Background

A repository that is deeply embedded in the dominant socio-political relations of human society, History often relegates women’s lives and narratives to its silent margins. These silences, juxtaposed with the anxious histories of colonialism in South Asia, have pushed women’s voices to more silenced territories. This is where one must go back to the annals of history to excavate the endlessly diverse voices of women that submerged and faded into silence. This injunction should be followed by a narration of the many untold stories of women’s politics and movements across the length and breadth of India, and this is Vani’s driving force. 

In a poll conducted by NETRI Foundation on South Asian Women in Politics asking what the biggest barrier to women’s political participation is, 68 percent of the participants responded patriarchy, and the remaining said either it was the lack of women role models or due to a general lack of an interest in politics. South Asia ranks lowest on 2017’s Global Gender Gap Index with women’s parliamentary representation as marginal as 5.8 to 30 percent and average labor force participation at 40 percent. The gaps are extreme, and the landscape is one where larger social forces work towards keeping women away from realms of power. It is here that educating ourselves with examples of the women from the past who paved the way forward can help us understand our time and space better and generate safer ecosystems devoid of silences. 

Like Alice Walker’s Search of (Our) Mothers’ Gardens, a journey into the past will open up productive avenues of empowerment, and this is where Vani finds its humble roots. Together, society can work towards changing its current structure and equip every individual with powerful voices.