Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Dancing for my causes! @my Maiden Indiblogger Meet

I love dancing and that's why I made sure to sign up for my first Indiblogger Meet themed Dance India Dance Season 4 and be there to check out the fun at the Oberoi on the 23rd of October. I got there quite early and waited for the evening to unfold.

That's me at the Meet :D (Thanks to Indiblogger for the pic)
Back to my dancing skills, in my head I know how to execute the perfect pirouette and those slow languid moves that dazzle my partner as I become one with the music reaching a crescendo and end with a seamless bow. But in reality, I am blessed with almost double left feet eh? I still think I am a pretty good bathroom dancer and I still love to dance though I am not sure I could ever put myself up on a stage to be judged for my dancing skills.

Ahem.
But if my dancing could make a difference in someone's life, then Hell Yeah! I can and will dance it out. Dancing for me is pretty intimate and I do not like an audience at all. Or rather, I block them out and have my fun.

But, like I just declared, I will put on my dancing shoes anytime and make all my super moves for a few causes. Namely, creating awareness for and prevention of Violence against women, racial and gender discrimination and legalization of Abortion.


As a female living in the big bad city of Delhi, there are n number of instances when I have felt that being a woman is a curse. I totally love being a woman and would wish to be born as a woman again but why is the Indian world so cruel to us women? Everyday, I watch so many women, lost in their daily struggles, fighting for a place under the sun, be it with their family, in laws, home or at work or even for a seat on the crowded metro and it breaks my heart. Besides the physical hardship of being the weaker sex, we also face a lot of untold miseries and discrimination. We live in fear. Of eve teasing, assault, judgement, social isolation, the glass ceiling, violence, curfews, discrimination and most of all, of time ticking away and becoming a victim of circumstance. Why is there such an onus on the shelf life and marketability of a women? Do give us moments to cherish our womanhood and not always worry about being a woman.

There are so many women bearing the brunt of inhuman treatment at the hands of their husbands, relatives and even brothers and often lovers. How can you do this to us - your mothers, sisters and daughters? Need I mention the horror called honour killings? Does this ever apply to men? I am afraid not. Women are the honour of men but they bear the consequences of all dishonor and are rarely honored. How sad is that? Is this the kind of world you want your children, especially daughters to be born into? Think about it.

We need to empower girls and women to speak out about instances of violence and have a system in place to protect them from further violence. Do you know why very few women speak out? No surprise here. Simply because they have nowhere else to go so they keep their peace and suffer. We need radical changes in attitude towards women to improve treatment of women in our country.

There are so many reports of rape and molestation; not to mention the unreported cases and the humiliation victims have to go through inspite of the system in place. It is just not fair. There has been a national outcry but has that lessened the number of cases? Why should women have to make sure they don't put themselves in a situation where they can supposedly invite "being raped"? Shouldn't men and parents and society be making sure that women don't have to think twice about stepping out of the house even in broad daylight? Hey, is it even safe for women in their own homes?
We are killing them even before they are born. Is it a woman's fault if she gets raped, gets eve teased, attacked with acid or bearing a girl child or being born a girl? Give me the answers and I will dance my shoe soles out. If my dancing can make it a safe world for women and free from violence and discrimination, I will dance it out.

Our country is a land of diversity but instead of celebrating diversity, why are some of us treated differently - like we are less human or aliens in our own country just because we look different and eat different? Hey, we are also your brothers and sisters. Same blood, feelings and emotions yaar! I will dance it out to make India free of racial discrimination.

And abortion. Hmmm. This is just my opinion. But women deserve better treatment and also the freedom to make decisions concerning her body and her biological functions. She deserves the right to proper medical attention should the need arise. Numerous women lose their lives every year due to medical negligence or improper care post incomplete or bungled abortions at dubious clinics and health centers with no respite in case of any accidents or misdemeanor on the part of doctors or quacks. If women have access to good hospitals and proper treatment without the stigma and illegality attached to it, many lives will be saved. I mean give them a break! It's not like they made the baby alone without any help from the guy and only we bear the stigma? Not cool. Plus, it our bodies that have to bear the ravages of pregnancy, the discomforts and the risks. So allow us to make these important decisions. If abortion was legal, more women will be empowered to make educated decisions about their health and well being and ensure the health of the Nation as well. I will dance it out for women to have access to legal abortion minus the stigma.

And there I was at my first Indiblogger Meet, dancing it out for "Safer streets for Women". I didn't just get to put on my dancing shoes and make my moves but also got to throw a few realistic punches at some eve-teasers (acting) for our group's choreography piece. And we won! Call it beginners' luck but I am raring to go and dance it all out for my causes and here's a big thank you to the wonderful people at Indiblogger who made the Meet happen and gave us bloggers a chance to have a blast with the Dance India Dance Icons Feroz and Mudassar.
I am also somewhere in there in the third row :P

And thanks to Ratika, Rinzu, Rigzin and Manpreet for making the Meet extra memorable.

Click here to catch the action and here to see what happened! 

4 comments:

  1. Im getting a lot f mentions , nice post mercy!!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Ratika. You made me feel right at home :D

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  2. It was very useful for me. Keep sharing such ideas in the future as well. This was actually what I was looking for, and I am glad to came here! Thanks for sharing the such information with us.

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