Category Archives: Foundation Blog

The Sabarimala Case: Women are NOT bodies, but Persons.

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In 2006, 6 women members of the Indian Young Lawyers Association, petitioned the Supreme Court of India to lift the ban against women between the ages of 10 and 50 entering the Sabrimala Temple in Kerala. They argued that the practice was a violation of their constitutional rights and questioned the validity of provisions in the Kerala Hindu Places of Public Worship ( Authorisation of Entry) Rules act of 1965. They won as the Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that women of all age groups can enter Sabarimala Temple. The court ruled thus: We have no hesitation in saying that such an exclusionary practice violates the right of women to visit and enter a temple to freely practice Hindu religion and to exhibit her devotion towards Lord Ayappa. The  denial of this right to women significantly denudes them of their right to worship. The verdict was passed with a 4-1 majority. The only female judge, Justice Indu Malhotra dissented. – saying that every individual should be allowed to practice their faith irrespective of whether the practice is rational or logical.

As we know there was resistance to this judgement and a petition to review the judgement was made. On 14th November 2019, the Supreme court Constitution Bench referred the review petitions as well as the writ petitions to a larger bench of not less than seven judges. This review is still pending as there is a difference of opinion even on the decision to review the petition.

The Congress party which claims to be a secular party has now raked up the issue again by promising to make such “violations of tradition” a cognizable offence!! This is clearly an effort to win over the Hindu voters in Kerala.

What angers me as it did Bindu Ammini, the first woman of menstruating age to enter Sabarimala on 2nd January 2019, is the continued insistence on viewing women as bodies and not persons. How does a person become impure? When do men become impure? When do they lose their izzat? Many of us working for women’s rights are also fighting against irrational and regressive practices of considering women’s bodies impure during menstruation, imposing a quarantine on them during this time. We are doing our best to disseminate scientific information about menstruation and positioning it as a natural biological process in women’s bodies, which should be celebrated because it signals the onset of fertility in women. That nothing about it renders her impure, and that women do not expel bad blood from their bodies during menstruation, that it is as natural as any other bodily process.

While we are trying to dispel myths and superstitions regarding menstruation, rescuing their person hood from objectification as bodies, learned women like Justice Indu Malhotra are supporting these very myths!!! Maybe she too needs to be part of our menstrual hygiene awareness camps.  The very idea that a woman’s body can be impure is a repulsive impure idea.  When and under what circumstances may I ask, is a man’s body rendered impure? Would we declare a rapist man’s body impure for instance? So that he may not enter Durga devi’s temple? Which religious tradition excludes a savarna man, however impure and repulsive his deeds from any temple? For dalit men of course the story is different. They are deemed to be rendered impure by their caste and so seem to warrant exclusion. Again a despicable, impure practice!

Furthermore, shouldn’t our constitution which grants women equal rights and opportunities as a citizen, be the final word on such matters? If we continue to give precedence to religious sentiment over constitutional rights, then women are fighting a losing battle and there will always be reasons to exclude them, to consider them less, impure etc. it is our constitution and our citizenship that grants us equal rights, not our religions – any religion. So Sisters – if you value your right to equality, that many of your sisters fought for, then learn to look at yourselves as citizens first and last, not as Hindu, Muslim or Christian women. Our religions have always short changed us, constructed a perception of us as unequal, subordinate, imposed sexist norms of chastity on us, which men are exempt from and created the inegalitarian mindsets that are responsible for so much violence, abuse and discrimination against women, which has been normalized, naturalized and which receives spoken and unspoken social sanction.

The issue is not just about having the right to enter a temple, it is about equal rights for women, about treating women as persons, about refusing to accept a label of being ‘impure’ at any stage or age of our lives.

Finally – it is about time that women who make up 50% of the countries electorate, start demanding that issues of their safety in their home, on their streets and in their mothers wombs be taken seriously by political parties seeking their vote. Indian women are unequal, unsafe, unwanted and unfree in free India! While Congress is rushing to make barring women entry in Sabarimala an election issue, I don’t see it or any party making women’s safety, right to free mobility, to equality, to inclusion being made an election issue.  Women are still waiting for the 33% reservation in Parliament – this inclusion of women has not been seen as deserving to become an election issue for any party, while exclusion of women has!

SHEF and Dr Urvashi to be feted for commendable work during pandemic

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Dr Urvashi Sahni and Study Hall Educational Foundation (SHEF) will be honoured by PHD Chambers of Commerce with Astitva Samman 2021 for their commendable work done in the time of COVID-19 with special focus on girl’s education and gender equality. The event will be held virtually on February 12, 2021.

Dr Sahni, founder and CEO SHEF “I am very happy that SHEF’s work has been lauded and would like to thank PHD Chambers of commerce for recognising the work. We continue to respond to the immediate needs and support girls and the most vulnerable among us.”

SHEF under the leadership of Dr Sahni has provided 162,296 meals to migrant labour communities, 29,000 face masks, 7345 dry ration kits and connected 944 children from marginalized communities to online education.

Astitva Samman Award 2021 is organised by the Women & Child Committee of PHD Chamber’s Family Welfare Foundation. The Astitva Awards were initiated by the Women & Child committee of PHD Family Welfare Foundation to recognize organizations, NGOs and corporations where women have the potential to demonstrate their entire phenomenal and leadership skills.

Urvashi Sahni among Asia’s most impactful philanthropists

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Dr Urvashi Sahni has been named in the Asia’s Most Influential Impact List 2020 published by Tatler Magazine. Dr Sahni shares this honour alongside the likes Ratan Tata and Azim Prermji.

The article in the magazine, which has now been in publication for over 300 years, reads, “With our December issue, Tatler introduces an ambitious new directory of the most influential individuals who are defining the future of Asia. While forthcoming features in 2021 will focus on style, culture and taste, we begin with a subject that is at the heart of our brand—philanthropy. Here are the most impactful philanthropists from around Asia who are making a positive change this year”.

On being asked how she feels about the recognition, Dr Sahni said, “I am astonished and very humbled to find my name there. I feel I don’t belong in the same league. However what is heartening is that Study Hall Educational Foundation’s work is being recognized not just in India but world over. This recognition is another motivation for us to continue the work we have been doing for over 3 decades now.”

Dr Urvashi Sahni is a social entrepreneur, women’s rights activist, and educationist, who has been active in the field for more than three decades, with many pioneering innovations to her credit. She is a leading expert in school governance, curriculum reform, and teacher training with a special focus on girls’ education, gender equality and Democratic Citizenship. She believes that Education should include a strong focus on teaching democratic values of equality and fraternity. 
She founded Suraksha (a women’s rights organisation), DiDi’s (a social enterprise for sustainable livelihoods for women), and is the founding president and CEO of SHEF. Over the last 3 decades, Dr. Sahni’s work, through SHEF and its schools and outreach initiatives, has impacted more than 100,000 teachers and 5 million children, most of whom are girls from disadvantaged communities.

Additionally, Dr Sahni is an Ashoka Fellow, a non-resident fellow at the Center for Universal Education at The Brookings Institution, U.S.A., and a former member of Rajasthan’s Chief Minister’s Advisory Council. In 2017, she was declared the Social Entrepreneur of the Year India by the Schwab-Jubilant Bhartiya Foundation and joined the international fellowship of Schwab social entrepreneurs.  She is also a co-founder of Catalyst 2030, a global network of over 600 Social Entrepreneurs engaged in expediting the SDGs globally through their innovations.

A total of 4 philanthropists from India have been named on the list. This includes – Ratan Tata, Azim Premji, Aparna Hegde and Dr Urvashi Sahni.
Meet Asia’s Most Influential: The Impact List 2020https://sg.asiatatler.com/society/asia-most-influential-impact-list-2020#.X8hyP8v7QbE.whatsapp

Bridging the digital Divide

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The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically affected the educational landscape across India and across the globe, as schools and learning institutions have rushed to shift teaching and learning online. However, in this rush, the pre-existing class- and gender-based digital divide has remained glaringly in place, leaving a considerable population of students and learners without remedy. While affluent and well-resourced families have had an almost seamless transition from classroom learning to online learning, children from poor communities have been left behind with no support. 

Among its own students, Study Hall Educational Foundation (SHEF) has found that nearly half (44%) of children from a lower socio-economic background do not have access to smartphones or the internet. Of these, the majority are girls. In many cases, no one in the family possesses a smartphone, and so there is no way for them to access the internet. In other cases, a parent (usually a father) may own a smartphone; however, the girl’s access to this phone is often limited because (1) the parent is working throughout the day and takes the phone with them, (2) she belongs to a large family and a single phone is shared among all family members, or (3) her access is restricted because of her gender. 

While older students may be able to negotiate access or even possess a phone of their own, the problem is often amplified for students in the primary section. Even in cases where the family owns a phone and is therefore able to receive assignments and access online classes, parents are often illiterate and thus unable to facilitate their young child’s learning.

In order to facilitate access to online classes for children (especially girls) from low socio-economic and otherwise marginalized communities, SHEF proposes to provide digital technology and connectivity to select students, alumni, and teachers, who will then be responsible for facilitating learning in their communities. The project has been named “Digital Saathi,” as one device will facilitate and enable the education and learning of many.

Senior students and alumni of Prerna Girls School and Vidyasthali Kanar Intercollege who lack access and live in communities where access is minimal will receive smartphones on loan for the duration of the crisis. In addition to enabling access to their own classes, students who receive a phone will also be responsible for sharing assignments and information with other students who live nearby, and use the phone to ensure their ability to access their online classes and learning. 

Similarly, GyanSetu teachers will be provided with laptops in order to help them facilitate learning in the marginalized communities they serve. This will also enable the expansion of GyanSetu centers’ current function and enable their access to educational resources previously inaccessible by them.

Teachers Day Celebration virtually

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Happy Teachers’ Day

Welcoming all to the celebrations of 5th September’20, Teachers’ Day. The students utilized the day to express their heartfelt gratitude and thankfulness towards their teachers through a virtual presentation. As is the ritual of Study Hall, the head girl of school Deepanshi Verma, adorned as the principal Meenakshi Bahadur aunty and the vice head girl Gaurisha Prakash, as vice principal Meenakshi Shah Aunty started the morning assembly with usual meditation and the vice head boy Aryaman Shukla, that day transformed into Rajesh sir, the yoga teacher @Study Hall headed the yoga session. The head boy Kushagra Trivedi entitled the teachers as the unsung heroes, and it’s worth it, all those moments they asking the students to switch on the cameras, permission for PDF in drives, responding to the questions, while the students sometimes choose to stay silent; thanked them for adapting to the virtual medium so well and making the teams classes as any other reality class. Thereafter Sherlock Holmes and James Watson, the comparers for the day (detective theme) opened the show, which was mostly pre-recorded and displayed through screen share on zoom, and invited the students of standard 6th and 7th to present their dance on peppy and fun numbers. It was enchanting to see the little ones hop and rock on the screen and how the teachers wished they were relishing the event physically in the school campus. Nevertheless there was no compromise from the student body in putting up a great show. The pair of detective friends handed over the microphone to batman and robin, who sadly drew the former’s vehicle into an accident and so the conversation moved on to listening and respecting elders and specifically teachers. Why? Due to 3 reasons- firstly if students are smart, teachers are double smart, next for the amount of hard work they put in and manage their job and homes both, and last teachers have since ancient times been the superior figures even where god stands in comparison, all of these creatively visualized and presented by the students of 8th and 9th in a skit. Next the celebration had Dana Scully and Fox Mulder from FBI opened the floor for riddles where the teachers were required to move the detective minds in them and ace the games. Then again the legends Feluda and Byomkesh, the celebrated detectives came on screen and introduced the music video prepared by the musicians of 10th and 11th. The audience was swaying and tip toeing to their tune, mesmerized, praised by Nancy Drew and the Hardy boys as well. And last but not the least, standard 12th put up yet another comical dance-drama to make their last teachers’ day in school memorable for their teachers. They took the reality of their virtual classes to the skit, mixed with additional comedy, intertwined with dance to portray the situation, garnished with emotions! And with a thank you note from all the students and Meenakshi aunty herself for making the celebration possible on virtual platform, the day came to an end. With all due respect and love, HAPPY TEACHERS’ DAY.

India turns 74!!

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Study Hall marked the 74th Independence Day by a virtual meet. The principal, vice principal and CEO of Study Hall, along with a small group of teachers visited the school, maintaining social distancing, to hoist the Indian flag which the students and remaining faculty witnessed on their screens, followed by the national anthem and the pledge. The CEO, Urvashi aunty utilised the occasion to speak about the real freedom from fear, being loving countrymen, recent education policy and scope for democratic citizenship education. Principal, Meenakshi aunty devotedly spoke about the fight for freedom back in 1940s and today, freedom from the pandemic, COVID-19. The junior school too celebrated the occasion in the same fashion along with teachers, students and their parents as well. Thereafter, everyone geared up for the panel discussion. The panel had 2 students each from all the units of SHEF and everyone witnessed an enriching discussion on the entrenched inequalities in our society that were pushed into the light due to the pandemic. Various perspectives poured in as the panelists explored caste, gender and class discrimination. The discussion was opened to the audience and beautiful statements were given like, “if you want to make a change in the world look at the man in the mirror” amongst several others. Urvashi Aunty gave the closing speech as she urged the students to adopt a solution oriented approach and set an example by sharing the foundation’s recent achievement of providing hundreds of phones and laptops to the underprivileged students. The proceedings ended on a patriotic high leaving everyone with thoughts on how to create the India our forefathers envisioned. The event brought back a lot of memories and it was indeed a wonderful idea to hold the Independence Day function despite the physical limitations. Happy Independence Day!!

Student Leadership Workshop; 8th and 9th August

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The student leadership workshop is a regular feature of the Study Hall Education Foundation, it is designed particularly for the student cabinet bodies of all the units of SHEF i.e. Study Hall School, Prerna girls, Prerna boys, Centre for Learning, Vidyasthali and Study Hall College. The various cabinet members meet to interact, discuss and learn what an ideal leader is. The students come as amateurs with fresh energy and inquisitiveness regarding their duties and leave as responsible, conscious and determined leaders who are ready to represent the students and serve their institutions. This year the workshop was taken by our founder Dr. Urvashi Sahni, principal Mrs. Meenakshi Bahadur, vice principal Meenakshi Shah ma’am,the spearheaded director of youth leader@SHEF Zarine ma’am, DSH director Anand sir and our alumni Aditya Shukla and Aman Arun.

The workshop was distributed over two days,the first day started with Felipe sir taking an ice breaker session in which he grooved to a tune while the young leaders followed him,relaxing everyone. The learning began with Urvashi aunty speaking about servant leadership which focuses on serving, it is the ideal form of leadership. The students went on to name their ideal leaders like Nelson Mandela, Gandhi Ji, Jyotiba Phule, and several other notable ones and how they inspire the world.

Aditya Shukla then took over to discuss the modern psychological stance on leadership where he talked meaningfully about the several theories under it. It substantially enhanced the theoretical knowledge of the audience about leadership. Then the discussion shifted to inclusive and exclusive style of leadership exemplified by Mahatma Gandhi and Adolf Hitler respectively. Obviously the former was agreed upon as the desired form by the participants.The history of leadership was also presented right from the early ages and the shift from physical to intellectual superiority in a leader.

The consequent session was taken by Meenakshi Bahadur aunty. She spoke about pseudo and authentic leadership, building a team and turning passive presence to active participation. She was greeted with questions regarding the same which she embraced to the students’ satisfaction. Aman Arun then took over to discuss leadership and self awareness. He presented the audience with knowledge on components such as a leader’s wisdom, ethics, identity and brand to explain the link between leadership and self awareness. Essentially talking about the ‘why’ factor to leadership—why the person stood up to lead others.

The meet then witnessed a panel discussion with Urvashi aunty. The panelists were Nidhi Kanaujia, Renu Yadav, Divya Pal and Kunti, they are all alumni of different units of SHEF and former cabinet members. Listening to them students learned about how a badge given in school can help in individual growth, in the development of a disciplined self and is a notable character in bigger institutions.With the sharing of their precious experiences,the first day came to an end.

The leaders in training again met the next day with the same enthusiasm and readiness to grasp new things. The day started with participants recalling take aways from day one and a bit of body stretching before investing themselves in a long and productive day. To discuss the inclusive style of leadership, Zarine ma’am started by asking for definitions of diversity and differences.Her questions were met by wide ranging responses from students of all the units. What followed was an activity where questions were displayed with scores indicated to measure the diversity present in the group despite the common factor—leadership potential. The differences were vested in age, gender, religion, socio-economic factors, beliefs, etc. Subsequently, the meet headed towards producing solutions on how to make every individual feel like a part of a bigger picture using the strategies of inclusive leadership. Again a huge wave of responses presented steps like eliminating preferential treatment and how the privileged ones should extend an empathetic hand.

Anand sir introduced a third dimension to the scenario of equality and equity. Equity might benefit immediately but a long term solution requires an altogether change in the system. The scenario today needs a shift from equality to equity in short term and restructuring the administration system in the long run.

For the next session the students entered into breakout rooms of their units with their unit heads to discuss a vision and mission for their institutions. Some devoted the time to discuss immediate measures, some a long term solution and structure for the students to be able to self organise. Almost all of them mentioned social service initiatives, giving opportunities to everyone, skill development, talent clubs and building a universe of care. Moving towards the final panel discussion, the panelists were Mr. Syed Raza-LGBTQ rights activists,Ms. Laxmi Nishad-Prerna alumni and former Head girl and Mrs. Disha Kaushal- an associate of the global shaper foundation. Urvashi aunty talked to them about the obstacles they faced, strategies they chose to overcome them, building a leader and once built, maintaining the zeal. Some described the why factor of the youth leaders in them as the need of the hour and others as their conscience. Mr. Raza talked about owning failures and distributing successes, Disha ma’am gave insights from her personal life and taught everyone that personal problems should not be a veil to social duties. Laxmi di insisted upon heading with self efficacy and not accepting any and every advice coming from society. All of them invariably believed that the youth posses flexibility of thought, the risk taking factor and innovation,hence, empowering them to lead is the essential in making a better society. On this wise note,the panelists, organisers,teachers and the young leaders dismissed with determination to continue and contribute in possible ways.

BOIS Locker room – The real cause – Our toxic sexual culture!

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While everyone is engaging in boys bashing on media – TV, print and social media, I am left wondering what boys are thinking right now? Surely it can’t be fun to have every finger pointed at you. I spoke to a few boys and here is what they said – “I wasn’t surprised at all! Disgusted yes – shocked No! It happens all the time. This is a normal “Boy talk”! I’m sorry to have to say that, but that’s what it is! This is how boys talk about girls!” Another one lamented the incident but felt the blame should be shared by a culture that always sexualizes the relationship between boys and girls – “Even platonic friendships are looked at with suspicion and forbidden.” Yet another said that it’s a faulty upbringing – “ No one every checks boys, while girls are given strict instructions about what they shouldn’t do and their every movement is monitored closely.” They all lamented the fact that sex was never spoken of – “it’s on everyone’s mind, but no one talks about it openly, especially not parents. We can’t talk to our parents because we fear that they will shut us down.” They all agreed that it was the double standards in the sexual morality of our society that was a real problem. The word ‘patriarchy’ as the villain came up several times in the discussion.

I feel sorry for them. And angry at a social system in which patriarchy and its inherent misogyny has such a stronghold. Equality is a cornerstone of Democracy and given the essentially unequal power structure of Patriarchy, it should be abundantly clear that Patriarchy is completely antithetical to Democracy. And yet 72 years after we became a democracy it is still solidly there, intact and in place. Why are we surprised at the way in which Boys talk about girls and women? About how badly they treat them at home and outside? Women are defined by and valued for their reproductive and sexual capabilities – as bodies, not whole persons. It is not surprising that others’ perception is colored by this, dictating what they do and what they say. Boys are raised to be boys!! No one expects them to be anything else and no one tries to teach them to be anything else. Not parents – fathers and mothers both! Not schools! Not their peers – both girls and boys! Our boys are a product of a pernicious and pathological social system and collective mindset thereof!

Whenever there is an event like the latest BOIS locker room event which receives so much publicity and the resultant notoriety, there is a cry for the necessity to ‘change mindsets’. And yet no one does anything to change that mindset and then there is another event and the cry arises again. At SHEF, we decided some years ago that schools provided the best opportunity and was the best place to change mindsets. We developed a Critical Feminist Pedagogy and a curriculum for both girls and boys which was meant to help them see that patriarchy was a cruel, misogynistic, undemocratic social structure, which had grave consequences, often lethal for girls and women. India has amongst the highest rates of gender-based violence, both domestic and public. This is a result of the toxic masculinity constructed by Patriarchy, its sexist, misogynistic sexual norms, a cruel sexual morality, which is skewed heavily against women, limiting their lives severely, their behavior and self-perception defined by shame, guilt and fear.
In a toxic social and psychological climate like this – women feel they have no legitimate right to sexual desire, never mind to free sexual expression. Sexual desire is very dangerous territory for girls. So forbidden, controlled and hidden. When some of them choose bravely to express themselves it is forced to go underground and that is fraught with risk and danger. It’s easy for boys to ‘slut-shame’ girls and they do. Most girls are terrified into self-protective frigidity and sexual silence as it were.

The rigid norms of sexual segregation, where even platonic friendships between boys and girls are frowned upon and romantic relationships with consensual sex completely out of bounds are much to blame. They are in no small measure responsible for the high incidence of sexual violence in our homes and on our streets, giving rise to activities like the BOIS locker room, which by no means is an isolated one.
We need to get real about sex and take a healthier approach to it. Remove the grim shroud of shame that we have clothed it in, and give it some air and sunshine. Let’s put it in the realm of romance and natural human behavior. Let’s learn to talk about it openly and naturally – at home, in school, in society. The only way it is talked about right now is in the form of vulgar sexist jokes, sexist abuses, and ugly locker room talk.

We also need to change our toxic, repressive sexual culture. Its because consensual sex is prohibited, that sex takes the ugly form of rape and abuse. We should be talking about it more naturally, putting it in the context of consent, romance, love and privacy. It has a legitimate place in our lives and NOT just in the marriage bed, where again more often than not, consent of the wife is not considered necessary. Sex education and gender education both should become a compulsory part of the official school curriculum.

Teachers and parents – let’s teach our boys to respect girls as whole persons, not just bodies. And let’s teach our girls the same lesson. Of course they are sexual beings, just like boys are, with sexual desires – again just like them, but they also have minds, intellect and emotions. And let’s teach our girls to respect themselves as whole persons too. They can be much more than just a pretty face and a baby-making machine. And most importantly let us become more human and humane about sex. Sexual attraction and sexual desire are natural human characteristics. Why are we so much in denial of this simple fact? No one is suggesting a free for all, promiscuous society, but unless we take a more open, less repressive approach towards sex, we will continue to have more BOIS locker room incidents and more Nirbhaya type gang rapes! Yes we need to change mindsets – ALL of us need to do that.

– Dr. Urvashi Sahni

Counselor Tips – Children with Disabilities – 1. Making a Schedule

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SHEF’s teacher and clinical psychologist from DOSTI (Development of Self Through Interaction, SHEF’s program for children with disabilities) provides additional support for parents who are caring for their children with disabilities during the COVID19 lockdown. The tips shared in this video are intended to help parents and families understand how they can best support their children’s needs during this difficult time. While the tips presented in this video are primarily intended to support children with autism, they are also helpful for all children.

httpvh://youtu.be/lEf_KaNHAdE