Friday, February 13, 2009

Fight Back at Kala Ghoda

This February, unsuspecting male visitors at the Kala Ghoda Festival will be in for a shocking experience. As they walk through ‘A Woman’s Labyrinth’, they will understand what it means to be a woman in a traditionally parochial society, hesitant to evolve with the changing times.

‘A Woman’s Labyrinth’, is one of the two art installations by Fight-Back - India’s fastest growing movement against Gender Violence and Terrorism - at the Kala Ghoda Festival this year. The second installation is democratic – like the movement itself – and it will take the shape people give it. ‘Post Cards to Pakistan’ is an interactive project that will kick-start at the Festival. It’s an interactive installation that urges people to fill in postcards with their message to anybody in Pakistan; the postcards will be displayed throughout the fest. In the following months, more ‘Postcards to Pakistan’ will be collected from people across the country and later sent to our neighbour.

Fight-Back has emerged as a national platform for passionate Indians across the country, unhappy with Status Quo. It was founded by a team of media professionals – led by Zubin Driver - who believe in making a difference and ‘being the change they want to see’. Since its inception last year, Fight-Back has grown by leaps and bounds. As a result of its consistent and powerful campaigning against Gender Violence, Fight-Back, Say No to Gender Violence was the only initiative chosen to represent India in the Alliance of Youth Movements Summit in New York last year.

More recently, Fight-Back’s new wing No More Terrorism pulled off a phenomenonal event, completely led by volunteers across the country who believed in the cause. On Republic Day, over 1.1 million children from schools across India read their Constitutional Duties – as a first step to reaffirm and rejuvenate the ‘spirit’ of India in the country’s next generation.

With the core team consisting of a bunch of creative media professionals, Fight-Back believes in the power of art to spread its message. Last year, thousands of Music CDs with 16 original rock compositions were given away to young students across 5 different Indian cities.

Fight Back’s art installations at the upcoming Kala Ghoda Festival too aims to change people’s mindsets, spread awareness about two very vital issues – Terrorism and Gender Violence – and kick-start long-term intervention.

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