Shazlie Khan
Shazlie is an Economics Graduate from the University of Delhi. She spends an inordinate amount of time contemplating converging world problems. When she's not busy playing an angst ridden non-teenager, she can be found engrossed in books and TV shows or chasing around dogs.
Shazlie is among the 20 fellows selected for the Pratiti journey in Delhi.
Read what she has to say about her experiences so far:
"Weary of my complaints about a perpetual feeling of what the Germans call ‘Weltschmerz’, a friend texted me one day and suggested I apply for Pratiti. The registration form turned out to be an outlet for my long contained anger towards gender disparity and I typed away fervently.
In the beginning, the prospect of self-disclosure under the scrutiny of twenty three pairs of eyes made me uneasy but I soon found Pratiti to be a place devoid of judgement and criticism, allowing free transaction of feelings. It has since then enabled me to examine critically the internal factors that inhibit me, to get in touch with my core values and needs, and encouraged me to find the strength to be my authentic self. It has helped me summon the courage to verbalise traumatic experiences and resolve suppressed emotions associated with them. But most importantly Pratiti has reaffirmed my belief that seeking emancipation from shackles of moral and social construct does not make me a rebel, and that my demand for equal treatment is fair.
I had come there hoping to suddenly construct a gender equal world (a rather starry eyed vision, I now believe). Instead, Pratiti made me realise that external change must start with inner regeneration. Fernando Pessoa once said “A sensitive and honest-minded man, if he’s concerned about evil and injustice in the world, will naturally begin his campaign against them by eliminating them at their nearest source; his own person. This task will take his entire life.” This is sort of what Pratiti has been about to me.
Keeping in mind our hope to build a city that is for everyone, my team’s project investigates the role of Gender in Public Spaces through a video tool created by filming a multitude of local perspectives from diverse genders. By mapping personal and political experiences it strives for cross gender communication and sensitisation. As the journey's end draws near I am filled with both excitement towards seeing the culmination of our projects and a dread of seeing the end of something beautiful..."
In the beginning, the prospect of self-disclosure under the scrutiny of twenty three pairs of eyes made me uneasy but I soon found Pratiti to be a place devoid of judgement and criticism, allowing free transaction of feelings. It has since then enabled me to examine critically the internal factors that inhibit me, to get in touch with my core values and needs, and encouraged me to find the strength to be my authentic self. It has helped me summon the courage to verbalise traumatic experiences and resolve suppressed emotions associated with them. But most importantly Pratiti has reaffirmed my belief that seeking emancipation from shackles of moral and social construct does not make me a rebel, and that my demand for equal treatment is fair.
I had come there hoping to suddenly construct a gender equal world (a rather starry eyed vision, I now believe). Instead, Pratiti made me realise that external change must start with inner regeneration. Fernando Pessoa once said “A sensitive and honest-minded man, if he’s concerned about evil and injustice in the world, will naturally begin his campaign against them by eliminating them at their nearest source; his own person. This task will take his entire life.” This is sort of what Pratiti has been about to me.
Keeping in mind our hope to build a city that is for everyone, my team’s project investigates the role of Gender in Public Spaces through a video tool created by filming a multitude of local perspectives from diverse genders. By mapping personal and political experiences it strives for cross gender communication and sensitisation. As the journey's end draws near I am filled with both excitement towards seeing the culmination of our projects and a dread of seeing the end of something beautiful..."
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