HYDERABAD: A group of moms on Instagram, also passionate feminists who believe in breaking gender stereotypes, have started an campaign on Instagram titled #AGenerationWithoutGenderBias. “We are trying to use our voice to speak against the invisible and visible boundaries that limit boys and girls,” say the moms Namrata, Deepika, Shweta, Nayantara, Archana, Vaishali and Veena. The campaign started just before Women’s Day last year. The moms said they had been seeing a lot of posts on Instagram about respecting and admiring women, and was reminded of the stark reality.

They didn’t want this to, however, be a vent out for the biases faced, but inspiration and ambition to where the world can be. “The first round was in March 2018 and over 100 people participated. It focused on people sharing their point of view on raising a gender bias-free world, but to be honest, it hinged on the challenges. Round 2 was more around specific ways to overcome – happened in August and focused on how books, toys, chores, and many other indicators give the right outlook to raising kids. This saw a lot of collaborators participate including founders from Girls can Code,” says Namrata Sadhwani, an active Instagrammer and a mommy blogger based in Hyderabad.

The momstagrammers have already 400+ stories generated on Instagram, with mums and dads sharing their voice. A range of ideas have been discussed and conversations have been free-flowing, with more people joining them. The third round (which is currently running and has three phases) was to leverage power of writing.

The group says that they felt that by initiating conversations, they were not only asking people to speak up about existing stereotypes and how it can  be overcome, but also giving real time solutions for the same that can be implemented by everyone. “It’s years of conditioning that has to be changed, and the more we talk about it, the more awareness we increase. Collectively, we are prompting people to think and break free of shackles of pink and blue that have bound them for ages, there is a while rainbow out there,” adds Namrata.

Seven moms are the hosts who are leading the campaign, but it has seen participation from roughly 150+ participants – moms and dads. There were never any limitations based on gender, marital status or parental status. Women were not singled out to participate, but it was open call to which everyone responded, purely through organic, word of mouth engagement that spurred more and more people to join in and share their thoughts. Is the group also attempting to write fresh stories that will reflect gender equality? “Stories for kids was for us to consciously challenge what we expose our kids too. They are stories about girls liking pink, boys being brave and as parents we might avoid exposure to stereotypes”, they say.

 — Manju Latha Kalanidhi
kalanidhi@newindianexpress.com
@mkalanidhi