My journey with CMCA began back when I was in the 7th grade as a part of the CMCA Club programme. It was the first time that I had been exposed to something that let me voice my opinions without being judged. It was a new kind of freedom that I was now being able to exercise. I worked hard at being an active citizen all year round, striving to make small differences. I played an active role in the eco-friendly festival campaigns, organised skits spreading messages on child protection from abuse and exploitation, spread the message of our Constitution, amongst other things. At the end of the year, I was awarded the CMCA Act of Active Citizenship Award at ‘Inspiration 2017’.
Encouraged by the award, it was at that moment that I realised that even though my journey being a part of the CMCA Club programme was over, I would continue to strive to be an active citizen all my life. I created my own blog where I posted weekly articles on various environmental and societal issues. Through this, I aimed to spread awareness on these issues and give people my perspective on them. Having undertaken small projects and successfully made small differences and contributions to the society, I decided that now I wanted to do something noteworthy that would help me leave a significant mark on people around me. As an adolescent girl, I realised that menstruation was a topic that I felt really strongly about. I had heard about multiple taboos related to it and, being curious, decided to delve deeper. After significant amounts of research, campaigns, and surveys, I found out that not only was openly talking about menstruation tabooed but other restrictions were also imposed on menstruating women, such as not being allowed to enter kitchens and temples in urban as well as rural regions. I was now convinced that this was truly my calling and decided to work towards making a change. I started by holding workshops in municipal schools where I told young girls about the various aspects of menstruation. I also explained to them how taboos of menstruation such as not entering temples and kitchens, which may have been relevant in the olden times because of sanitary constraints, are not really applicable today. In addition to this, I held various fundraisers selling things ranging from calendars to recycled tin boxes that I hand-decorated to buy reusable sanitary napkins. I distributed them to the girls in my workshop. Through my fundraisers, I also aimed to spread awareness about these taboos among people from urban areas. Not only this, I also held campaigns highlighting the importance of opening up and talking about this much-tabooed issue. I also organised various petitions on various social media platforms, encouraging people to help the daughters of their house help with their basic sanitary needs.
I think I was able to make a significant impact on people around me by encouraging them to have a more liberal mindset towards the taboos of menstruation. Very recently, I was invited to ‘Inspiration 2019’ to share my story of being an active citizen. I really hope I was able to inspire kids there to be good and active citizens throughout their life.
For me, this is just the beginning. Being an active citizen is something that I have started to enjoy. I can well and truly say that none of this would have been possible without CMCA. Had I not been exposed to voicing my opinions, I would’ve never been able to do whatever I have done. CMCA also helped me meet and interact with like-minded people from whom I derived a lot of inspiration as well. I will always be grateful to all of my CMCA teachers who provided the foundation and platform that has enabled me to be an active citizen contributing towards building the nation.
This blog is written by Janavi Gupta, a CMCA Club alumna.
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CMCA has been accredited by Credibility Alliance under the category “Desirability Norms” – for good governance, accountability, transparency and continuous improvements. Credibility Alliance is a consortium of voluntary organisations committed to enhancing accountability and transparency in the voluntary sector through good governance.
