Pedalling for a purpose: gender sensitisation
Forty-year-old Rakesh Kumar Singh was a media person till 2014, when he met a group of acid attack survivors. Their ordeal and sufferings had a tremendous impact on him, so much so that he turned a gender campaigner and took to cycling to sensitize citizens on gender discrimination. Till now, Rakesh has travelled more than 14,500 km braving the vagaries of the weather.
“I pedal 20 km and take a short break. I then enter into conversation with people and educate them on gender issues. My motto is simple: If people stop stalking women and keep away from teasing them women will automatically feel safe. Women must feel safe, only then will they pursue a career of their choice,” said rakesh who was in the city on Saturday.
This cyclist carries with him a small microphone, speaker and a projector and screens short films on subject of gender discrimination. He started his journey from Chennai in 2014, travelled to Puduchery, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Bengal and Bihar and is now in UP.
“In 2014, I met a group of acid attack survivors who narrated their painful stories and sufferings. It changed my heart and I decided to take up the cause of gender sensitisation,” he told HT.
“Gender-based violence is reported every day which often makes me think why it is happening. Is it due to lack of policing, our cultural bias towards patriarchy, lack of quality upbringing or intolerance towards the other gender? The answer is a combination of all of them.”
“After studying this subject for quite some time I came to conclusion that society needs sensitisation and as an individual I should work towards that,” he said.
“The plight of an acid attack victim really touched me to the core and hence I started this journey from Gudvancherry where a 40-year-old woman was forced to drink acid by her own husband,” he said.
He has interacted with more than 1.75 lakh people at more than 600 points in cities, towns, townships and villages. During the ride, he conducts discussions and workshops and puppet and film shows at important landmarks including educational and cultural institutions, public places like railway and bus stations, theatres and road side tea stalls to initiate a discussion about violence against women and gender freedom.
“Whenever I get a chance, I meet lawmakers like MPs and MLAs and also district administration officials to convey the idea of gender freedom and how it will be achieved,” he said.