Just Justy Justice- Part I
I am trying not to be biased with the people I have interviewed. But still, this was my best ever interview. It was too personal, I asked all the questions from my heart and what I received was the most genuine and brave answers. So many thanks to Adv. Justy Thomas for supporting me and delivering the best of you and your voice through “Expressions and Opinions”.
Your profile says that you are an Orator, an Advocate, trainer, Evolver, and above all “Woman of the People”. Who is Justy in simple words according to you?
“Woman of the People” is something that has someday struck my mind while I was talking to one of my brothers. I eternally wanted to be beside people. That is what I miss today in this pandemic situation. Defining myself by myself is a tough task. The reason for my existence is my parents and what they did was, they focussed more on my social exposure than on my future financial security or my marital status. For them what they valued the most was the time they invested in me. My parents never missed an opportunity that helped my exposure. Their open-mindedness was the start of my exposure. My papa was always there with me for all my needs and the support I got through him was just out of the world. It’s my dad who found that hidden talent of me as an orator.
During my high school, I won a cooking competition and was invited to take a session for students who were older than me. I was not at all confident to take up that offer, but my dad supported me. He made me confident, saying give it a try and see whether I can do it or not. I was hardly 14 or 15 years old at that period. But once I started, I could control my anxiety within the first few minutes, and then I was able to continue well. That was a wonderful start for me and later I started taking sessions all over Kerala on various topics.
It’s the support of my family that made me evolve and if I’m an advocate today it’s because of them. There were several oppressions from family and relatives. They said I should have chosen any other profession instead of law as they believe advocates always lie, and it will be difficult to find a groom just because I am an advocate. My parents supported their daughter instead of the prejudiced-minded people.
Mine is always a wandering soul. I try to keep progressing from each experience. I have changed a lot over time. I try to learn new things. I am adamant that I should change at least one life through my existence. I need to mark my signature here rather than just living, working, and surviving. We all die one day, I wanted to mark my existence back in this society before mine. That is what I consider my mission.
I am constantly trying to bring quality into people’s lives. I thought of focussing my work on a particular area as an alternative to working on random areas. And that is why I am planning to venture exclusively into menstrual hygiene-related affairs. I made the answer a bit complicated but finally, this is how I can introduce myself.
Please explain what the “The Evolver Project” is all about?
The evolvers project is an experiential learning startup that comprises a group of people who Mr, Ananthu Vasudev has met during different stages of his life. They are the happy circle of my life. I met Ananthu during the 2018 flood period in Kerala. We had several random conversations and discussions after that. It was during 2020 we launched “The Evolvers Project’’ officially. I’m super proud to say that I am one of the initial members of The Evolvers Project. Now we have developed with more team members.
We have a program called the “Intern-Preneur Development Program” which is the signature program of The Evolvers Project. This program mainly focuses on the drawbacks of our education system and provides solutions to it. Most of us have not learned basic life skills through school. Here we attempt to address that.
What matters the most is not unemployment. It is the lack of employable candidates. That is the fault in our system. We are focusing on such areas to implement changes. We are helping our candidates to evolve and develop quality in themselves. Moreover, we try to develop their potential to the maximum. I am satisfied with the work from The Evolvers Project. I am in charge of the “Intern-Preneur Development Program’’. It is extremely happy to see that the participants have a chance to change once they enrol in our program. For more information about this startup, you can refer to this website www.evolversproject.com.
How did the trainer Krishnamani change the introverted girl to a public speaker?
This is a special question for me because it is about the person who changed me completely. She was the one who turned me into a creative and optimistic person. I should say that she recreated me. I had faced several issues during my childhood. My character became introverted because of such issues and due to them, I had to overcome several challenges at that age. It was during that time I met Krishnamani ma’am. My relationship with her started as a session 8–9 years ago. She helped find solutions to my issues back then. It’s because of Krishnamani ma’am I changed and evolved and I should say that her influence on me is more than anyone. I had the habit of complaining about everything. But today, I am grateful even for my existence. The wisdom of the attitude of gratitude was a turning point in my life and that’s the thing I value most in my life. She had passed her words of wisdom to me and that made me what I am today. Grateful to have Krishnamani ma’am as my Guru in my life.
“Feminism” is one of the most underrated words. Making fun of a woman who speaks for herself is highly appreciated in society. Have you felt it the same way? And how do you think one can deal with such hypocrites in a way other than ignoring them.
Being a feminist is still not an acceptable level for many, so I have been made fun of for being the same. Even a few years ago I mistook feminism and it took time for me to understand the real idea of feminism. It was through several conversations and reading I got to know what exactly it is. Specifically, saying Emma Watson influenced me a lot to change my stereotypical thoughts. After watching her the idea of feminism is nothing more or different than equality. Earlier it’s my limited circle that made me stereotype, later when I got more exposure through people and books and materials I got to explore the real idea of feminism.
As an active person in politics, to support the idea of feminism and a strong will against patriarchy is a deadly dangerous combination and it needs much bravery to stand as a feminist in politics. We may think that we have achieved equality, men and women are equal, but in reality, it is not yet.
The last time when I was travelling I was thinking of the concept of Mulakkaram (a tax imposed on the lower caste and untouchable Hindu women by the Kingdom of Travancore if they wanted to cover their breasts in public), it was Nangeli who fought against it to get rid of it. Even before and after there were ’n’ numbers of women who fought for equality but after all that in 2021 we women had to continue their battle for their freedom. Our country achieved and broke many things as part of freedom but we are still struggling to get equal treatment in our homes. We are not able to fight for any other cause because we are still revolting for our equality.
There is much injustice around us. We still live in a society where transgenders are not yet accepted. We still have a group of people in our society who are underprivileged. Limitations have been always imposed on women and other marginalised sections. Feminism is a concept to raise voice for all these causes, to be the voice of the voiceless. But still today people are reluctant to accept feminism as a decent word and the tagline to any woman is still considered as a negative one when you look for a groom.
Usually, people say just get rid of feminism, what we need is equality. Both are the same and it is a pity that they don’t know that. Some men say that even men are suffering and there is no one to speak for them. But they never try to understand what a woman has to undergo as domestic pressures and inequalities in workplaces. What I can do is that, if someone finds it funny that I am a feminist, I will never run away from that. I will try my best to convince that person. So that I can change at least one.
Feminism aims towards equality. People often confuse feminism for misandry. To start it we should begin with our family. Even I belong to a family where patriarchy is a condition. It took a while for me to break the cast, so it is obvious that my family needs more time to understand. What I focus on is talking and convincing people. Try not to be arrogant. We can talk to someone and make them understand, especially in the case of parents and family. But there are cases where we find it difficult and a waste of time to convince others, in such cases it’s better to let go and be brave to choose your path. I am a person who strictly believes that change should start from oneself then only we can change society and its thought. People still find me a rebellious woman. However, I am super proud of that. The ones who are considered rebellious are going to mark their words in future. That’s how history speaks.
Our country faces a lot of taboos related to periods and menstrual hygiene is still ignored by many women in our country. How far have you been able to convince women about maintaining a hygienic habit during periods?
Menstrual hygiene is still an issue though if we think it’s not. It was during the last lockdown I realized the dilemma when I had to face it. Then only I began to think about the ones who are not privileged. Sanitary napkins and menstrual products are expensive. The majority of women find it difficult to speak about menstruation openly in their family especially to the male members. In most cases, women try to adjust and opt for unhealthy ways to deal with menstruation which is still a taboo.
India has witnessed a lot of migrant labourers travelling to their states on foot. That strikes my mind. What will be the condition of menstruating ladies? How will they manage this situation? It involves a great health risk too. We discussed this and even mailed it to Sonia Gandhi regarding this. An initiative was taken by Mahila Congress that delivered nearly 25 Million sanitary pads. It was helpful for a few then. But the situation has not changed. Periods are still treated like a taboo here.
A financially stable person can feel that menstruation and hygiene are still possible. But in reality, it is not. A few days ago I was taking a session on menstrual hygiene with a group of girls in a Govt. School. There they revealed that still, many use cloth. It is healthy only if it is used properly. Still, using cloth is not as comfortable as using sanitary napkins. The misconception happens when we only look into the circle we are surrounded by. We evaluate the whole society with just what we see. But the majority is facing what we are not confronting.
Periods, it’s just as normal as sweating. People consider it as impure blood that has been secreted from the body. Scientifically it is a uterus line that is broken. It is pure blood just as you may lose after cutting your finger. There is nothing impure in it. Even in this century, this is what a young student thinks about PERIODS. The School curriculum system plays a major role in this kind of misinformation. Sex education and menstruation sections are taught with no responsibility or the one who has to break the taboo by giving proper information structure it as the biggest taboo.
Another major defect is menstruation classes are taught just for girls. Hence boys find it curious. It is just a normal biological process. So there is no good reason to avoid boys when menstruation is explained in schools. Such curiosities can lead to crimes in the future. Also many think that this is an intimate thing happening to me, so why should I be concerned about this? But it is a process related to one of the most important organs in our body.
Ironically, we live in a country where condoms are tax-free but menstrual products have taxes. Today we have several menstrual products. If we start using menstrual cups it is good for the environment as well as reduces our expenses. But if you are not comfortable with using it, then you should accept it and try with other options available. But never reject it thinking it could make you lose your virginity. More than environmental safety, one should consider self-comfort. I am aiming to reach this awareness to maximum people.
Equal rights for women is always a debate. It is not easy to convince the patriarchal society regarding women’s rights. Do you expect society to change? Or is it the woman who has to change?
Securing equal rights is not that easy. Yes, we live in a patriarchal society and changing it all at once is a big task. Our elder generation has grown up and learned things as per their normal which is patriarchy oriented. Now the question is focussing on whether it is the society or the woman who has to change. If I expected society for me to change, then I would not have changed much. But instead, when I made the first move it was possible and I could feel the changes happening around me. Initiating change from oneself is not an easy task, I have faced several oppressions. People find me selfish, arrogant, etc. But I was not bothered about all these and was able to finally influence others. If we could break the barriers of society and evolve, then it marks the beginning of the change in society. I am in a privileged position, but many are not. We can help them if we evolve and smash the patriarchy. If we can start the change, we can definitely create awareness and normalize taboos. Speak about the taboos and the changes we need a bit louder.