The constant discussions about lack of women’s safety and rising cases of crime against women back homemade 30-year-old Srishti Bakshi quit her corporate job and return to India to take the issue hands on. A management graduate from ISB, Hyderabad, Bakshi and her investment-banker husband were residing in Hong Kong where, she says, “The discussions at the dinner table would hover around the miserable state of women in India. I would argue and defend my country and next day my friends would mail me news links to hold their case.”
But it was the Highway 91 incident where a woman and her daughter were gang-raped in front of their family which proved to be the proverbial last straw. “I decided to raise a call on the safety of women,” says Bakshi who is the daughter of Lt Gen Ashwini Kumar Bakshi of the Indian army. It was also the story of a woman caterer in Hong Kong which inspired Srishti and gave her a handle to make the project possible. “This Bengali women Suchitra was a victim of child marriage, rape and domestic violence. She managed to escape to Hong Kong with a help of a good Samaritan who got her a job of a housemaid. Her employees gave her a smartphone and also taught her to browse the Net. She began watching YouTube and learnt to cook excellent Thai food and bake cakes. Today she earns around Rs4 lakh per month,” says Bakshi.
Drawing from Suchitra’s case who could not read or write but had become self-reliant by learning from the Internet, Bakshi too decided to make “digital empowerment my theme”. Realizing that she will require the support of a social organization, Srishti approached the UN through a competition ‘Champions for Change — Women Empowerment’ initiative, held by the organization and was among the 100 selected.
Back in India, she partnered with Google and Tata Trust to draw on their expertise and create ‘Internet ke Saathi’. “I could also meet President Ram Nath Kovind through my father. He asked me to prepare a white paper on women-related issues,” said Bakshi.
On September 15, 2017, Bakshi began her journey on foot from Kanyakumari. The 260-day project will culminate in Srinagar sometime in April 2018. Bakshi walks along National Highway 44 for 30 km during the first half of the day.
“On the way as I move through rural areas and cities, I conduct interactive workshops for women. The idea is not just to enlighten them but to also leave them with a plan. So we share stories of how women have changed their lives by using the Internet,” said Bakshi.
An “amazing” fact that she discovered over the last 100 days of “my journey is that almost every woman possesses a mobile phone though she can’t use it optimally”. “So through voice commands, we ask them to open net pages about things that interest them,” said Bakshi.
During these workshops, Google identifies 10 net-savvy persons as ‘Internet ke Saathi’ and gives them a bicycle and devices to train more persons.