TOK BUZZ 2023-Women of Takshila

2023-2024

TOK BUZZ WOMENS DAY SPECIAL

Superheroes of Pathways

Ms. Sonya Ghandy Mehta

Ms. Manjula Shenoi

Mona Sharma

Ila Pandey

Agrima Gairola

Suman Agnihotri

Jaya Sharma

Moumita Sengupta

Neeru Tandon

Nikita Shankar

Vrinda Bhandari

Shaveta Mehta

Navita Gulati

Debjani Mukherjee

Pooja Sachdeva

Divya Sachdeva

Shobita Kapila

Neena Virmani

Sheeba Kundu

Charu Gupta

Sudha Jacob

Laveena Mathur

Neha Chaudhary

Sudipta Ghoshal

Srishti Kapur

Sujata Raina

Table of Contents INTERVIEWS ARTICLES WORD SEARCH CROSSWORD MEET THE TEAM

MANJULA MA'AM " Speaking about women's empowerment on the occasion of Women's Day, and as the theme for this issue of TOK Buzz, I must say that I personally don't think I have ever felt segregated, discriminated against, or belittled because I am a woman. Maybe I am blessed, and I am indeed very proud to say that my parents never thought that I wouldn't be able to do something just because I was a girl child. The same goes for my friends when I was in college and all the professors with whom I interacted and engaged. So, whether it was in school, college, at home, or in my peer group, I don't think I have experienced the whole aspect of women being belittled or made to look small or lesser than. However, I think this issue exists in India, especially in small places or villages, where women are viewed as inferior. I think it is high time for women to come forward, feel empowered, have a voice and choice, and take ownership of their own journey. The theme sits well in today’s times when segregation and identity does not rest on gender. So, more power on being a good human!"

s w e i v r e t n I

Shaveta ma’am

Please tell us about an anecdote or your own experiences from when you were a student, whether it be during school or college life, or even earlier on in your careers, where you felt disadvantaged because you were a woman. Were you ever denied any opportunity, or treated unfairly because of your gender? Did you ever feel like you were the only woman in the room?

There have been many instances where people were surprised and astonished to learn that I have chosen to study higher Mathematics and become a teacher in the subject. This reflects the thought process of some individuals, including some women. Let me share one specific instance.

It was an introductory session of a GMAT (Quantitative) class that I was supposed to teach. One of the students was somewhat disappointed to see "a lady teacher" for the class. He presumed that the class wouldn't be that good. However, in reality, he found it very effective and useful. Later, when I left the organization and started my own institute, he chose to continue to be with me, as he was very impressed by my teaching.

Ever since I was a young child, everyone around me has made pointless efforts to safeguard me. I come from a joint family wherein decision-making is shared by many members of the family including uncles, aunts, and grandparents. My grandmother was very protective yet conservative, and she expected me to acquire soft skills that would help me be a good homemaker. On the other hand, my parents were incredibly supportive and gave me the freedom to choose. However, the expectations that they had for my brothers and me were entirely different. They hardly talked to me about my career choices or aspirations. I believed that they saw no need for me to go out and work at that point because they wanted me to finish my education, get married, and settle down. Words like passion, ambitions, and aspirations were pretty alien to them, and it took them some time to agree with me that having a career, being financially independent, and being more than just a member of the family were desirable traits, even for women.

On the professional front, starting a career as an educator was challenging as being a woman, my abilities and skills were often underestimated. I had to put in more effort to conform to the system and dispel any stereotyping associated with my line of work.

Sheer determination to make a difference and to leave an impact motivated me to remain dedicated and put in endless effort to leave a lasting impression. My life experience has taught me that if your heart and mind are in the right place, then things are bound to fall in order.

Neha ma’am

Shobhita ma’am

From childhood, my family and parents always treated us all equally, including my brothers and me. I don't remember a single time when I felt that I couldn't do something or go out.

However, after marriage, things are different as in our society, many responsibilities lie on the shoulders of women, along with pursuing their careers or other interests.

Life is not easy, and it's challenging to do whatever you want because of the numerous responsibilities, and even your own time is not entirely yours. It's often considered family time. In the workplace, unfortunately, I have seen some subtle patriarchal attitudes, despite most men being courteous and treating women as equals. Sometimes, it seems that they do not expect women to express their views or talk, and they may view it as overpowering, even though that is not their intention.

In the past, the global trend depicted that "women were underrepresented in the field of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)." This could include women being denied opportunities or treated unfairly in the realm of technology. In my experience, it was difficult to break into the field of technology as a woman during my early years of education. I remember being introduced to computer science as a subject in 1998, but it was considered optional due to the perception that working with CUI (Character User Interface) and coding would be a challenging field for women. Therefore, I pursued a degree in History (Honors) from Miranda House, Delhi University, an all-girls college.

Despite this, I was determined to pursue my interest in computer science and coding, so I enrolled myself in a DOEACC A-level course.

However, I found myself to be the only woman in a class of 10-15 men, but my persistence and determination never wavered. This incident made me feel like I had to work twice as hard to prove myself. It was frustrating to feel like my gender was holding me back from achieving my goals.

Further to this, I completed my graduation in the field of Computer Science, and it was possible with the support provided by my parents and my never-let-go attitude.

Vrinda ma’am

POOJA mA'AM

I feel that times have tremendously changed for women over the past years. Personally, I have not faced any challenges for being a woman. On the contrary, I was raised by a powerful mother who had faced some challenges herself during her time, but she ensured that I was not treated any less than a man. She empowered me to stand up for myself, made me independent, and raised me to be the woman I am today.

How have the times changed for women today, compared to earlier on in your careers or student life?

Pooja ma’am

Over the years, things have started to change for women in technology. Many companies have prioritized diversity and inclusion, and there are now more opportunities for women to succeed in the field. Additionally, there are more female role models and mentors available to provide guidance and support.

Despite this progress, there is still a long way to go in terms of achieving gender equality in the technology industry. It is essential for women to continue to speak out about their experiences and to push for change in their workplaces and communities. By working together and supporting one another, we can create a more inclusive and supportive environment for women in technology.

Today, to promote STEM among women, UNESCO, Microsoft, Google, and Apple inspire young girls to pursue their careers in STEM through events like #MakeWhatNext and #GirlsinICT campaigns.

When I see many girls opting for Computer Science as a subject during my journey as an educator, I feel proud to lead this campaign and promote the use of STEM in our school. I believe that by increasing the participation of women and girls in coding and other STEM fields, significant economic and social benefits can be achieved. It can help close the gender pay gap, create more job opportunities for women, and lead to more innovation and creativity in the tech industry. It can also inspire more girls to pursue careers in technology, ensuring that the industry has a diverse talent pool to draw from in the future.

Suman ma’am Kalpana Chawla once said, “The path from dreams to success does exist. May you have the vision to find it, the courage to get on to it, and the perseverance to follow it”.

Undoubtedly, things have significantly changed for women from earlier times to the present. There has been a rise in women joining cooperatives, and an increase in the number of women initiating new projects, which has made them more financially empowered. Women are now able to voice their opinions and demand equity, whether it is related to the wage gap or equal and fair opportunities for women in every career field.

Ila ma’am:

There have been structural as well as cultural changes in our society, where more educational and career opportunities are now available for women. Women are now able to choose any career path they want, but it wasn’t the same before. I wanted to be a cricketer or join the police force, but such career options were not very common during those times. However, today, awareness amongst women has increased regarding their rights. The law and enforcement of existing laws have also been in their favor, although at times, some of them are misused.

Navita ma’am Growing up, I was offered limited options when it came to picking a career path. “So, what will it be, a doctor or a teacher? What will you be?“ they asked me. They said these two are the only choices women have since they need to be able to balance their family life as well.

But these are not dialogues I hear today. Times have drastically changed and every young woman’s horizon has been expanded. Teaching, itself as a profession, ceases to be only female-oriented. I look around and I observe that I am the only female educator in the Senior School Science Department amongst male colleagues whose passion for their subject is as deep as mine. When it comes to my own daughter, I make sure that her options are limitless and she’s never held back from any position or profession simply because she’s a woman.

Agrima ma’am

Something that I strongly feel is that earlier, while growing up, the role of men in raising children was minimal, and this was relevant even prior to that, maybe when your grandparents were younger. When men went to work, the idea of their role was primarily to provide for the family financially, while women were at home and most of them didn't work.

However, now I see that in most couples, both partners work and it's almost an equal environment. It's not like the dad’s only involved in supporting the family financially, but they are involved in everything, literally from changing diapers to taking care of the kids. I have a personal example; I know somebody whose wife works because she is well-established with an MNC, and the husband does all sorts of things like freelancing and such, but primarily stays at home to take care of the boys. I think that is one aspect that has changed and I see it from when I was a child compared to now.

Shobhita ma'am

I think so! I was lucky to have that kind of liberty from the beginning, and I grew up in that kind of environment. But now I can see that there is a lot of awakening among parents and they are treating men and women equally, and all their children equally, especially siblings.

Also, if you look at modern couples, I think they are really sharing their responsibilities at home, and they give a good amount of respect to women to follow their own passions as well as pursue their careers. I am looking forward to a society where not only are men respectful to women, but also women are respectful to men. Often it is seen that women themselves are not very respectful towards men. And even among the same gender, people can be hurtful towards each other. It's not only about gender roles, but we all need to have a community and a society where there is equality, justice, and respect irrespective of someone's identity or any gender-based inequalities.

l a s t n e i o i c t o a Sxpect

E

T R A

L C I

S E

What has caused the perception of feminism to change?

If you ask 10 different people around you to define feminism, you’d get 10 vastly different answers. The idea of feminism as a movement means so many different things based on who you ask. Feminism is often perceived differently due to the sources through which we get our information about it, and we can see how the perception of this movement changes based on caste, class, religion and even era.

To put it roughly, the feminism movement first started as the suffragette movement around the early 1900s. The media deemed the movement extremist and radical. The majority of the public considered suffragettes to be people who you should be wary of, partly due to the media’s portrayal of them but also due to the crazy stunts they had to pull to get attention. The attention that would give them the ability to reach out to more people and speak up.

However, after the start of World War 1 and The Roaring 20’s, the intensity of the suffragette movement dampened down quite a lot with voting rights and better opportunities opening.

Nowadays, feminism is considered to be a lot more casual than it was earlier, and a lot more prominent in the mainstream media. With the #MeToo movement and Women’s Marches, the rise of social media has really redefined what the term ‘feminism’ means to one. More and more women are joining the feminism “bandwagon”.

To them, it's something that everyone is doing, therefore they should join in as well. The structure of feminism today is built on privilege. Having a special “Women’s Day” or retweeting stories about strong female figures (while it may spread awareness) isn’t doing much to help the movement.

Do women in lower classes or social quotas even know there’s a day dedicated to them? Does it really help them? Pseudo feminism is doing more harm than good for the movement right now. This performative activism causes people to believe the feminist movement is shallow, and anti-men. Stripping away some of the hard-earned importance and respect it gained.

However, for every negative aspect, there’s always a positive one. The movement has moved on from its focus on cis, white, females and onto people of colour, people of different races, classes, sexualities, and other communities. The intersectionality between different marginalised communities gives them more credibility as a united work front. This has given the movement a strong push towards making more structural changes. The earlier feminist movement focused more on individual equality and empowerment, but feminism now is focused on breaking gender norms, and prejudices in society, advocating policy changes and challenging the inequalities that have caused women to be marginalised for so long.

Every day, society is striding towards a more secular and equal style of living to bridge the vast gap that was formed ages ago between people of privilege and other marginalised communities. And soon enough, we will end up crossing that bridge to a more united society.

Mrinalini Banerjee DP1

A Material Girl Retelling

The Feminist Revolution Materialism; the grotesque, superficial, audacious tendency to possess materials and associate the act of ‘owning’ things with happiness. The villainy of materialism is well known to so many of us. The possession of materials are viewed as a departure from our spiritual well being and an immersion into the physical, superficial realm. And yet most of what we know of history comes from materials.The materials we create and own are a product of human interactions with the physical world or with each other as a society and are testament to the ideas debated in society.

It is the impression of the metaphysical world onto the physical world. Despite the bad press, materials can also be propagators of human innovation and collaboration.

This exhibition explores the role of different materials in the Womens’ Rights Revolution across the world.

1. Bread The Womens’ March in Versailles in 1798 was one of the earliest instances of protest undertaken primarily by the women of society. Thousands of women marched towards the royal palace in Versaille, France protesting the high cost of bread. When their demands were instantly met by King Louis XVI, it sparked confidence in the combined strength of women.

Before this movement, women of the world had been incognizant to the powers they held as a group over noble authorities like the King. After the struggle of bread came about the realization that women had the power to fight for themselves if they organized themselves in bigger, united cohorts.

2. Corsets The corset that we know today might be both flattering and comfortable but it had to suffer severe scrutiny in 19th century London for it to be this way. In the past, these restrictive devices were a symbol of female oppression and objectification of women. The Victorian corset not only restricted mobility and ease of movement but also limited a woman’s identity to nothing more than alluring objects of beauty that appealed to the men of the society. More value was placed upon their beauty than on their comfort.

However, the women of today have reclaimed the narrative with the popularization of a corset that is both comfortable and fashionable. Celebrities like Rihanna, Lizzo and Billie Eilish have rendered new meaning to the corset which now exudes a sense of confidence and boldness.

The corset exemplifies materials that have no fixed meaning. It is synchronous to a society’s values and beliefs.

3. Bicycles Bicycles have been described, by many suffragists, as the wheels of change that drove women to their liberation.

With the advent of the modern bicycle, 19th century women who had been reduced to the roles of housewives, saw an opportunity fot change. They had access to a vehicle they could drive without reliance on their husbands. This gave them the autonomy to explore the world unaccompanied by men and congregate with other women to talk about the problems being faced by them. It also increased mobility for women which helped increase the potency and vigor of the women’s rights’ revolution.

Because it was hard to ride bicycles dressed in voluminous ruffled skirts and unbreathable corsets which were customary at the time, it highlighted the need for women’s clothing to be more practical and comfortable.

Apart from emboldening the revolution in a number of ways, bicycles became a symbol of independence and freedom for women. It is astonishing how a material tool shaped human history by affecting the behavior of individuals in society. The exploration of the world by women via bicycles led to the daunting realization that they were capable of so much more.

4. Pink Sarees In Uttar Pradesh, resides the leader of the ‘Gulabi Gang’ or the ‘Pink Sari Gang', Sambat Pal, who brought together oppressed women from the lower strata of society. The ‘Gulabi Gang’ worked to eradicate social horrors like domestic abuse, non consensual intercourse and lack of female agency.

One woman’s problems were deemed to be every woman’s problem. They pooled their resources to secure loans from the government and tackle financial issues. However, they were not viewed as an organization by the authorities. This is when Sambat Pal Devi proposed the idea of pink sarees - a uniform of empowerment to help identify themselves as part of a united front against bigotry.

These instances of change in the women’s rights’ revolution marked by important material tools are representations of the power materials hold in the acquisition, production or sharing of knowledge.

These materials are symbols of change and hope for a better future. While materialism to an unhealthy extent can perpetuate emotional insecurity, materialism can help introduce new ideas to society and affect people’s perspectives.

~BY UJJWAL KAUR DP1

Dissemination of knowledge and the societal ladders of progress Turning back the dial of time and looking into historical events is a large part of the cyclical routine of the dissemination of knowledge. This process doesn’t only allow the identification of prominent issues around the world but also helps in the production of new knowledge. It also has an essential effect on the establishment of biases amongst various ways humans are classified, specifically in terms of gender. Over centuries women have pushed against the limited boundary of power and personal identity, which revolves around their lives to this day.

An explicit exhibition of prohibitions against women is the phenomena of female hysteria, which dates to 1900 BC. This concept was based around an idea wherein any action deemed socially unacceptable for women was diagnosed as a physical and mental disorder believed to be caused by a lack of sexual satisfaction. The symptoms of this ‘disorder’ ranged from feeling anxious to having a loss of appetite to experiencing irritability. In essence, the privilege to humane feelings were veiled from women and sculpted into being viewed as a condition of ill health. This ‘disorder’ was treated by physicians of the time through methods that included massages, hydrotherapy, and electric shock therapy. The cure also often involved advising women to get married or engage in intercourse. The objectification of women stretched so vastly that their identity was constrained to the idea of domesticity, to an extent where their health conditions were also derived and based off their marital status. While this concept was later broken down and unestablished, the prevalence of prejudice against health issues of women can still be felt today. The dissemination of these pre-established biases that have existed in historical contexts have carved the gender biased societal stereotypes that still exist today and throw women into a hunt for a life that is deemed successful only through work towards homemaking.

A predominant sense of taboo around the pursuit of a career has discouraged and dominated feminine confidence at the professional front.

Professional ambition and success traced by women has been silenced for centuries. Rosalind Franklin, Hedy Lamarr, Emmy Noether are just a few of the underrepresented; the complete list is endless. The ladders of success have been structured in a way over centuries that differentiates not only the steps needed to achieve it but also how it is defined. The systematic idea that whilst men pursue an education and cater to the financial needs of their family, women shall grow out of their youth to only find the option of becoming housewives and mothers has been deeply instilled in modern society.

We see the ladder to professional respect and success for men defined with small easy steps, while on the contrary women have to fight to leap over the large gaps of bias, and lack of power whilst trying to progress through the ladder. While women work the same hours as men, pay gaps still have a conspicuous existence and there is an incessant spar for equal consideration for job promotions.

All hope is not lost, as we can see women expanding outside of the domestic route to success that has been predetermined for them and instead fashion their own circuit around the concept of triumph and contentment. A projection of this is in Pathways World School itself where we see the establishment led by a powerful group of females; the school director: Ms. Sonya Ghandy Mehta, DP principal: Ms. Manjula Shenoi, MYP principal: Ms. Monika Bajaj and PYP principal Ms. Monica Bhimwal. The historically cultivated expectations are now beginning to be overlooked and women are seen broadening their horizons and seeking all opportunities that lie in their career without being questioned or the need for societal approval. Not only are women showing their competency at the professional front, they are signifying their multifaceted existence which allows them to exceed in all aspects of life.

By Aditi Rathee DP1

Word Search I E G E N D E R G A P U EW S T N EME V E I HC A QO U ED UC A T I O N R S UM A P P R E C I A T I O N A E M YG I R L SM I T I S L N M S I N I ME F A RT L P S AWA R E N E S S R I A A R O C EQ U I T Y EWC T Y I EHC OU R A G E XCH AG AA Y T I L A U Q E I VMH T N E MR EWO P M E S E T E G A A Y Y U SMR I DM S M E P C E L E B RAT I O N N O I T A RO B A L L OC F EMPOWERMENT

EQUAL PAY RESPECT

GIRL

EQUALITY FEMINISN ACHIEVEMENTS

SEXISM COLLABORATION GENDER GAP

AWARENESS EDUCATION

EQUITY

COURAGE CHANGE MARCH

WOMENS RIGHTS

CELEBRATION

Crossword 1 3

2 4

5

6 7

8

9

10

ACROSS 3. The term defined as the quality of being fair and impartial, while also acknowledging that not all start from the same place and acknowledging imbalances.

5. the process of giving people power and control over their lives or to do something.

6. the quality or state of being self-governing and independent.

7. First woman to win a Nobel Prize.

8. International Women's Day is held during this month.

9. First woman president of India.

10. Term which refers to the stereotyping, prejudice, or discrimination, on the basis of sex.

DOWN -

1. Term for an advocate of women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes.

2. Term for the stereotypes regarding attitudes, attributes, and actions imposed on men and women on the basis of gender.

4. Term for the relative disparity between people of different genders, which is reflected in a variety of sectors in many societies.

Meet the team

Teacher In-Charge

Guru Charan Kumar

Tok Buzz Heads

Yana Kundu

Kaashvi Khurana

OUR TEAM Designing Team

Shreyashi Sharma

Divyansh Singh

Samarth Bansal

Marketing Team

Leeyin Marbaniang

Sarthak Ahuja

Ankita Bera

TEAM MEMBERS Content Team

Ashmita Haldar

Ujjawal Kaur

Aditi Rathee

Mrinalini Banerjee

Editing Team

Nandan Patil

Darsh Chandran

Lavanya Prabhakar

Manya Mehra

www.pathways.in

Aravali Retreat, Off Gurugram - Sohna Road, Gurugram - 122 102 (NCR Delhi), India T: +91-124-4513000 | F: +91-124-4513002 | E: school.aravali@pathways.in