Making it personal
There's a difference between knowing about a problem, and feeling a problem.
Last February (an eternity ago), Nilakshi, Aria, and I visited our family in Kolkata. It was my second trip there, and after the first trip being a complete whirlwind, I figured I could get to know the place better this time.
To my delight, once we arrived at Nilakshi’s Granny’s house, it actually felt like coming home!
I find the best way to get to know a place, is to go for a walk. I don’t need to get lost, but familiarity tends to grow when I move through a space. As I get to know it, the broad strokes become less impressive, and I can start to study its nooks and crannies. That’s when the magic happens.
It’s on one of these walks that I began to notice some curious wall paintings around the neighbourhood. The first was an outline of a small girl, spray-painted with a stencil, Banksy-style. She had been painted over, but was still visible, as if she refused to be forgotten. Beside her, a small hashtag read, #MissingGirls.
As I continued through the neighbourhood, I noticed paintings with a similar hashtag, but this time with colour, and more confidence.
Seeing these paintings, is when I actually felt a small bit of the weight of inequality faced by women and girls in India, and how much they have to fight to be seen, to be known, to be treated with the respect they inherently deserve.
Being a white male, I can’t pretend to really understand it - but it’s because of this art that I could feel a small bit of it.
Of course this pain is not enough on its own. I grieve, and my grief should drive me to act. Now, when I look at these paintings, I am reminded why I was so moved in the first place to join Vision Rescue.
Over the next few weeks I’ll be talking about the #MissingGirls, and what Vision Rescue is doing to create lasting change. I can’t wait for you to read!
This is amazing! Thank you Taylor, Nilakshi and Vision Rescue for sharing the journey. We are praying for you.