Walking with their heads held high

Trupti Belwade, 19, is no longer intimidated by the rowdy boys who line the street leading up to her Dharavi house. Till a few years ago, Trupti and her friends would never walk the streets of the slum alone.

Trupti Belwade, 19, is no longer intimidated by the rowdy boys who line the street leading up to her Dharavi house. Till a few years ago, Trupti and her friends would never walk the streets of the slum alone. “I would hold my friend’s hand while walking here in the evenings,” said the first-year student of Chetna College.

HT Image

But a city-based women’s organisation, Akshara, helped Trupti change her outlook when she attended the workshops organised by the NGO on confidence building and self-defence. “I was taught that body language makes a lot of difference and now I walk with my head held high,” she said.

Akshara also conducts skill development and perspective-building workshops, which include visits to police stations to explain the procedure of filing a complaint and to encourage women to shed their inhibitions when dealing with authorities.

Highlighting the purpose of these workshops, Nandita Gandhi, co-director, Akshara asks, “What good is a college degree, if a woman cannot summon the courage to go for a job interview or if she is not confident of travelling alone?”

“Our outlook towards life has changed. We have become more assertive of our rights, both at home and outside. Our father thinks that Akshara has spoilt us but we believe, it has given us the confidence to pursue our dreams,” said Trupti.