Holdingdiscussionson sexuality, gender keytoclearingprejudices

versations around violence and its reasons. Why someone may feel aggressive in a given situation, and whether you really want to do it, or if you are only fitting into the idea of how a man should be. It is a process and the idea is to make people question,” said Chauhan.

Of course, many activists have noted that conversations with young people tend to not address deeply entrenched social constructs such as caste, which affects how particular communities think about gender and sexuality. “There is a need to understand how Dalit people feel, and how caste is often the primary experience of many people from marginalised communities. In the absence of an understanding of caste and Brahmanism, there is little impact of any conversation on gender,” said Dhiren Borisa, a researcher.

There are other challenges too. Chadha notes the chronic lack of feedback from young people, and the very real risk of girls from more conservative families dropping out of school if the families become aware of the nature of information and conversation. “We also need to think about discrimination across various axes, such as caste, class, gender, disability, sexuality, etc,” said Chadha.

At any rate, discussions with young people on gender, sexuality and a whole gamut of emotions and identities equips them not just with information and knowledge but also the motivation to question social norms. Very often, they also lead to tangible changes in attitude, removal of doubts or fear about gender and sexuality, and the development of a more compassionate and questioning mind.

Rohit, for example, has now decided that he will go ahead with the birthday celebrations, call his friend and tell him how he really feels. “I am a little worried, but I know it’s the right thing to do,” he said.