Omprakash Grant Essay Submitted!

On December 16, 2012, Delhi was humiliated internationally through the “gang rape” of one of her daughters. This act infuriated a sleeping India. Women, formerly camera-shy, rose to confront the corrupt system that never reported half of its sexual assault cases. I left India August 16, 2012, just 4 months before the incident. The victim went by the name “Jyoti Singh Pandey.” “Jyoti” is my aunt’s name; “Singh,” my cousin’s last name; “Pandey,” my last name. It could very easily have been my aunt, my cousin, me. Even violence is not equal: most female victims are punished through assault; contrarily, most male victims are punished through automatic weapons or physical beatings. People for Parity does not want to see gender-based violence equalized but eradicated.

This year, through my thesis, I have completely focused on gender roles, gender discrimination, and gender-based violence. All women in my family were married before they were twenty, some when they were fourteen. All women gave birth until they gave birth to a son. I am the only woman who received an education higher than eighth grade. After my father lost his job last month, even my mother, a homemaker, noticed that the system needed a change. Never educated, she struggles to find a suitable job. All of this is different for me, and I try daily to make sense of it. Since this battle has become personal and I now carry baggage with me, my volunteer experience is extremely serious.

Violence at home in India is still considered a “personal problem.” However, People for Parity makes it their problem, too. Through my research, I have learned that gender roles cause gender disparity, which causes gender-based violence. People for Parity starts from GBV and works backward to eliminate the problem. I would fit perfectly into this organization. I can converse with the local population fluently in Hindi. I tell stories that they can relate to. I have initiated my own research, created my own questions, and am now looking for the correct answers. Also, I will be fully prepared through my EdGE course. My Partner’s goals and my goals are the same. Years after the “gang rape,” the infuriated voices have given up. People for Parity keeps the anger alive. In a room filled with quiet people, the few who speak are heard through People for Parity’s blogs, workshops, and app, “Pukar.” At the end of “Othello,” Othello kills his wife, Desdemona, after suspecting her infidelity. Desdemona dies never revealing who killed her. When Othello realizes Desdemona’s fidelity, he stabs himself. If Desdemona and Othello had trusted each other, had given each other a chance to speak, harsh consequences probably would not have ensued. Four centuries later, we still have “Desdemona”s and “Othello”s everywhere. It is time finally to give them a “happily ever after.”

As a volunteer with my partner, People for Parity, I will talk to the local population, especially those who come for help. I have to be an empathetic listener to convince them not to let one incident suppress them for a lifetime, to encourage them to fight. Also, I will publicize workshops and training that teach the local community about street harassment and masculinity. People for Parity has also designed its own app named “Pukar” that is interconnected with many local police systems. I will help advertise this app and teach others to download and use it. I have to enable “individual transformative journeys to overcome gendered identities.” Furthermore, I will organize events and work on the creative aspect of campaigning and advertising online and offline. All in all, I will promote their goals, which happen to be my goals as well. I will have travelled many seas to help with anything that can close the gender gap.  

“It is a small world after all.”  All seniors work on a project, “senior thesis,” for a whole school year and then present their findings to a group of judges talented in the subject. My current judges are Yogi Patel, co-founder of Pratham USA, and Jasmit Dhaliwal – Perez, a lawyer with a degree in women and feminist studies. My goal is to find a long-term solution to reduce gender disparity. I want to create an organization called “Sheroes and Heroes Unite” within my student body that will continue to serve this purpose. My thesis mentor, Kelly Rula, is an alumna from my high school, the School for the Talented and Gifted in Dallas, TX. My thesis instructor, Alfonso Correa, introduced me to Kelly Rula, who introduced me to Omprakash, which introduced me to People for Parity. As EdGE emphasizes, I must know what my recipients actually desire more than what I have in mind for them.  People for Parity will give me an opportunity to physically see the gender gap and will allow me to personally seek advice from the people I want my organization to help. I can return to the USA and continue the same work People for Parity does.

I promote Omprakash on a daily basis; I already have a Kickstarter, an “indiegogo,” and a blog that highlights my time with Omprakash. I tell my thesis mentor, judges, instructors, and classmates about my findings through the EdGE course. After I return from New Delhi, India, my organization will be up and running. The organization’s members, college and high school students, will learn about Omprakash through me. I will encourage them to grasp the resources Omprakash offers and will prepare them in our club meetings to become better candidates to volunteer abroad through Omprakash. After my organization begins to gain pace, I could even partner with Omprakash. Omprakash will benefit through an addition of qualified volunteers and a dedicated partner. My organization, “Sheroes and Heroes Unite,” will promote the younger generation to look outside their “personal bubbles.” Omprakash’s vision is to empower “everyone involved to become more conscious participants in processes of social transformation.” I am enthusiastic and want more people involved. Our goals are not only similar; they are synergistic.