For more than four decades, Kamla Bhasin has worked on issues such as gender, development, education and media. A social scientist by training, she is currently an advisor at Sangat (South Asian Network of Gender Activists and Trainers), an active member of Jagori women’s resource and training centre, and a bureau member of SAHR (South Asians for Human Rights). Bhasin, who was a guest on the Domestic Violence episode, shares her thoughts on the show here.
“Many of the issues selected by Satyamev Jayate were those on which there is a solid silence and this silence perpetuates crimes. Talking about these issues was very useful and, as someone who has been involved in many of them, I too learned a lot.
Most of the sharing was done by either victims/survivors or by people who are working on the issue. Problems were mentioned but what was emphasized was that things can be changed and are being changed. In this sense, there was hope at the end of horrible, hopeless situations.
After the episode, more than 30 women called me to share their stories and to seek help. I heard them out, suggested some solutions and put them in touch with organizations that could help.
Most importantly, since the episodes were based on the work of ongoing social movements, the show strengthened their fight for justice, human rights and equality.”