dr Hawa Abdi Dhiblawe in violence-torn Somalia to Medha Patkar. Women have demonstrated the power to change, from activists like Kamala Devi Chattopadhyay to Shirin Ebadi, from feminists like Simone de Beauvoir, Gloria Steinem, Germaine Greer and Kamala Das right to the fun-loving folk of the Consortium of Pub-Going, Loose and Forward Women, who cheekily send pink chaddies to nasty, sexist Indian men.

First Blogathon entry for Virtual Hall of Fame - community worker Gyani Devi from HP!

WAVE videoblogger Vandana sent in this entry:

On the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day, I would like to nominate Gyani Devi, a 75 year old a woman living in a small village in Kangra in Himachal Pradesh for WAVE's virtual hall of fame.

When I walk around in the villages here, I see so many women-young and old, toiling hard to run their families. They wake up at the crack of dawn to work in their farms, graze their cattle, clean their houses, fetch water from miles, cook for the entire family and prepare their children for school. They work endlessly till night. They are the last ones to eat.Very few of them have a say in family matters. They have several restrictions imposed on them by the men in the family and society. When I saw Gyani Devi, I was truly amazed. Gyani Devi looks like any other grandmother in the village except the fact that she doesnt stoop when she stands or walks. Gyani has never been to school but she has been to police stations, panchayat offices and government offices. At an age when old women generally confine themselves to their prayer beads and sit in their courtyards, she helps victims of domestic violence file their cases with the local police, accompaines them to court hearings and brings back their dowry in huge trucks.She stands with pride and her eyes always have a mischievous glint. She is a firebrand woman who has worked tirelessly to help other women and fellow villagers during many crises.In the past, she has been elected as a panchayat member because of her dedication to serve her community,

The best part about Gyani is that she likes to enjoy life and laugh. She always has a song on her lips and she loves to entertain other women. She dances at functions and lives her life to the fullest. She is one of the most inspirational women I have met in rural India who has proved that you dont necessarily need a supportive family, a decent education and money to be empowered. What you really need is a spark which can only be found within you!

WAVE Blog-a-thon in honour of the 100th International Women's Day this March 8!

This International Women's Day, send in a blog and win cash prizes!

March 8, 2011 is the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day. To honour this special occasion, nominate a woman for our virtual hall of fame!

Tell us who inspires you and why? She can be Indian or from any other part of the world, living or dead, but she must be someone who would be considered a role-model.

Answer any of these by writing a line or more, sending a picture you took or a video blog of you speaking on camera. Email your entry on March 8 to womenaloud@gmail.com
The most original/ thoughtful entries will win and their names will be mentioned on the WAVE website, blog, Facebook and Twitter pages, besides winning cash prizes.

All the best!

Tata Institute of Social Studies CMCS fellowship for early career filmmakers - apply by March 31!

CMCS Fellowship for Early Career Film Makers
http://cmcsecf.wordpress.com/

The Centre for Media and Cultural Studies (www.cmcs.tiss.edu), Tata
Institute of Social Sciences announces a fellowship for film-makers at
an early stage of their career. The fellowship is designed to provide
the resources and environment for films that are innovative, relevant
and contribute to the growing body of documentary and short film work
in India.

The fellowship consists of:

* A stipend of Rs. 15,000 per month for a maximum period of
five months.
* The provision of in-house HDV equipment including camera and
editing facilities, if the work is to be carried out in Mumbai.
* Reimbursement of actual of production expenses on the basis of
a pre-approved budget. These expenses are expected to be in the
region of Rs. 1.5 to 1.75 lakhs, depending on the logistics of the
specific project.

In order to be considered for the fellowship applicants are required to
provide:

* A detailed curriculum vitae
* Up to two non-returnable samples of work on DVD/VCD.
* An essay outlining the film proposal in not more than 2000
words. This essay should include: a working title for the film,
language, the central theme of the film, approach to the content and
narrative style, possible visual segments.
* A production schedule with a detailed time frame for: research
and script, cinematography, editing to rough cut, editing to final
cut, submission of all material.
* A budget for other production expenses (e.g. travel, field
expenses, payments to other professionals etc.). Please note that the
fellowship does not support any infrastructural costs such as setting
up of an office, buying of equipment, or per diem costs.
* Names and contact details of two referees, preferably from the
field of media, whom we will contact for a reference if needed.

The fellowship is open to all Indian nationals. An early career
filmmaker is defined as someone who has completed her/his media
education not more than 5 years ago. In case of applicants without a
media degree, they should have made not more than 5 documentary or short
films already.
Up to two fellowships are available based on the quality of applications.
Short-listed candidates may have to come for an interview in April
2011. Travel will be reimbursed at the rates of three tier non-AC
train fare against valid tickets.
All proposals must be submitted as hard copies and signed by the film
maker to:

Centre for Media and Cultural Studies
Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Deonar, Bombay 400 088, India
Phone:+91 22 2552 5661

For any queries please contact: cmcs.fellowships@gmail.com

Last date for receipt of applications is March 31, 2011.