5 Indian Women Who Successfully Broke Gender Stereotypes

Ishita Malviya 

The ocean has always been a place for the men, they go to the ocean to fish while women sit at home. Even now, when women go to beaches, most of them are forced to worry about sunscreen and anti-tanning lotions more. Defying societal views on skin colour, and exploring areas that were reserved for men alone, Ishita Malaviya is just 25 and the first female surfer of India. 
 

Alisha Abdullah 

 

27 year old Alisha Abdullah, is India's first female national racing champion. When she was just 13 years old, she won the MRF National Go-Karting Championship and the Best Novice Award in the National level Formula Car Racing in the open class. Her best finish has been finsihing 3rd in 2009 Super Bike Championship.

Suhasini Mulay

Suhasini Mulay, the Marathi actress, who managed to get us floored with her performances, broke the stereotype of you-will-not-find-nice-a-guy-if-you-don't-get-married-early. She got married only when she felt the time was right, something almost every woman in India needs the liberty to do. Not only did she find her partner on social media, she married him at an age of 60. She hence proved that there's no right time for love and marriage. 

Shanti Tigga

Shanti Tigga was the first female combat soldier in the Indian Army, and she achieved this feat when she was 35 and had two children. While most women are told to leave their jobs after they give birth to children, Shanti Tigga not only succeeded in achieving her goals, but also defeated all her other male counterparts during their physical tests. And just a side note (for people who believe women are the physically weaker sex) she completed the 50-meter run in 12 seconds during her tests.
Although she met with a tragic death, after her abduction, she shall always remain a woman carrying valour beyond compare.

Roshni Sharma

An engineer by profession and biker by passion, she toured the entire length of India from Kanyakumari to Leh on a bike, solo, and is the first Indian woman to do so.She passed the lofty Himalayan mountains, tough terrains, high passes of Rohtang, Sarchu, Pang and Tangalangla and rode through the dangerous glaciers and nullahs and conquered over fear with her passion. 

- Compiled by Shambhavi Kamat

One Person Is All It Took

A short story written by Akash Roy Choudhary about a boy seeing gender stereotypes and raising questions about them. I wish all of us were brave enough, like Rajesh, to ask questions! 

------------------------------------------- 

As a child there were many thoughts that would just make you wonder about the way of things. Rajesh, the youngest child in a family of 4 was almost always in the limelight. He grew up in an orthodox family where questions asked about certain unspoken rules were treated like slaps on the parents' faces.
But, curiosity is the prime notion of knowledge. Maybe due to this sole reason , he had difficulty growing up following some "norms".

"Mom why does father always sit in that chair ?" (pointing out to the chair in the middle of dinner table)
"Why do you stop laughing when dad and his friends enter the room ?"
"Why do you allow me to go out all night but not Samiksha Didi, even after sunset ? It makes her sad."


Every time he asked, he received the same answer; "It's the way things are in our family. If you want something different, why don't you go try living with one of your friends' families?"

So, one day he stopped asking questions. He started to act to them. The day his deeds brought a change in his family was the day he stopped questioning about this norms.

All he was left with,  was a smile seeing his mother laugh freely.

Some things are hereditary, yes but there are ideas which are born naturally irrespective of the genes, race, gender or social status.


-Akash Roy Choudhary

Kevin: A Man on a Mission

Here's a story about Kevin, CEO of  SVN, a real estate brand. He is one of the very few men who not just stood up for women, but also took some actions to empower them and embolden their capacity. This story is also an example of how women can successfully manage their personal and professional lives. Kevin is an inspiration to Mumbai OYE and should be an example for all the male corporate executives out there. After all, we are nothing without the support of each other.
---------------------

Kevin Maggiacomo is a man on a mission to create gender-balanced leadership in all organizations worldwide by the year 2020. 

What inspired him you ask?
There existed a disproportionate number of women who were high performers, yet his company wasn't bringing any intentionality to recruiting and developing women. There was a pool of talent not being fully tapped into. 

How did he incorporate gender balance in his company?
Looking around the conference table he saw that nearly all of our execs were white, male baby boomers. He recognized that bigger results would follow once he put in place a program which caused their leadership balance to shift. The company then restructured their executive team which is actually now imbalanced at 60 percent women. Their profitability has increased by more than 100 percent and they’re trending positive across all key performance indicators.

Why is Gender Equlity important in the United States' corporate scenario?
American women were paid 59 cents for every dollar their male counterparts made. In 2010, compensation for women rose to a mere 77 cents for every dollar men made. And if change continues at the same slow pace as it has for the past 40 plus years, it will take almost another 50 (until 2056) for women to finally reach pay parity. 

What can men do to help with this situation?
There exists a preponderance of men in leadership positions. Yet, there aren’t enough male ambassadors for this change.More men need to stand up for the rights of their female colleagues, keeping aside their ego and insecurity. If a woman is on a higher position than you, she is probably there because she is better at that job than you would ever be. Standing for gender parity does not make you weak, it makes you stronger. Standing for others' rights requires strength, resilience and commitment. If a woman has dreams, the least you could do is let her be and focus on your own work. If a woman truly stands for gender equality, she doesnot think women are better than men. Gender equalist women want to walk with men, not ahead of them. Accept the fact that sometimes, a woman "gets ahead" of you, not because she thinks you are inferior due to your gender but maybe because she is genuinely better suited for that job. Yes, corporate sexual harassment is increasing, but so is the wave of gender equality. The sooner you accept this, the easier it will be for you to perform well for yourself.

Here is a picture of Kevin Maggiacomo!

-------------------------------------
Co-written by Krisha Panchal & Shambhavi Kamat

Draw Some Inspiration

Inspiration is the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something. Ideally, this stimulation can be recieved from anyone- or anything. It may be an incident that you witnessed, something your parents said to you or even something as insignificant as a tree in the midst of shrubs.

Personally, inspiration comes from something that I have witnessed or seen.

Every woman I see in the locals who goes to work everyday inspires me.
Every man who works for women/LGBTQ rights inspires me.
Every little girl who studies everyday so that she can make her parents proud inspires me.
Every person who takes an initiative to learn inspires me.
Every girl who is living an independent life inspires me.
Every person who makes their own choices inspires me.

But, out of everything, there is no sight more inspiring than that of a person embracing themselves, all their beauty and all of their faults too.

Beauty, as quoted in BBC Sherlock, is "a construct based entirely on childhood impressions, influences and role models". Beauty comes from within and I, for one, truly believe that it only comes with acceptance.

The world would be a better place for all of us if we could accept ourself as "normal" before we even try pointing at who is "abnormal"- Because normality is a very relative term. Eating grasshoppers and roaches is normal is South Asia, but is it so in India?

Everyone feels like they don't belong, at one point of time. You are not alone. Self-acceptance will get you halfway down the road. Almost none of cross the other half anyway, so don't worry. We're all sailing in the same boat, in the end.

Also, didn't most of us turn out fine despite all the setbacks? Ofcourse we did.

- Shambhavi Kamat

Stereotypes & All Things Negative

A bold-worded poem penned by the talented poet, Miss Krisha Panchal

-------------------------------------------------------------

Inequality is a negative word,
It is the thing that should be known by the world.
A human is a body with brain,
But sexism just makes things insane.

Expectations have led to misconceptions,
There is no boundary or deadline in the art of inspiration.

People change and so you have too,
Holding back the same dark past is called a weakness too.

Rules and regulations do not have type male and female,
Thoughts should be distributed in equal.
Pink is for him and blue for her also,
Don't let colors and other non-objective things rule our pshyco.

World has a population and not  body categories,
If only people could stop thinking in negative like fats and calories.

Its a child afterall and not a puppet,
Discrimination is poking unbroken hearts and we all need to stop it.

- Krisha Panchal

A Good Face Doesn't Equal An Educated Brain

It was one of those stormy nights when Rhea was returning home. The evening was calm and the sky had shades of orange and black clouds engulfing the entire town. It wasn't like one of those nights in horror stories but yeah it was dark. The soft breeze brushed her cold cheeks. Rhea had to rush home, she was already late for the movie and Sophie might already be fuming with anger.

She quickly planned out the details in her head as she walked. First of all, she would take a quick shower after reaching home and then head to the movies with Sophie. And then maybe end the perfect evening with a luxurious spread of Italian food. The wind slapped forcefully on her face and the rain drops pelted the umbrella like bullets. From a calm rainy night, the weather was slowly becoming fierce. The rain was now pouring and Rhea could hardly see where see was walking. Wet, tired and hungry she kept walking thinking about how her evening plans were ruined.

At a distance, she noticed a deserted bus shelter. Quickly making her way towards the bus shelter, she tripped on a stone and fell into the puddle of mud. She heard a rough voice behind her, a strong hand gripped her wrists and pulled her up. Embarrassed at her state she got up and turned around to thank the stranger.

Rhea looked at his face in wonder. She had never seen anyone as good looking as he was. He had perfect green eyes that sparkled even in the darkness, raindrops trickled down his olive colored skin, and he smiled at her as he brushed his dark wavy hair with his hand. She was awestruck and her mouth was completely dry. Rhea had always been the shy girl but he seemed so perfect to miss out on. She closed her eyes and his slightly scented shirt made her head reel. Was he the perfect guy? Was he the guy she had always wanted to spend her entire life with?

Coming out of her cocoon she broke the ice as they stood to wait for the city bus. She blushed and constantly played with her hair as she spoke about her life to this stranger. As they talked more Rhea realized they had similar tastes in music, movies, food and almost everything! Happy at how the conversation was going she even exchanged numbers with him. While discussing work life, the stranger expressed his views about how women should handle the housework instead of stepping out of their homes.

He went on to say how women were meant to handle the home and men were meant to handle the world. Just as he said this, her hands froze in her hair. It was as if someone had punched her back to reality. Faking a smile, she nodded her head every now and then. The conversation had become very cold. Just as the bus arrived, she turned around to wave goodbye. With a charming smile, he asked her to call him someday. Nodding her head, she quietly took her seat. She took out her phone to check for network and noticed the newly saved contact. Deleting the contact she heaved a sigh of relief.

She knew somewhere on this Earth she would find the right man. And he may not be as charming as the stranger was but he would definitely respect her feminity and help her develop.


- Pratiksha Padhi

Sexism, like a Tsunami

A short yet effective poem by Krisha Panchal.

----------

People said she was torn
Who knew she was making herself strong.
It was like the storm that changed her life,
She taught herself to cut the criticism with a knife. 
She demands the liberty that he already has,
It is the respect that she wanted to last.
Why differentiate bodies when soul is only one,
She craves for the same place,
Afraid of getting a replace.
Its the battle she faces everyday,
Crossing the path and finding another way.
Inequality being one of her enemy,
Sexism coming across her way like a tsunami.
This has to stop for the sufferers and others,
The world has to change and seize the dominance further.

- Krisha Panchal