Pink
Platform hosted a panel discussion on "Domestic abuse & battered
women: Responsibility & obligations of the privileged class" on
board of Voyager- Seven seas in the open Arabian Sea.
A
human rights specialist, doctors and a lawyer were in conversation with
Kavita Raha, Founder & CEO; Pink Platform highlighting some of the
human rights issues faced by women in our country along with pondering
over our responsibilities towards women who are less fortunate than us.
The
crème de la crème crowd comprising of elite class of women coming from
different backgrounds were Bhagyashree, Archana Kochhar, Amy Billimoria,
Dr. Sunita Banerjee, Bina Aziz, Nazneen, Priya Thakur & others
Couturier
Amy Billimoria, from her exclusive collection, put up a Saree for
auction. A contemporary Saree influenced by the various aspects of a
modern woman.
Pink
Platform, an online community…the website designed to gather women from
different walks of life onto a single forum where they can express
themselves freely, discuss issues that matter and share their
experiences, in turn helping enrich the lives of other women.
Explaining the mantra of Pink Platform, founder Kavita Raha mentions, “Our
mantra is 'Let start small, but start'... We are forming a 'circle of
trust', so for those who are interested in contributing and starting
small giving projects can register at the Pink Platform online portal.
The Pink Platform network
covers a vast array of topics that would be relevant for women all over
the world, in different age groups, and includes subjects such as
parenting, healthcare, and domestic issues to beauty, entertainment,
personal finance, food and travel, to name just a few.”
The
panel discussion revolved around topics of sexual & domestic abuse
where everybody openly discussed the sensitive issues.
Sexual
abuse still remains largely hidden. The recent outrage over the
allegations of abuse of a Tehelka staffer by the editor has led to fresh
discussions about sexual harassment in the work place. Quite often,
women choose to shrug it off fearing problems at work, because they lack
the support that they will need to pursue criminal charges considering
that the perpetrator is often in a position of power, and above all
because they want to avoid further harassment due to a long drawn police
investigation and trial process. This is true in most cases of abuse,
and crimes are rarely reported unless the injuries are so critical that
they person needs medical care, in which case doctors are obliged to
inform the police.
Domestic
violence too remains largely hidden. While it can occur across classes,
the victim often feels economically dependent on the perpetrator,
unwilling to risk the hardship she and the children might encounter if
they complain. Of course, there are the more complicated areas of
marital rape.
Talking about how Pink Platform came into being, Kavita Raha explains, “Women
are constantly balancing their time and priorities between home,
children, spouse/ partner, and the workplace with each demanding their
share of importance and attention. To add to it all, this constant act
of juggling responsibilities is seen as being merely supportive in
nature and often doesn't receive adequate recognition. Between all of
this, they get very little time or opportunity to cater to their own
needs or discuss their problems and issues. And this is where pink
Platform steps in.”
