FInding your voice against sexual violence: Meera Vijayann at TEDxHousesofParliament
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0:17 - 0:20Talking about empowerment is odd,
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0:20 - 0:22because when we talk about empowerment,
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0:22 - 0:25what affects us most are the stories.
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0:25 - 0:27So I want to begin with an everyday story.
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0:28 - 0:31What is it really like
to be a young woman in India? -
0:32 - 0:35Now, I've spent
the last 27 years of my life in India, -
0:35 - 0:37lived in three small towns,
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0:37 - 0:39two major cities,
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0:39 - 0:41and I've had several experiences.
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0:42 - 0:44When I was seven,
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0:44 - 0:46a private tutor who used to come home
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0:46 - 0:49to teach me mathematics molested me.
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0:50 - 0:53He would put his hand up my skirt...
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0:58 - 1:00He would put his hand up my skirt
and tell me -
1:00 - 1:03he knew how to make me feel good.
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1:04 - 1:07At 17, a boy from my high school
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1:07 - 1:09circulated an email
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1:09 - 1:11detailing all
the sexually aggressive things -
1:11 - 1:13he could do to me
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1:14 - 1:16because I didn't pay attention to him.
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1:18 - 1:20At 19, I helped a friend,
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1:21 - 1:24whose parents had forcefully
married her to an older man, -
1:24 - 1:27escape an abusive marriage.
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1:28 - 1:30At 21, when my friend and I were walking
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1:30 - 1:33down the road one afternoon,
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1:35 - 1:37a man pulled down his pants
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1:37 - 1:39and masturbated in front of us.
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1:40 - 1:43We called people for help,
and nobody came. -
1:44 - 1:47At 25, when I was walking home
one evening, -
1:49 - 1:52two men on a motorcycle attacked me.
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1:52 - 1:54I spent two nights in the hospital
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1:54 - 1:57recovering from trauma and injuries.
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1:58 - 2:01So throughout my life, I've seen women
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2:02 - 2:04family, friends, colleagues,
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2:04 - 2:07live through these experiences,
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2:07 - 2:10and they seldom talk about it.
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2:10 - 2:14So in simple words,
life in India is not easy. -
2:15 - 2:18But today I'm not going to talk to you
about this fear. -
2:18 - 2:21I'm going to talk to you
about an interesting path -
2:21 - 2:23of learning that this fear took me on.
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2:24 - 2:28So, what happened one night
in December 2012 -
2:28 - 2:30changed my life.
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2:30 - 2:33So a young girl, a 23-year-old student,
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2:33 - 2:37boarded a bus in Delhi
with her male friend. -
2:38 - 2:41There were six men on the bus, young men
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2:41 - 2:44who you might encounter
every day in India, -
2:44 - 2:46and the chilling account of what followed
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2:46 - 2:48was played over and over again
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2:48 - 2:51in the Indian and international media.
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2:51 - 2:54This girl was raped repeatedly,
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2:54 - 2:57forcefully penetrated with a blunt rod,
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2:57 - 3:01beaten, bitten, and left to die.
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3:01 - 3:03Her friend was gagged, attacked,
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3:03 - 3:05and knocked unconscious.
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3:06 - 3:09She died on the 29th of December.
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3:10 - 3:13And at a time when most of us here
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3:13 - 3:15were preparing to welcome the new year,
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3:15 - 3:18India plunged into darkness.
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3:19 - 3:22For the first time in our history,
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3:23 - 3:25men and women in Indian cities
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3:25 - 3:27woke up to the horrific truth
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3:27 - 3:30about the true state of women
in the country. -
3:30 - 3:33Now, like many other young women,
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3:33 - 3:35I was absolutely terrified.
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3:35 - 3:37I couldn't believe
that something like this -
3:37 - 3:39could happen in a national capital.
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3:39 - 3:41I was angry and I was frustrated,
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3:41 - 3:45but most of all,
I felt utterly, completely helpless. -
3:46 - 3:48But really, what do you do, right?
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3:48 - 3:50Some write blogs, some ignore it,
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3:50 - 3:52some join protests.
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3:52 - 3:55I did all of it.
In fact, that was what everyone was doing -
3:55 - 3:57two years ago.
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3:57 - 3:59So the media was filled with stories about
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3:59 - 4:01all the horrific deeds
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4:01 - 4:03that Indian men are capable of.
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4:03 - 4:04They were compared to animals,
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4:04 - 4:07sexually repressed beasts.
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4:07 - 4:10In fact, so alien
and unthinkable was this event -
4:10 - 4:12in an Indian mind
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4:12 - 4:14that the response from the Indian media,
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4:14 - 4:17public and politicians proved one point:
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4:18 - 4:20No one knew what to do.
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4:20 - 4:22And no one wanted
to be responsible for it. -
4:23 - 4:25In fact, these were
a few insensitive comments -
4:25 - 4:27which were made in the media
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4:27 - 4:29by prominent people
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4:29 - 4:32in response to sexual violence
against women in general. -
4:34 - 4:37So the first one is made
by a member of parliament, -
4:38 - 4:42the second one
is made by a spiritual leader, -
4:43 - 4:46and the third one
was actually the defendants' lawyer -
4:46 - 4:48when the girl was fighting for her life
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4:48 - 4:49and she passed away.
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4:51 - 4:54Now, as a woman
watching this day after day, -
4:54 - 4:56I was tired.
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4:56 - 4:58So as a writer and gender activist,
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4:58 - 5:00I have written extensively on women,
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5:01 - 5:03but this time,
I realized it was different, -
5:03 - 5:05because a part of me realized
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5:05 - 5:07I was a part of that young woman too,
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5:07 - 5:10and I decided I wanted to change this.
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5:10 - 5:13So I did something spontaneous, hasty.
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5:14 - 5:16I logged on
to a citizen journalism platform -
5:16 - 5:18called iReport,
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5:18 - 5:21and I recorded a video talking about
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5:21 - 5:22what the scene was like in Bangalore.
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5:22 - 5:24I talked about how I felt,
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5:24 - 5:26I talked about the ground realities,
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5:26 - 5:29and I talked about
the frustrations of living in India. -
5:31 - 5:34In a few hours,
the blog was shared widely, -
5:35 - 5:37and comments and thoughts poured in
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5:37 - 5:38from across the world.
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5:38 - 5:40In that moment,
a few things occurred to me. -
5:42 - 5:45One, technology was always at hand
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5:45 - 5:47for many young women like me.
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5:48 - 5:52Two, like me, most young women
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5:52 - 5:54hardly use it to express their views.
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5:56 - 5:59Three, I realized for the first time
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5:59 - 6:01that my voice mattered.
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6:03 - 6:04So in the months that followed,
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6:04 - 6:07I covered a trail of events in Bangalore
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6:07 - 6:10which had no space in the mainstream news.
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6:11 - 6:14In Cubbon Park,
which is a big park in Bangalore, -
6:15 - 6:16I gathered with over 100 others
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6:16 - 6:18when groups of young men came forward
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6:18 - 6:20to wear skirts to prove that clothing
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6:20 - 6:22does not invite rape.
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6:25 - 6:27When I reported about these events,
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6:27 - 6:30I felt I had charge,
I felt like I had a channel -
6:30 - 6:32to release all the emotions
I had inside me. -
6:34 - 6:36I attended the town hall march
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6:36 - 6:39when students held up signs saying
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6:39 - 6:41"Kill them, hang them."
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6:41 - 6:44"You wouldn't do this
to your mothers or sisters." -
6:46 - 6:48I went to a candlelight vigil
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6:48 - 6:50where citizens gathered together
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6:50 - 6:53to talk about the issue
of sexual violence openly, -
6:54 - 6:56and I recorded a lot of blogs
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6:59 - 7:01in response to how worrying
the situation was -
7:01 - 7:03in India at that point.
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7:04 - 7:07Now, the reactions confused me.
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7:07 - 7:10While supportive comments
poured in from across the world, -
7:10 - 7:12as did vicious ones.
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7:12 - 7:13So some called me a hypocrite.
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7:13 - 7:16Some called me a victim, a rape apologist.
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7:16 - 7:18Some even said I had a political motive.
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7:18 - 7:21But this one comment kind of describes
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7:21 - 7:24what we are discussing here today.
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7:26 - 7:28But I was soon to learn
that this was not all. -
7:29 - 7:31As empowered as I felt
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7:31 - 7:33with the new liberty that this
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7:33 - 7:35citizen journalism channel gave me,
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7:35 - 7:38I found myself in an unfamiliar situation.
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7:38 - 7:41So sometime last August,
I logged onto Facebook -
7:41 - 7:43and I was looking through my news feed,
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7:43 - 7:45and I noticed there was a link
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7:45 - 7:47that was being shared by my friends.
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7:47 - 7:49I clicked on the link; it led me back
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7:49 - 7:53to a report uploaded by an American girl
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7:53 - 7:54called Michaela Cross.
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7:55 - 7:56The report was titled,
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7:56 - 7:59"India: The story
you never wanted to hear." -
8:01 - 8:04And in this report,
she recounted her firsthand -
8:04 - 8:07account of facing
sexual harassment in India. -
8:07 - 8:11She wrote,
"There is no way to prepare for the eyes, -
8:11 - 8:13the eyes that every day stared
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8:13 - 8:16with such entitlement at my body,
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8:16 - 8:18with no change of expression
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8:18 - 8:20whether I met their gaze or not.
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8:21 - 8:23Walking to the fruit seller's
or the tailor's, -
8:23 - 8:26I got stares so sharp
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8:26 - 8:29that they sliced away
bits of me piece by piece." -
8:29 - 8:33She called India a traveler's heaven
and a woman's hell. -
8:33 - 8:35She said she was stalked, groped,
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8:35 - 8:36and masturbated at.
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8:36 - 8:39Now, late that evening,
the report went viral. -
8:39 - 8:43It was on news channels across the world.
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8:43 - 8:45Everyone was discussing it.
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8:45 - 8:46It had over a million views,
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8:46 - 8:48a thousand comments and shares,
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8:48 - 8:50and I found myself witnessing
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8:50 - 8:51a very similar thing.
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8:52 - 8:55The media was caught in this vicious cycle
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8:55 - 8:57of opinion and outburst
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8:57 - 8:59and no outcome whatsoever.
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9:00 - 9:03So that night, as I sat wondering
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9:03 - 9:04how I should respond,
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9:04 - 9:07I found myself filled with doubt.
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9:07 - 9:10You see, as a writer,
I approached this issue -
9:10 - 9:12as an observer,
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9:12 - 9:16as an Indian, I felt embarrassment
and disbelief, -
9:17 - 9:20and as an activist,
I looked at it as a defender of rights, -
9:20 - 9:23but as a citizen journalist,
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9:23 - 9:26I suddenly felt very vulnerable.
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9:26 - 9:29I mean, here she was, a young woman
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9:29 - 9:30who was using a channel to talk about
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9:30 - 9:32her experience just as I was,
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9:32 - 9:35and yet I felt unsettled.
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9:35 - 9:37You see, no one ever tells you
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9:37 - 9:40that true empowerment
comes from giving yourself -
9:40 - 9:42the permission to think and act.
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9:42 - 9:45Empowerment is often made to sound as if
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9:45 - 9:47it's an ideal, it's a wonderful outcome.
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9:48 - 9:50When we talk about empowerment,
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9:50 - 9:53we often talk about giving people
access to materials, -
9:53 - 9:55giving them access to tools.
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9:55 - 9:58But the thing is,
empowerment is an emotion. -
9:58 - 10:00It's a feeling.
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10:00 - 10:02The first step to empowerment
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10:02 - 10:05is to give yourself the authority,
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10:05 - 10:07the key to independent will,
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10:07 - 10:09and for women everywhere,
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10:09 - 10:11no matter who we are
or where we come from, -
10:11 - 10:14that is the most difficult step.
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10:15 - 10:17We fear the sound of our own voice,
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10:17 - 10:20for it means admission,
but it is this that gives us -
10:20 - 10:22the power to change our environment.
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10:23 - 10:25Now in this situation where I was faced
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10:25 - 10:28with so many different kinds of realities,
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10:28 - 10:29I was unsure how to judge,
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10:29 - 10:32because I didn't know
what it would mean for me. -
10:32 - 10:35I feared to judge
because I didn't know what it would be -
10:35 - 10:38if I didn't support
the same view as this girl. -
10:38 - 10:40I didn't know what it would mean for me
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10:40 - 10:44if I was challenging someone else's truth.
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10:45 - 10:47But yet, it was simple.
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10:47 - 10:48I had to make a decision:
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10:48 - 10:50Should I speak up or should I stay quiet?
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10:51 - 10:53So after a lot of thought,
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10:53 - 10:56I recorded a video blog in response,
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10:56 - 10:58and I told Michaela, well,
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10:58 - 11:00there are different sides to India,
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11:00 - 11:03and I also tried to explain
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11:07 - 11:08that things would be okay
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11:08 - 11:11and I expressed my regret
for what she had faced. -
11:11 - 11:13And a few days later,
I was invited to talk -
11:13 - 11:15on air with her,
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11:15 - 11:19and for the first time,
I reached out to this girl -
11:19 - 11:21who I had never met, who was so far away,
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11:21 - 11:23but yet I felt so close to.
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11:24 - 11:27Since this report came to light,
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11:27 - 11:29more young people than ever
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11:29 - 11:32were discussing sexual harassment
on the campus, -
11:33 - 11:35and the university
that Michaela belonged to -
11:35 - 11:38gave her the assistance she needed.
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11:39 - 11:42The university even took measures
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11:42 - 11:44to train its students to equip them
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11:44 - 11:45with the skills that they need
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11:45 - 11:48to confront challenges such as harassment,
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11:49 - 11:52and for the first the time,
I felt I wasn't alone. -
11:53 - 11:55You see, if there's anything
that I've learned -
11:55 - 11:57as an active citizen journalist
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11:57 - 12:00over the past few years,
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12:00 - 12:04it is our dire lack as a society
to actively find -
12:04 - 12:07avenues where our voices can be heard.
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12:08 - 12:12We don't realize
that when we are standing up, -
12:12 - 12:14we are not just standing up
as individuals, -
12:14 - 12:17we are standing up for our communities,
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12:17 - 12:19our friends, our peers.
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12:19 - 12:23Most of us say that women
are denied their rights, -
12:23 - 12:25but the truth is, oftentimes,
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12:25 - 12:28women deny themselves these rights.
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12:28 - 12:31In a recent survey in India,
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12:31 - 12:3595 percent of the women who work in I.T.,
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12:35 - 12:38aviation, hospitality and call centers,
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12:38 - 12:41said they didn't feel safe
returning home alone -
12:41 - 12:44after work in the late hours
or in the evening. -
12:44 - 12:46In Bangalore, where I come from,
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12:46 - 12:48this number is 85 percent.
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12:49 - 12:51In rural areas in India,
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12:51 - 12:53if anything is to go by the recent
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12:53 - 12:57gang rapes in Badaun
and acid attacks in Odisha -
12:57 - 12:59and Aligarh are supposed to go by,
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12:59 - 13:01we need to act really soon.
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13:02 - 13:04Don't get me wrong,
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13:04 - 13:07the challenges that women will face
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13:07 - 13:10in telling their stories is real,
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13:10 - 13:12but we need to start pursuing
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13:12 - 13:15and trying to identify mediums
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13:15 - 13:17to participate in our system
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13:17 - 13:19and not just pursue the media blindly.
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13:21 - 13:24Today, more women than ever
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13:24 - 13:25are standing up and questioning
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13:25 - 13:27the government in India,
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13:27 - 13:30and this is a result of that courage.
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13:31 - 13:34There is a sixfold increase in women
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13:34 - 13:36reporting harassment,
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13:36 - 13:37and the government passed
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13:37 - 13:40the Criminal Law Amendment Act in 2013
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13:40 - 13:43to protect women against sexual assault.
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13:44 - 13:46As I end this talk,
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13:46 - 13:48I just want to say
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13:48 - 13:51that I know a lot of us in this room
have our secrets, -
13:53 - 13:56but let us speak up.
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13:56 - 13:58Let us fight the shame and talk about it.
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13:58 - 14:02It could be a platform, a community,
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14:02 - 14:05your loved one,
whoever or whatever you choose, -
14:05 - 14:07but let us speak up.
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14:08 - 14:11The truth is, the end to this problem
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14:11 - 14:13begins with us.
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14:13 - 14:14Thank you.
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14:14 - 14:17(Applause)
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14:27 - 14:30Host: The idea behind TEDxChange
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14:30 - 14:32is that people can take action
to make a change, -
14:32 - 14:34and you've talked
a little bit about that. -
14:34 - 14:36Is there any quick though,
before you leave -
14:36 - 14:40that you might share with the audience
about action they can take? -
14:40 - 14:44Meera Vijayann: Well, all of us here,
I know, use the Internet, -
14:44 - 14:47and two platforms
that come to mind immediatelly -
14:47 - 14:49are iReport and Guardian Witness,
-
14:49 - 14:52which are both very powerfull,
open international platforms, -
14:52 - 14:55where people can share their views
and their stories -
14:55 - 14:56which I use often, as well,
-
14:56 - 14:59so, I think that's one thing,
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14:59 - 15:00and another thing I want to say
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15:00 - 15:03is that a lot of us in this room
also have -
15:05 - 15:09power and access in our offices
or in our workspaces -
15:09 - 15:11and in our communities
-
15:11 - 15:14and we should excercise that
to create channels -
15:14 - 15:18for people to kind of come together
to tell their stories -
15:18 - 15:20in an independent way.
-
15:21 - 15:23Thank you.
(Applause)
- Title:
- FInding your voice against sexual violence: Meera Vijayann at TEDxHousesofParliament
- Description:
-
Meera Vijayann is a journalist who is working towards leveraging digital media for social change and empowerment. Through the use of citizen journalism platforms. In 2013, she won the CNN IBN Citizen Journalist Award for her reporting in the aftermath of the Delhi rape case. In this powerful talk Meera explores the idea that the solution to the problem of sexual violence starts with finding your own voice.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 15:33