I AM WELLBEING

“Cultures of domination attack self-esteem, replacing it with a notion that we derive our sense of being from one dominion over another. Patriarchal masculinity teaches men that their sense of self and identity, their reason for being, resides in their capacity to dominate others.” ― Bell Hooks, Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics Patriarchy can be loosely translated as a system that prefers men over women. Not just our country but most of the world at present operates under a patriarchal structure. Our homes, our schools, workplaces, social circles and the society at large are plagued by the effects of patriarchy. This system disincentives women and people who do not adhere to this gender binary. The presence of the same can be seen in our language, rewarded behaviour and distribution of resources. Most social structures attempt to be inclusive and work towards equality limited to the idea of the gender binary, completely missing out on the idea that gender is fluid. This

Transformative Justice is a process where all individuals affected by a crime are given a chance to heal and improve. It’s a political construct and approach for responding to violence, harm and abuse without creating more of it. It’s an alternative to the criminal justice system that is active in our country and most others.  Here is an example of its perspective. If a marginalised 10-year-old boy is involved in petty theft, the criminal justice system would only look at the criminal (the child), the crime (pickpocketing) and the victim (the person who was stolen from). Whereas the transformative justice system would also look at why the boy did it? Were he and his family suffering from extreme poverty? Does he have a history of discrimination done to him by the non-poor? Does weak enforcement of law and order in marginalised areas expose him to harmful peer groups? The criminal justice would only focus on what has happened but the latter would focus also on why something has happened

Despite moving years ahead and progressing in various spheres, India as a country hasn’t left many of its scars behind. Getting freedom from the Britishers is the most proud thing that allows us to hold our heads high but there are many enemies that we need to defeat to truly progress one of which is the caste, a structural system that socially defers people to gain access to the same opportunities due to lottery of birth.  Caste is entrenched in our social fabric so much so that when someone calls it out, it feels like an “attack”. However, instead of an attack, it is simply an opportunity to truly practice the principles of equity and equality and be better humans. Moreover, the denial of casteist practices is similar to gaslighting and speaking over someone else’s lived experiences. Denial of caste based discrimination can make people question their lived realities or believe if they’re “faking it”, none of which is true. A lived experience definitely holds more value than a random