Meet The Prajnya 2014 Gender Equality Mobilisers (G.E.M.s)

Every year, the Prajnya 16 Days Campaign against Gender Violence brings together a mix of public events, workshops, seminars and other activities that take place across towns and even, media. This year, we wanted to make a shift away from the notion that the impetus for social change must come mainly from organisations like ours. We wanted to return ownership of campaigns like this to all citizens, to each of us, as individuals. We wanted to say, "No matter what you do, where you are, what your life is like, there is something you can do. And even if it is small, the small things add up!"

We invited 17 individuals to take the lead on this year's campaign by initiating activities and taking action within their immediate spheres. They are our Gender Equality Mobilisers, or as we like to call them, G.E.M.s. The G.E.M.s come from different walks of life; some are more famous than others. Each of them has found a way to show support for this cause--eliminating gender violence--in some way that is meaningful to them and that fits in with their everyday life.

We are proud to introduce these wonderful people to you!

Devasena ES is a media freelancer who works as an RJ, voice-over artiste and sub-titling professional.

Read more about Deva and why she is happy to be a part of the Prajnya 16 Days Campaign. And in Deva's words: G.E.M.speak

Preeti Aghalyam is a Professor in Chemical Engineering and Chairperson of the Women's Forum at IIT-Madras and is a life-long running addict.

Read more about Preeti and why she is happy to be a part of the Prajnya 16 Days Campaign.

Pravin Shekar is a start-up specialist, speaker and event conceptualizer who runs a healthcare research and data collection organization called Krea.

Read more about Pravin and why he is happy to be a part of the Prajnya 16 Days Campaign.
Pravin's main campaign activity was an early morning cycle rally. He has also pledged to seek speaking opportunities on why gender violence should matter to men as well, and is organising a walk on December 13, where participants will also share information on gender violence.

Dr.Sudha Raja is an accomplished Carnatic vocalist who runs the Suswara school of music and conducts the Sargam choir group for children. She is one of Chennai's leading music teachers, and Principal Faculty at Rhapsody - Education Through Music.

Read more about Sudha and why she is happy to be a part of the Prajnya 16 Days Campaign.
Sudha's Sargam Children's Choir presented a choral concert, Voices for Equality, that also had singing by children from the Chennai school system. Read about it here.

Padmini Subramaniam has been passionate about teaching, right from her childhood when she ran a school for underprivileged children at home. She is also a trained singer who has learnt Carnatic music and Rabindra Sangeet.

Read more about Padmini and why she is happy to be a part of the Prajnya 16 Days Campaign.
And this blogpost about her campaign initiative: Dialogues over Dhoklas.

Sudha Umashanker is a freelance journalist, columnist, social activist and storyteller.

Read more about Sudha why she is happy to be a part of the Prajnya 16 Days Campaign.
Sudha's activity entailed a process and a product.
Read her account of the process and then watch the product: The Story Behind Her Silence.

Nanditha Prabhu is trained in Mohiniyattam and is an accomplished performer who is the founding partner of Mythri Centre for the Arts, which caters to the holistic developement of children through fine arts.

Read more about Nanditha and why she is happy to be a part of the Prajnya 16 Days Campaign.
As part of her activity, Nanditha and Martha John initiated a process of dialogue and creative expression at Mythri, which is documented here.
Watch Mythri kids share some of their creativity with us:
1. Manathil Uruthi Vendum (song)
2. Together we CAN (dance drama)
3. The Beauty Within (dance drama)

Khushbu Sundar is an acclaimed actress, television host and producer.

Read more about Khushbu and why she is happy to be a part of the Prajnya 16 Days Campaign.

Kavitha Muralidharan is an award-winning journalist and author who is currently Associate Editor at India Today.

Read more about Kavitha and why she is happy to be a part of the Prajnya 16 Days Campaign.

Ramya Kannan, City Editor with the Hindu, writes on health and development issues and believes that great change is often facilitated by good journalism.

Read more about Ramya and why she is happy to be a part of the Prajnya 16 Days Campaign.

 

Zubeda Hamid is a correspondent with The Hindu covering health and disability rights.

Read more about Zubeda and why she is happy to be a part of the Prajnya 16 Days Campaign.

Dhamayanthi is a multi-faceted media professional who has worked in various capacities as an author, journalist, RJ, producer and script-writer.

Read more about Dhamayanthi and why she is happy to be a part of the Prajnya 16 Days Campaign.

Sriram Ayer is the founder and CEO of Nalandaway which engages with children from the poorer districts of India through the arts.

Read more about Sriram and why he is happy to be a part of the Prajnya 16 Days Campaign.
As his campaign activity, Sriram organised a Community Cafe session. Read the report.

N.Shekar is a veteran software industry executive with a strong background in engineering design and software product development.

Read more about Shekar and why he is happy to be a part of the Prajnya 16 Days Campaign.
Shekar hosted a Community Cafe and here, you can read the report.

A trained natural healer, Jayanthi Karthikeyan is the founder of the Reiki Sadhana Kendra and also serves as a trustee of Sri Ramachandra Charitable Trust which is bringing Montessori education to corporation schools.

Read more about Jayanthi and why she is happy to be a part of the Prajnya 16 Days Campaign.
Jayanthi hosted a Community Cafe for members of her Reiki Satsang group. You can read the report here.

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Indu Balachandran is a best-selling author who was Executive Creative Director at JWT and now enjoys writing about travel and humour.

Read more about Indu and why she is happy to be a part of the Prajnya 16 Days Campaign.
And read the article she wrote especially for the Campaign: Laughing till it hurts.

Rinku Mecheri is the founder of Chennai Volunteers, a social initiative that drives civic engagement by facilitating sustainable engagement between volunteers and non-profits.

Read more about Rinku and why she is happy to be a part of the Prajnya 16 Days Campaign.
Rinku organised a discussion with parents and a few young adults on cyber-safety as her campaign activity. Read the report here.