Giving Girls Agency in India

I came up with this idea before one of my daily online live-draw broadcasts last week. Every Wednesday, I decided that I would dedicate to doing a drawing about global women’s rights. My work over the past ten years has included a lot of imagery addressing the plight of women around the world: abuse, lack of equal pay, disrespect, harassment, rape. When I taught Women’s Studies at Vassar college, I often used cartoons to bring to light a difficult subject. I still do this — but not in a classroom — because imagery is a great way to express ideas in a non-threatening way. It allows the viewer to enter into and consider the subject without being lectured to.

This drawing came to me after watching a short film out of India called Parwaaz, which means “flight.” I found it on twitter in a post by the Oslo Women’s Rights Initiative, whom I follow and have worked with. The film is wonderful and full of hope. It is about a few innovative rural communities in India who have created safe spaces for girls and given them agency to help change cultural rules that are so harmful to young girls. Here is the short film, produced by the International Center for Research on Women:

And below is my live drawing session on HappsTV as I drew the above image. Join me each weekday as I draw something in the news or in culture that we are talking about. Follow me: happs.tv/@liza to get updates on when I am live and you can also become a sponsor and help support my live drawing.

#WomensRightsWednesday