Her story: Friendly, feisty, nerves of steel

  • | Wednesday | 20th March, 2019

TOI trains the spotlight on some brave women who lead extraordinary lives and have fought to make Kolkata — and the world — a place of hopeHer friendly demeanour belies the nerves of steel. But she gradually won over the parents after making them realise that even girls had the right to play. From refusing to wear a hijab to setting up an all-women soccer team and throwing her weight behind victims of domestic violence, this feisty woman has ruffled quite a few feathers in her conservative Rajabazar locality. She faced wrath in the locality for daring to encourage girls to play football. But she refused lest she and her three children go without food as the husband was the bread-earner.

TOI trains the spotlight on some brave women who lead extraordinary lives and have fought to make Kolkata — and the world — a place of hopeHer friendly demeanour belies the nerves of steel. From refusing to wear a hijab to setting up an all-women soccer team and throwing her weight behind victims of domestic violence, this feisty woman has ruffled quite a few feathers in her conservative Rajabazar locality. She has been intimidated a number of times, her office has been ransacked, but no amount of threats has stopped her from pursuing her goal to seek equal rights for women in her community.Meet Shahina Javed, the firebrand social crusader from Rajabazar, who has broken rules on a number of occasions. The journey has been tough but the young woman has proved tougher. She has persevered, making a few enemies in the process but also winning over more hearts, including some maulvis.“I was in my teens when I came across a woman in my locality bleeding as her husband dealt blows on her,” Javed recounts. “I was angry that the man was beating her up. But what made me more angry was that no one protested. I took her to hospital and told her to lodge a complaint against her husband. But she refused lest she and her three children go without food as the husband was the bread-earner. ‘This is part of a woman’s life,’ the woman told me,” she says, adding that it was this interaction that led to her decision to work for women’s empowerment.Born to a father who used to make paper bags for a living and a homemaker mother, Javed has been a fighter right from the beginning. Keen to empower women who rarely had a say around where she lived, the graduate from Calcutta University started a support group called Roshni, an organization that strives to lead women from darkness to light.“From stopping child marriages to setting up a football team for girls from the community, Javed is showing the way to many. She has tackled challenges that came her way with firmness,” says Prantakhatha founder-director Bappaditya Mukherjee who has rushed to her aid on several occasions.Two years ago, Javed raised eyebrows when she set up an all-women soccer team. She faced wrath in the locality for daring to encourage girls to play football. But she gradually won over the parents after making them realise that even girls had the right to play. From only five girls in the beginning, as many as 35 — including daughters of clerics — train and play soccer now.“Even as the clergies were convinced that girls had the right to play, some local conservatives would try to antagonise them, saying the girls would get spoiled. But I am happy that despite attempts to stall the project, more girls are coming in to learn football,” Javed says.Last year, when Javed stalled the marriage of a minor girl, some rowdies ransacked her office and threatened her with dire consequences. She had to live under protection for weeks. But none of these threats has deterred her in her mission. Her family, particularly her mother, has stood by her like a rock.“I always knew the path to breaking stereotypes would not be a cakewalk . But I have taken it up, knowing the challenges. I will keep working for gender equality and women’s empowerment,” she says.

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