Meet Nidhi:
Nidhi is a budding young animator from an underprivileged Dalit family (a historically marginalized community in India). Her parents still wash and iron clothes to live in a makeshift hut on the outskirts of the city of Lucknow, India. A first-generation learner, Nidhi achieved a high score of 95 % in her exams and is currently pursuing higher education at one of India's top ten colleges. She is proud to be an alumnus and an active member of the Study Hall Educational Foundation, who campaigns for social justice in her community. Nidhi is deeply committed to women's rights, having witnessed the injustice done to her elder sister when she was taken out of school to get married, which turned out to be a real oppression. She makes sincere efforts to resolve issues of caste, class and gender. She passes up no opportunity or platform to educate and sensitize the masses for social justice and equality. She voluntarily and actively engages in her immediate environment, conducting critical dialogues to deconstruct oppressive social structures such as patriarchy and caste. She is also an active member of her university's “Cellule de développement des femmes” and “Centre politique et laboratoire sur le genre”, and leads numerous research projects. The fact that she herself comes from an underprivileged background makes her even more focused and dedicated to the goals of social equality she has chosen to champion. She lives by her conviction to live a meaningful life, with purpose, and to create a positive impact on society.
What causes are important to you and to young people today, and why?
From the outset, I must tell all readers that I am a staunch humanist who advocates socio-economic justice in all aspects of my life and community. Because of my marginalized socio-educational background, I strongly support MDG 4, which aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”, and MDG 5, which concerns gender equality and the empowerment of women. So the cause of access to quality universal education based on rights-based pedagogy is very important to me and to young people. It's the need of the hour, because only a transformed education would have the power to transform lives and societies for the better, with the eradication of all kinds of discrimination and inequality. Furthermore, the cause of caste annihilation is very important to me, as it is specific to the Indian context.
What don't adults understand about young people? What misconceptions do they often have about young people?
I firmly believe that in every society, young people have always found themselves caught between the dilemma of being a child and that of being an adult. Because of this dilemma, adults have many misconceptions about young people. I've tried to list a few important ones below, based on my contextual observations:
- Adults understand that good decisions are the direct result of the experience that comes with age. However, they fail to understand the true potential of today's youth when it comes to the informed and innovative decision-making methods available to us.
- Another common misconception concerns leadership skills, which adults see as the result of age. We need to understand that today's youth is very different and dynamic. A better knowledge and possession of technology would help motivated young people to change society. I've always seen myself as a young leader aspiring to solve my causes through a rights-based, intersectional feminist approach.
What was the first moment of enlightenment that encouraged you to take action for the society in which you live?
The causes I decided to write about became important to me because of my background and personal experiences. I've always been passionate about social justice, but the first moment of enlightenment that encouraged me to take active action for society was seeing my sisters' marriages. I have two older sisters who, although very gifted academically, were not allowed to complete their schooling. Both were married off at the age of 16, in class 9. It broke my heart to see how their marriages turned out - one filed for divorce and the other is a victim of domestic violence and dowry. I was frightened to see it all unfold before my eyes, but it also spurred me on to work harder to avoid this eventuality. This led me to undertake research projects, to engage in critical dialogues on issues such as gender and caste discrimination, the importance of education and so on.
What advice would you give to young people who want to make a positive impact? How should they start?
I would recommend the following to young people who are motivated to make a positive impact but don't know where to start:
- Identify the causes that are closest to your heart and that you want to solve with passion. The cause can be anything that has an impact on you and society in general.
- Once you've identified and chosen the battles you want to fight, educate yourself and the people around you by having a constructive and open dialogue about the issues. Begin the process of change by moving from yourself to your family, to your community, and then to society as a whole.
- Support this process by continually and actively advocating your causes to achieve a positive impact.
