In the most simplistic words it is a project aimed at initiating conversations around topics that have been hushed down the most in our society and have quite an impact on people. Due to the lack of open conversation around gender and sex, society has kept on pushing the forward the ingrained stereotypes and taboos on the issue, which has only weighed down our societal growth and forbid the expression of individual’s choices. In our patriarchal society, for years people were bound to gendered norms of masculinity and femininity and those who didn’t conform to these faced serious backlash, which we observe in the form of discrimination, social ostracisation, gendered violence etc. It’s through a long history of struggle that questions on the binaries have been raised. But these questions are raised by the privileged few, so our aim is to develop the spirit of inquiry in the underprivileged section of society to observe the tangible impacts of these conversations. It is imperative to create conversations among the majority section of the country, underprivileged.
Through Project Tabdeeli we want young people to question the ideas and practices that happen around them, critically analyze the way they think and act around an individual from different gender or sexual minority. In this way, we aim to achieve inclusive and safe spaces for all diverse individuals who are at the margins right now. We want to introduce the idea of introspection, not only on an individual but social level, which will propel us to adapt paths to rectify our shortcomings and a constant sense of development.
We will be conducting conversations with underprivileged children of Khyber pass slums in Delhi of ages 13-18 years. We chose to work with adolescents and young adults as internalization of social norms and thought development happens maximum during this age. The module will be divided into two parts, part 1 for age group 13-15 years and part 2 for 16-18 years. Some basic topics remain the same for both, with more nuanced and detailed discussion in part 2 with the addition of a few new topics. The distinction has been made as we understand that these issues might be complex for the younger population and take some time to assimilate, whereas the elder group needs to have more in depth conversations and interventions. We won’t be teaching things to the children as we believe we are learning ourselves, but will have open conversations with them by using different methodology like media, nukkad nataks (street plays), self reflective activities, movie screenings etc. We essentially want to expose them to diverse worldviews (with focus on gendered aspect) and demonstrate they do not have to imbibe what they are fed, but actively question everything, explore and introspect.